We like to check in with our customers and hear about how they get things done in their organizations. And naturally, we’re always eager to learn how teams use LiquidPlanner to improve their work and grow the business. This month, we talked to Roulien Bohrer, CEO of Ópera Propaganda, an innovative Brazilian online communications agency that specializes in e-commerce, digital media, competitive intelligence and optimization of internal processes. Roulien and his team have been using LiquidPlanner for almost two years. Here, he tells us why project management software is important to their business, and how they reward themselves for a job well done—and more. Read on!
Q: If you could only get one thing done a day at work, what would it be?
Log hours to project work. Since we charge by the hour, not logging them would have catastrophic results.
Q: Tell us about a recent area of business expansion.
We’ve implemented our mobile business. Thanks to LiquidPlanner, it was a smooth transition and we’re more organized and efficient than before.
Q: Why is project management software important to your business?
There are three reasons at the top of our list:
- Meeting deadlines. Since we work with urgent projects and tight deadlines, as well as with large, long-term projects, we need the organization and confidence that we will meet deadlines.
- Team performance and work allocation. While managing our workspace, it’s important to focus on team performance and work allocation, so that nobody is overloaded while someone else is light on work.
- Quality control. The use of templates in our projects ensures a quality standard. It gives us a central location to communicate and keeps everyone involved in the project informed of every single update.
Q: What’s one of your biggest challenge when it comes to managing projects?
Prioritizing projects. Sometimes a couple of projects will have the same deadline. So we have to decide which one to focus on, and see if we can reorganize our resources to get them both done on time. It’s like solving a puzzle.
Q: What would you say is the Number-One way LiquidPlanner has helped your organization?
Managing deadlines.
Q: What’s the most unconventional thing you’ve done to get a project completed?
One time, we had to deliver an elaborate product catalog to a client in time for an exhibit he was going to attend. The printing company bailed out on gluing the samples to the pages, so our team was up all night finishing all of the 100+ copies, glue, and paper in hand. Even relatives were called in to help.
It worked and the client never even knew there was a problem in the first place.
Q: How has using LiquidPlanner changed the way your team works together?
LiquidPlanner certainly increased the freedom and happiness of the whole team, since it allows everyone to have a more flexible schedule. Our work quality and timeliness also improved. Everyone has a better quality of life because LiquidPlanner streamlines our workflow and eliminates the necessity to be physically present in order to work in teams.
Q: What’s your favorite time of day to work?
That varies. Most of us like to work in the afternoon, but some prefer the morning and others stay up all night working instead of waking up early.
Q: How do you reward yourself and your team for a job well done?
Salary increases and greater flexibility of working hours.