We can now act on the information we have, rather than just collecting it, which has allowed us to improve significantly the efficiency of the whole agency.
How Leith use data to drive decision making across the agency
Founded in 1984, Leith has created award-winning work for clients such as Honda, Standard Life, the Scottish Government, Grolsch, and Irn-Bru. In 2004, the agency became part of the Cello Group.
An ageing system and becoming part of a larger group had led The Leith Agency to look for a more fit-for-purpose solution. With bigger workloads and a need for clearer, timely reporting, they chose Synergist for its user-friendly and flexible nature.
Agency type: Full-service creative agency
Services: Advertising and design, digital, health, insight and intelligence, production
Size: 100+ people
Location: Edinburgh and Manchester
Paula Murray
Head of Finance, Leith
The problem
Lack of control and labour-intensive processes
The Leith Agency had identified a problem with a lack of visibility and control over job budgets and costs.
This was caused by the poor performance of their rapidly ageing job management system, resulting in the accounts department having to work late 10 days every month to close off the accounts.
Inadequate reporting tools and problems processing costs on jobs, such as expenses, were major contributors to this. Becoming part of a larger, AIM-listed organisation (The Cello Group) meant that prompt, accurate reporting was a time-critical commercial need which put additional pressure on the finance department.
The solution
Finding a flexible and adaptable system
A multi-departmental team was selected to find a solution to these problems, drawing up a shortlist of potential suppliers for a new system.
Most of these systems were excluded due to their inflexibility, cost and lack of familiarity with agency working patterns.
"Given the agency-wide impact of a new system, the team required a solution which was integrated and adaptable to existing workflows,” says Paula.
They had an overview demonstration with Synergist and the team felt it offered a user-friendly, flexible interface. They also felt it would fit well within the agency culture and provide solutions to all the identified requirements.
Synergist was rolled out across their sites, with the implementation working alongside them to configure the system to the agency’s requirements.
“The Synergist consultant recommended improved working practices in some areas to increase business efficiency. These have proved to be of great value and are now standard practice within the agency,” says Paula.
“The actual switch-over was completed in just three days, resulting in very little disruption. Any alterations to the branded layouts and report modifications required during the first few weeks were turned around very quickly by the Synergist help desk, often on the same day.”
The time it has freed up is now used to monitor the reports available from Synergist. This means we can now act on the information we have.
Paula Murray
Head of Finance, The Leith Agency
The return
Improvements in efficiency and reduced workloads
Since Synergist was implemented The Leith Agency can clearly measure the improvements.
The previously laborious month-end procedures, requiring 10 days of long hours, are now completed in five days, even though the volume of work passing through the agency has almost doubled.
Paula says: “Even better, this is being achieved without having to work late due to the massive improvements in efficiency Synergist has bought to the accounts department. The time it has freed up is now used to monitor the reports available from Synergist.
“Following the performance problems of our previous management system, it was important we had no such issues with Synergist,” adds David.
As a result of the success of the initial implementation, Synergist has now been rolled out across six other businesses within The Tangible Group, spanning four UK locations.