I run a 2 member agency and we are both Graphic Designers. I would like to hire an Account Manager and would like to know what the first month of work looks like as a first hire in that role in a growing agency?

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Congratulations, and great question!

I have a creative team of 15 with multiple account managers and have definitely been here. The first month should be very *slow* on purpose. Even though it seems like your new person will get the hang of a two-person agency quickly, I highly recommend them having at least 10 hand-held interactions with each client before letting them loose, especially if you have any long-standing relationships with your clients. Team building and culture building is also extremely important. Do the social / coffee meetups, take them to dinner, order in lunch, do all of the things that allows you to build a bond.


Quick time breakdown:

I would say 60% introductions and meetings for as long as it takes, 20% tools and software training, and 20% culture and team building.

Resist the urge to disappear and re-adjust from your workflow because you’ve hired someone now and you’re “paying them to do this.” Also remember they will never be you, and very likely they’ll be < 50% of you for quite some time. Gradual, training, high-touch communication is still your job for a while. Adjust your expectations for this to be more of a 90-180 day equation and let them surprise you if it’s quicker than that.

Good luck!

helpful

Thank you very much for your response. The insights shared are very helpful.

I totally agree with CEO/F1. I would say one of the most important things is immersing them in the culture and getting them to understand your clients, how you manage and interact with your clients and mainly "expose" them for a while. Their expertise is going to be about massaging, moving things forward, and taking you where you're at to something more. Overhauls, especially due to exhaustion, are absolutely destructive unless your company is a disaster to begin with. Trust that what you are doing is working in many ways, and that they will get the most results from seeing everything of who and what you are, why you make what decisions you make, and will be able to move you in a way that actually works for you and makes use of your best elements. And with that said, make sure you remember they are the expert, and that this phase is for their information gathering so that they can then do all that you hired them to do and is absolutely not "training." Let them see everything to know how to change it the right way.

helpful

Thanks a lot for this. I really appreciate your response.

People have said some great stuff here, and I just want to reiterate hand holding - yes, it's annoying in the beginning BUT it sets them up for success after. My agency also did a bit of a download with me on client dynamics - e.g., which relationships are tricky, what we're trying to achieve for business growth and it really helped to put my goals into perspective

helpful

Awesome, thanks for your take on it.

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