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Picture this: it's Monday morning, you're sipping your freshly brewed coffee, and eager to kick off a productive week. But as you scan your calendar, you're met with a sense of dread - an endless list of back-to-back meetings.

Sound familiar? If so, you're not alone. Inefficient meetings have become a notorious time-drain, often leaving little time for actual work. In this dedicated guide we will walk you through:

• General theory on the best meeting duration
• How much time you should spend per type of meeting
• Virtual meetings best practices
• How to cancel a meeting: free template and step-by-step process

No more aimless discussions; it's time to take back control of your schedule. Don't just survive your workweek—thrive in it!

What is the best meeting duration?

No meeting should be longer than half an hour. There are many experts that support that idea. One of them is Donna McGeorge, the author of The 25 Minute Meeting: Half the Time, Double the Impact. She argues that, if done well, meetings are “short, sharp and productive”.

This meeting length limit is inspired by Francesco Cirillo’s Pomodoro method, which states that 25 minutes is the optimal amount of time for people to focus on a certain topic.

Unless you have a very clear goal in mind, there is a danger that a meeting will be a waste of time, according to this Harvard Business Review article. So if you are in charge of organizing a meeting, ask yourself this question: “What is this meeting intended to achieve?”

Once you know that, you can establish the best length when arranging meetings.

Note that there are exceptions. The length of meetings depends on the nature of each conversation. You also can’t be too strict with certain stakeholders (i.e. customers or clients).

Let’s have a look at the most typically occurring meetings and their recommended duration.

Types of meetings and their recommended duration

Meetings can be effective tools within your workplace collaboration, team effectiveness and efficiency, and culture building.

In some cases though, meetings don’t need to happen at all. This is especially true in the case of asynchronous work, where teams work through task management and heavy documentation.

Next up: the 9 main kinds of meetings and how long they should last.

1. Information sharing

Information sharing is usually a one-way dialogue where one person informs a group of attendees or employees about a specific issue. It is not a meeting by itself, but an effective way to share information.

Meeting time: 0 minutes. You should share information whenever it has been properly documented. This allows people to take the necessary time to process information and prepare feedback and questions.

Subsequently, the team can schedule a brainstorming call (typically 30 minutes) or a short meeting to discuss the contents, ask questions, make decisions and provide input.

Think of the following activities as information sharing: company updates, lectures, presentations, walkthoughs.

Suggestion: You can record videos with apps like Loom to walk through a presentation. After that, only schedule a short meeting to discuss questions, brainstorm, or go deeper into the topic.

2. Best time for meetings: regular 1:1 chats

A 1:1 meeting is a free form meeting. It is used to keep two people in the loop about a certain situation, give feedback and resolve work related issues. But it goes beyond status updates because it lays the foundation for a productive and trusting relationship.

Meeting time: Between 20 and 40 minutes. Make sure to balance conversations around work, interpersonal relationships and professional development in these meetings. Depending on the frequency, a meeting duration between 20 and 40 minutes is optimal.

In this conversation there is usually a mix of work and culture. If it is arranged between you and your manager, it becomes a good opportunity to talk about how you handle your workload, your general satisfaction level and personal experience within the company.

Regarding the meeting duration, a common best practice is to schedule a 1:1 for 30 minutes, and then have 10 minutes extra open after in case of the meeting running over.

Suggestion: in a remote environment, try to keep these conversations face-to-face. Make sure that your equipment allows high quality video and audio for a better experience.

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3.Client meeting

Ideally, a client meeting should take half an hour. But you have to make sure to send as much information in advance as possible, so your clients are up to date and can prepare questions, feedback or any information they might need beforehand.

Meeting time: 30 minutes. Learning how to meet with clients is one of the most important tasks you can complete.

According to Fellow, there are four different types of client meetings:

• Introductory: you can use this preliminary first chat to establish a good relationship with a client.
• Consultation: gain a clear understanding of the client’s needs… and position yourself as a solution!
• Proposal: present the client your findings and research. Seal the deal.
• Check-in: make sure everything is on track and there are no unanswered questions.

Suggestion: in a client meeting, preparation is key. Come well prepared to make it more effective and productive without going overtime.

4. All hands or town hall

In this group conversation, all employees, managers and stakeholders meet to discuss company-wide matters and share general updates. These updates are sometimes shared in a news brief beforehand, and then discussed with the rest of the team.

Meeting time: Between 20 and 40 minutes. Town hall or all hands meetings are not very frequent, but they are important for employee engagement, especially if you are looking into improving productivity in an organization.

These meetings tend to happen on a monthly, quarter, semi-annual or annual basis. They allow alignment on achieving company goals and objectives.

All hands meetings are helpful to celebrate milestones and foster your company’s vision and values. They are also a good opportunity for people to have a direct approach with the CEO and with colleagues from different departments they don’t usually meet.

Suggestion: Make sure to make these meetings interactive to nurture collaboration between teams across departments. You can nurture company culture through a quiz or by setting up breakout rooms. Give everyone a chance to ask questions and interact.

