Team Leadership
How do you transform a team of two writers into a multi-disciplinary UX crew that generates millions in revenue?
The problem
How’s this for a great problem to solve? “I want you to build a profitable UX Content practice at ITX.”
Having been fortunate enough to work with a dedicated UX Content team at Paychex, I had learned that there is ample demand in the technology industry for content services in three key categories:
Product content
Use language and layout to improve user experiences.
- Users crave clear, concise communication.
- UX Content is closely integrated with UX Design, allowing us to reduce costs through specialization.
Promotional content
Shoot off some fireworks!
- We bridged the chasm between product, design, sales and marketing.
- This position gave us an opportunity to tear down silo walls and coordinate between these groups.
Content strategy
Research. Strategize. Design. Iterate. Implement.
- We applied Halvorson and Rach’s content strategy methodology to great success.
- Read more about my experience as a content strategist here.
The solution
After identifying the main pillars of our content offering, we next collaborated with marketing and sales to hunt for new billable opportunities and engaged existing client relationships to determine if these services would fill a gap in their teams. Do you want to know what surprised me most? It worked!
We signed contracts for video production, content strategy, UX content design, and content marketing. Leading me to my next challenge: scaling the team up.
Hiring is hard, but firing is harder
I learned a tough lesson in my first year of management, when a writing contractor I’d hired—who had seemed all right during interviews—catastrophically melted down and put a key client relationship at risk. Working closely with HR, we quickly resolved the issue, parted ways with the contractor, and simultaneously took steps to maintain the integrity of our clients’ data and systems. My impression was the client was glad for a decisive resolution to the situation.
This experience taught me that diligence is crucial to hiring solid candidates. You can’t cut corners. Yes, not every hire works out, but I had rejected warning signs out of hand during the hiring process here and caused a mess by not “hiring hard enough.”
When hiring, I now ensure they’re not only competent, but a good culture fit too. I test the waters for a decent rapport, enquire about their creative pursuits outside of a work context, and introduce them to other team members early. Perhaps I’ll put them on the spot and test their reaction.
Some may say that’s an inappropriate level of detail to ask for when hiring, but my process saves me… and HR… and the client… a skull-cracking headache when things go pear-shaped with an improperly vetted team member.
In my time leading ITX’s UX Content team, I have hired 13 people. What started as a crew of two now stands as a solid team of seven full-time employees:
- Two Content Strategists
- Three UX Writers
- One Technical Writer
- One Motion Graphics Designer
How I manage
My management approach is constructed from three core principles:
1. Engage the human
Especially important in a remote context.
- Create space to talk about things other than work.
- Be genuine, honest, and vulnerable.
- Give them the room they need to be their own creative selves (i.e. don’t micro-manage.)
2. Set clear expectations
No one wants to be managed by means of crystal ball.
- Use methodologies like values performance assessments and competency ratings to identify growth opportunities.
- Create a plan for constant improvement, and empower people to design that plan with your input.
- Be crystal clear with things like deadlines, and you diminish fear of the unknown.
3. Create challenges
Send your ships out to unchartered seas.
- Delegate real responsibility such as project leadership and client relationships.
- Don’t prescribe an approach, but clear the way as they chart it.
- Make yourself available to assist with clearing hurdles.
Results, in revenue
In 2023, my team billed our clients more than $1.1 million, an achievement that I am immensely proud of.
In our first year we delivered $194,000 in value for our clients, meaning that we increased revenue by more than six-fold in two years.
Over that time, my team grew three-fold by headcount: meaning that not only did we generate more revenue, but increased productivity per team member almost twice over.
This growth in productivity can be chalked up to:
- Improved processes allowing deliverables to be finished more rapidly, with fewer iterations.
- High standards of work giving us reason to increase our rates.
Oh hey, you made it.
While you’re here, wanna check out my Content Strategy chops too?