Performance management for media and advertising agencies

KRAs by agency role

Four to six weighted KRAs per role is enough. In ZeniaHR, add them as goals typed as KRA or KPI, with competency goals for things like presenting to clients or mentoring juniors. Goals can differ by role while the cycle and rating scale stay the same across the agency, which keeps calibration fair between creative and account teams.

• Copywriter or art director: creative quality at internal and client reviews, first-round approvals, pitch contribution, deadlines met
• Account manager: client satisfaction, retainer renewal and scope growth, briefing quality, billing on time
• Media planner or buyer: campaign results against targets, budget accuracy, vendor negotiation
• Producer: shoots delivered on schedule and within budget, safety and vendor management
• Social media manager: content calendar delivered, response times, audience growth

Worked example: an account manager's year

Neha, an account manager, has four goals: client satisfaction with a weight of 35, retainer renewal and scope growth with 30, campaign delivery on time with 20 and team development with 15. At year end her progress is 80 percent, 100 percent, 90 percent and 60 percent. Her weighted progress is 0.35 x 80 + 0.30 x 100 + 0.20 x 90 + 0.15 x 60, which is 28 + 30 + 18 + 9 = 85 percent. The renewal carried her year; the team development goal is what the review should dig into.

Reviews after campaigns, ratings at year end

Creative work is easier to judge while it is fresh. Hold a short review after each major campaign or pitch, noting what worked and who carried what, and bring those notes to the year-end appraisal. Agencies commonly run an annual cycle from April with increments tied to it, plus an ad hoc cycle for pitch teams. Debriefs and appraisal forms remain in the agency's usual format; ZeniaHR tracks each cycle and every person's weighted progress.

Recognition that creatives value

Creative people value recognition from peers and leaders, not only ratings. Use praise with badges such as Problem solver or Above and beyond when someone rescues a campaign, and create your own badge for a pitch win; praise counts towards the monthly leaderboard. Award entries are another form of recognition agencies use, so credit everyone who worked on an entry, including production and account staff, not only the creative lead.

How to set it up in ZeniaHR

1. Create an annual performance cycle with your rating scale, and ad hoc cycles for major pitches.
2. Add four to six goals per person typed as KRA, KPI or competency, with weights that add up to 100.
3. Hold campaign debriefs after major launches and keep the notes for the year-end review.
4. After the annual cycle, log each increment as a salary revision so each person's pay history builds up on their record.
5. Add a custom praise badge for pitch wins alongside the standard badges.

Read more about performance in ZeniaHR.

Roles this applies to

Frequently asked questions