Involved Group ♫
Involved Group ♫
All photos on this page courtesy of the incredibly talented Luke Dyson
Involved Group, home to globally recognised dance and electronic labels Anjunabeats, Anjunadeep, This Never Happened, and Reflections, as well as management for top-tier artists like Above & Beyond and Lane 8, faced operational challenges in 2020 with the onset of the COVID pandemic. With live music income throttled, the company quickly needed to adapt its business model to release more music.
As such, the company required a solution to it’s inefficient work management practices that were hampering productivity and acting as a bottleneck to its rapidly growing roster and release schedule, the company. As the Senior Product Manager at the time, I identified these inefficiencies and implemented a comprehensive work management system using Monday.com, which transformed the way Involved Group operated, and is still in use today.
“James spotted the need, proposed the solution and worked collaboratively with our teams to implement it… He did this without smothering the nimble, innovative and creative energy that our business thrives on.”
Allan Mcgrath, Label Director - Involved Group
£23,000 saved in consultation fees.
4.5 years of supporting growth.
The challenges
Before the implementation of the new system in Monday.com, Involved Group faced several critical challenges:
An inefficient release schedule: The release schedule was managed in a cluttered Google Sheet, where color-coded rows for different labels made the schedule difficult to interpret. Release deadlines had to be manually adjusted, and release information was static, creating bottlenecks and increasing the risk of errors.
Fragmented work management: Tasks and key dates were scattered across Google Sheets, Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Slack, and email, leading to confusion and inefficiency. Production and marketing timelines were static, inflexible, and required constant manual updates.
Finance and design team bottlenecks. The finance team had no clear way to manage invoices, leading to missed payments and unclear status tracking. Similarly, the design team struggled with non-standardized briefs submitted via email, resulting in missed deadlines and inefficient resource allocation.
Cumbersome marketing documentaion: The marketing team used a Google Sheet to manage social media scheduling, which was duplicated weekly and manually updated with embedded images, leading to a cluttered and confusing system.
Before a solution was created in 2020, the Involved Group release schedule was hosted in this Google sheet 👀
Developing the solution
Monday.com was chosen in this case for its intuitive project management capabilities, user-friendly interface, and ability to meet the company’s immediate needs for dependent timelines and a flexible release schedule. The implementation process was carefully designed to ensure the system was tailored to Involved Group’s unique needs:
Departmental consultations: I met with each department to explain how Monday.com worked and to discuss their specific challenges and feature requests. This ensured the system would address the real pain points of each team.
Strategic rollout plan: A phased rollout plan was developed, starting with the Product Managers, then A&R, Finance, Design, and Marketing. Over 10 weeks, I worked closely with Monday.com to onboard each department, conducting weekly 1.5-hour calls to field requests and refine the system.
Custom solutions: Key customisations I built included a finance board for smooth invoice submission and tracking, a design brief submission board for efficient resource allocation and time management, and a marketing timeline for the labels. These solutions ensured that the new system did not stifle the creative energy of the business but rather enhanced it.
Change management: I collaborated with change champions within the company to ensure smooth adoption and ongoing support for the system. My hands-on approach ensured that teams could focus on their core responsibilities while integrating the new tools.
Custom Solutions
A powerful release schedule
By implementing automated deadlines and notifications within the release schedule, we drastically reduced the risk of missed deadlines. The system automatically generated deadlines based on release dates and sent timely reminders to product managers as key dates approached. Similarly, automated notifications were sent to Label Managers if deadlines were missed, allowing for immediate intervention and course correction.
Standardised department boards
We introduced internal boards that standardised the submission and tracking of internal briefs for different departments such as design and finance. Using forms, we implemented best practices for brief submission, ensuring all necessary information was provided in a consistent format. The boards also included time tracking and smooth allocation procedures, providing all stakeholders with immediate insights into the progress of each brief.
Malleable timeline templates
We implemented customisable and easily duplicable timeline templates for digital and physical production, as well as marketing. These templates featured dependent dates, meaning that when a key date changed (e.g. a delivery date change in response to a production delay), all subsequent dates automatically adjusted in line with the new schedule. This flexibility allowed the teams to quickly respond to unforeseen challenges without the need to manually update every task or milestone. Inbuilt automations ensured key stakeholders were notified of the status of upcoming deadlines.
The Results
Increased efficiency
The new system relieved team members of 3 hours of manual task management per week, saving the company significant resources. Over four years, the system continued to deliver these efficiency gains.
Cost savings
By managing the system in-house, I saved the company from hiring an executive Monday consultant, to approximately £23,000 in savings.
Sustained Impact
The system has been in use for 4.5 years, demonstrating its sustainability and scalability. It continues to support the company’s growth, having expanded from 30 to 60 employees since its implementation.
Enhanced Collaboration
The new system fostered a more collaborative, transparent, and accountable environment. In particular, the label, marketing and design teams reported positive effects of working together more effectively, including much greater efficiency.
Work with OddOps
We specialise in tailoring work management solutions that meet the unique needs of creative organisations, just like we did at Involved Group.
We can help you transform your company’s efficiency and creative output by:
Identifying, standardising, and optimising your work
Integrating your vision into your operations
Empowering your team
Let’s discuss the challenges your facing, and how we can help you solve them and unlock your team’s full potential.