How Parker Design shifted their commercial focus using Synergist

The problem

Limited capability

The agency had been using an agency management system called TrafficLive, which was facing the end of its life and meant the end of its support. So, they looked for an alternative. 

Although they knew about some of Synergist's functionality, a full demo of the complete range of Synergist features surprised them, as they hadn't realised its full scope.

"We weren't really sure what information would be available to us. We had previously been simply looking at turnover as the main metric. We also thought we'd have good support with implementing a new system since support was UK-based."

The solution

Elevating commercial performance

Bringing in Synergist, with all its reporting and analytic features, has taken the commercial focus of the agency to new heights. 

"We can get to the data much more quickly. Previously, we didn't know results until the following month. Now they're readily accessible to everyone in real time."

"With help from Synergist, we're starting to understand how to manage things better and what best practice looks like."

“All our teams are also now aware of what jobs are going through the studio and their status. Before Synergist, our finance function solely compiled results at the end of each month. Now, all our teams can continuously track progress. They’re looking at the job performance dashboards and making decisions commercially. And Synergist has improved our quality and accuracy of estimating and quoting.”

Making informed decisions using timesheet information has become much easier. “Recording time accurately is simple on Synergist. We can monitor exactly how our time resource is being spent, which assists with keeping projects on track, enabling us to deliver projects on budget and on time.”

The standard reporting which comes with Synergist is just what they need. 

“At first, we kept on trying to replicate what we’d been producing previously. But then we realised that the standard in-built reports are already there. It’s such a tried-and-trusted system that Synergist includes what’s going to be best for agency reporting.”

The return

Insight and foresight replacing outdated data

“We’re all so much more aware of what’s going on across the whole agency and certainly place much more focus on commerciality. We’ve got instant information and billing plans, so rather than taking a rear-view mirror approach of what did happen, we can look at what is happening and what’s likely to happen, according to the data.”

The team are now using Synergist for much wider functionality, including by client services in terms of opportunities, forecasting and pipeline planning. 

“There’s a certain confidence that comes with this knowledge, knowing you’re not going to have any nasty surprises. There is much more insight and foresight so we can make sure we have the right amount of work with the right people, all working towards delivering the best projects for our clients.”

The agency has also put more processes into place as a result of using Synergist.

“This is a good thing! We’re tracking and monitoring everything much more regularly and producing reports and graphs from the data. We used to concentrate on results from Sage, but now we’re working with real-time information, which has really changed our perspective.”

“The onboarding and aftercare have also been brilliant. The Agency Works are there as a contact and support, and we know they’re there to help. Plus, there’s the Synergist helpdesk for technical questions, and they give really straightforward explanations. They’re all very approachable, which makes a huge difference – we felt totally on our own before.”