Creating capacity for the work that matters
I speak to a lot of marketing and communications teams who are stretched.
Not because they aren't good at what they do. Quite the opposite.
They are often highly capable teams who have built a reputation for getting things done. So when another project comes along, another request lands or another deadline appears, they find a way to make it happen.
Until, eventually, there simply isn't any capacity left.
There is always another job to move on to. Another deadline to hit. Another priority competing for attention.
And what gets squeezed out is often the thing marketing and communications teams need most – headspace.
Time to think is not a luxury
Good marketing and communications need more than delivery.
They need time to think. To research. To be creative. To challenge the obvious approach. To look at what competitors are doing. To evaluate what's working – and what isn't. To try something different.
When you're constantly moving from one project to the next, it's difficult to create that space.
The focus naturally becomes "How do we get this done?" rather than "Is this the best way to do it?"
And that can be frustrating for people who know they could produce better, more creative and more impactful work if they simply had the time to step back and think.
When success creates its own capacity problem
Marketing and comms teams can become victims of their own success.
They prove they can deliver, so more gets added.
The organisation grows. Expectations increase. New channels appear. More audiences need to be reached. More projects become priorities.
But the resource doesn't always grow at the same pace.
Eventually, everything feels important. Timescales stretch. Projects compete with each other and people spend more time firefighting than planning.
There is a wellbeing impact too.
Constantly feeling behind, switching between projects and knowing that you're not giving everything the attention it deserves can be exhausting. Even people who love what they do can lose energy when they don't have the space to do their best work.
And there is a business impact.
What gets put on the back burner?
Often, it's the work that could make the biggest difference.
The strategic campaign. The new proposition. The customer communications programme. The website project. The piece of research that could change the approach. The idea that could open up a new opportunity.
These projects aren't necessarily less important.
They're just less urgent than whatever is demanding attention today.
So they keep moving down the list.
And that's where organisations can lose out – because the work that could have a genuine impact on growth, engagement, reputation or customer experience never gets the time or focus it deserves.
Being busy can mean the most important work isn't always getting done.
Everything can't be a priority
So the first step is to stop and look at the bigger picture.
What really matters to your organisation right now?
Which projects could make the greatest difference?
What genuinely needs to happen now – and what could wait?
And if everything really is important, or there are still too many projects to fit into the time available, then the question becomes – what resource is needed to deliver it properly, and when is that resource actually required?
Sometimes the answer is to stop doing something.
Sometimes it's to reprioritise.
And sometimes it's to bring in additional expertise.
Bringing in the right support
External support should never make an already stretched team feel even more stretched.
The right support should create capacity.
It might mean bringing in specialist expertise for a particular project, adding creative or strategic thinking, taking ownership of a defined piece of work or providing additional senior-level resource when the internal team needs it.
And it doesn't necessarily mean increasing permanent headcount.
Flexible expertise can be brought in around the projects that matter, when it is actually needed.
That gives internal teams the space to focus on what they do best – while making sure important work doesn't keep getting pushed to the bottom of the list.
Because sometimes the best way to help a marketing and communications team do more is to give them the capacity to do less – and do it better.
Need a little extra headspace?
If you’re a senior leader who knows your marketing and communications team could use an extra pair of hands, or you’re a marketing and communications leader looking for additional support, Evoke Marketing can help.
From strategic thinking and creative expertise to hands-on delivery, we provide the right support for the work that needs to get done – helping your team create the headspace to focus on what matters most.
