There is a curious paradox that lies in the engine room of today's media agencies. We invest millions in recruiting top talent and implementing cutting-edge technology platforms, yet somehow, we consistently underinvest in the operational connective tissue that binds these two critical assets together.
The result? A fragile system where burnout is endemic, innovation is stifled and our ability to weather industry storms is compromised. After 30+ years in this business, I've witnessed countless agencies with impressive talent rosters and technology stacks still falter when facing unexpected challenges from economic downturns, client losses to global pandemics.
There is a symbiotic relationship between People × Process = Performance¹. When people and process work in harmony, they don't merely add value, they multiply it. Conversely, if either is weaker than the other, the entire relationship collapses, regardless of how strong the other component might be.
Let's be clear about what ‘human-centered operations’ actually means. Human-centered operations delve deeper than superficial perks; it requires cultivating a secure and supportive environment where all employees can be the best versions of themselves and thrive. It's about creating sustainable psychosocial safety within your operational framework.
Amy Edmondson, Harvard Business School Professor², defines this as "a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking." In operational terms, this translates to teams that can admit mistakes without fear, challenge established processes, propose innovative solutions without excessive bureaucracy, and make appropriate decisions without constant approval-seeking.
During a new business pitch training camp, I ran, two teams stood out from the pack. One operated in a traditional command-and-control environment, the other team that prioritised psychological safety with clear R.A.S.C.I³ maps. The difference was stark. The traditional team burned out, made critical errors under pressure, and ultimately lost. The psychologically safe team adapted their process in real-time, supported each other through challenges, and delivered a winning presentation despite working fewer total hours.
On the other side of the equation sits process, the systems, workflows, and operational frameworks that guide our work. The most resilient operations share three characteristics:
- Visibility: Everyone can see how workflows through the system and importantly their role and what best in class output looks like.
- Flexibility: Processes are adaptable to changing needs, opposed to breaking under pressure.
- Proportionality: The process matches the complexity of the task; example is Retained Output models or Tiered processes where defined outputs correspond to a customised process.
Too often, we implement processes designed for the 1% edge cases rather than the 99% day-to-day work. This is particularly true with the rapid expansion of AI. Companies that try to automate their operation before restructuring their workflow eco-system, and/or their actual structure, will only automate complexity, hindering future scalability and burn money on unnecessary development costs.
Additionally, if companies take a pure procurement approach, focusing solely on efficiency and cost savings, they'll miss the bigger opportunity: putting automated solutions in the hands of talented people creates time. More time helps people be more creative, leading to better quality output, improved IP value, greater client satisfaction, and better business results.
Where the Equation Breaks Down
The equation can break down, most commonly operational failure points occur at the intersection of people and process:
- Siloed Excellence⁴: Departments optimise their own processes without considering the whole companies end-to-end workflow, creating bottlenecks.
- The Expertise Trap⁵: Subject matter experts design processes that only they can navigate efficiently, preventing scalability, creating single points of failure.
- The Burnout Cycle⁶: Inefficient processes create pressure, leading to corners being cut, which creates more problems—a vicious cycle that eventually breaks people.
How resilient is your operation? To find out, start by reflecting on a few basic diagnostic questions. Can your team clearly articulate the "why" behind your core processes, beyond just the "what" and "how"? When unexpected challenges arise, do they respond by innovating solutions, or do they wait for direction? Are there operational bottlenecks that continue to persist, even after repeated efforts to resolve them? And when someone leaves your organisation, how much institutional knowledge leaves with them? If you answer these questions honestly, you’ll gain valuable insight into the true strength of your operation and where you may need to shore up either the human or process side of the equation. Strengthening operational resilience requires a deliberate and simultaneous investment in both people and processes.
Start by ensuring everyone understands how their role fits into the broader operational system, using tools that visualise the process mapping and clear R.A.S.C.I frameworks to build alignment. Distribute decision-making rights to the lowest appropriate level, empowering teams to act with confidence, accelerate execution, and avoid unnecessary bottlenecks. Establish regular feedback loops through operational retrospectives that allow teams to safely reflect on what’s working and what isn’t.
Finally, design your processes with people in mind by considering human factors such as cognitive load, context switching, and the need for uninterrupted focus time.
In an industry facing extraordinary change, from AI integration to talent shortages to evolving client expectations, operational resilience isn't just a nice-to-have, it’s your ultimate competitive advantage. Organisations that master operational resilience can adapt faster, innovate more consistently, and weather industry storms that sink their less resilient competitors.
The question is not whether you can afford to invest in building this kind of resilience. The question is: can you afford not to?
Geoff Clarke, Chief Operating Officer, IPG Mediabrands Australia
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¹ People × Process = Performance" This is a simplified take on the 'People, Process, Technology' framework, a concept rooted in Harold Leavitt's 1965 organizational model and widely popularised in various fields, notably by security expert Bruce Schneier.
²Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams by A. Edmondson 1999. Edmondson's original 1999 paper or her 2018 book "The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth.
³R.A.S.C.I is a framework used in project management and other collaborative efforts to clarify roles and responsibilities. It expands on the more common RACI model by adding a "Supportive" role, making it stand for Responsible, Accountable, Supportive, Consulted, and Informed. The precise origin of the RASCI model is unclear, though it became prominent in management circles in the 1970s.
⁴Siloed Excellence: This phenomenon, where individual departments excel in isolation, creates system-wide problems. As Patrick Lencioni highlights in his book 'Silos, Politics and Turf Wars,' these departmental silos can devastate an organisation.
⁵The concept of the "expertise trap" was developed by Professor Sydney Finkelstein, Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business.
⁶The concept of "burnout" and the burnout cycle were primarily developed by Herbert Freudenberger in the 1970s.