5. Brainstorming

A brainstorming meeting encourages participants to generate and share ideas freely, often focusing on solving a specific problem. The primary goal is to stimulate creative thinking, foster innovation, and encourage open communication among team members.

Meeting time: Around 30 minutes. The meeting duration of a brainstorming can be flexible, but it’s a good idea to try to stay around 30 minutes. Don’t be too strict about the end of the meeting; sometimes the best creative ideas rise in the last minutes.

Shorter intervals allow your team to be more straightforward. So it all depends on the kinds of ideas you are looking for and how specific you want to be with the topic.

Suggestion: once the meeting is over, use Rock to create a topic, so people can continue to add ideas even after the meeting. A topic in Rock is very similar to a thread anywhere else. It is like an extension of a brainstorm meeting to give space for some creative ideas to occur at a later point that day, week or month.

6. Weekly team meeting

This meeting is usually arranged every week at a designated time. It addresses action items and roadblocks, as well as tasks and questions for the upcoming weeks.

Meeting time: Between 20 and 30 minutes. This kind of meeting is important for staying organized at work through weekly updates. It should not take much longer than 20 or 30 minutes.

A regular weekly team meeting can help team members progress better with their work and collaborate with their peers. Remember to have a clear purpose, defined meeting agenda and don’t bore your colleagues with unnecessary too long meeting time.

Suggestion: share important information in a meeting agenda beforehand. Take a look into these meeting agenda examples to bring structure to your conversations.

7. Daily standup

A daily stand-up is a brief, time-boxed meeting where each team member provides a concise update on their progress, plans for the day, and any obstacles they may be facing. The purpose is to maintain transparency, alignment, and accountability while identifying potential roadblocks early on.

Meeting time: Preferably less than 15 minutes. A daily standup should be as short as possible, ideally less than 15 minutes! Daily standups are usually conducted in the morning.

You can navigate this short meeting using these three questions:

1. What did you do yesterday?
2. What will you do today?
3. Anything blocking your progress?

Suggestion: Create a topic on Rock for daily standups and have team members communicate what they will be working on by @mentioning the respective tasks. It makes it easier to follow up and provide more context.

8. Retrospective meeting

A retrospective meeting is a structured review session held after the completion of a project, sprint, or specific milestone.  Team members reflect on the process, identify successes and areas for improvement, and discuss actionable steps to enhance future performance.

Meeting time: 20-30 minutes. These open conversations last about 20 minutes or half an hour. Retrospectives usually come at the end of a sprint or at the end of a project to talk about what went well and what can be improved. They promote knowledge and value sharing while working together.

Remember that during retrospectives employees should be able to express concerns freely through a sense of trust and open communication.

Suggestion: Follow our guide on how to run a retrospective successfully. You can start by setting a clear agenda with discussion points. You should try to have only relevant people involved.

9. Coffee chats

A coffee chat is an informal, casual conversation between two or more individuals. The purpose is to build rapport, share ideas, network, or discuss work-related topics in a more laid-back environment.

Meeting time: Between 15 and 30 minutes. Meeting duration is important here: don’t make a coffee chat too long! Think about how long you realistically spend drinking a coffee: most probably, not much more than 30 minutes.

A coffee chat is a great idea for networking and interacting with people across your organization in a less formal way. Don’t be shy to make small talk, but stay away from sensitive topics.

Suggestion: these meetings are great for culture building. You can use these informal meetings to get to know new colleagues within the company.

Virtual meetings best practices

Now that you have a clear idea know of how long a meeting should be, let’s have a look into virtual meetings best practices:

• 30 minute meeting rule: As we explained before, some theories state that if meetings are around 30 minutes maximum, people are quicker in making decisions.

• Set up a meeting agenda well in advance: Allow people to read through documents, add items and complete what is going to be discussed so you get the most out of your time. Use these meeting agenda examples.
• Don’t overdo meetings: Be mindful of when you schedule meetings. If something can be done asynchronously (by using tasks, messages, comments or notes) then don’t schedule a meeting.
• Learn to say no to meetings: If you have no input on a meeting or there is no value added to your presence in a meeting, say no.
• Async by default, synchronous when really needed: Move to asynchronous work by default. Prioritize things that are actually important, and leave meeting time for activities that truly bring value.

How to cancel a meeting: free template and step-by-step process

Time is your most precious resource. It's always in short supply, and you can't create more of it.

Wasting time, whether it's yours or someone else's, should be avoided. Ideally, every meeting on your work calendar should be efficient and contribute value. Unfortunately, this isn't always the reality.

As a result, learning how to cancel a meeting is an essential skill in today's professional landscape. It's particularly important if you want to reclaim productivity without damaging relationships.

Our "How to Cancel a Meeting" guide covers:

• Legitimate reasons for issuing a meeting cancellation notice
• Methods to cancel meetings: when to use each one & examples
• The fundamentals of canceling a meeting
• Strategies to prevent cancellations altogether

Additionally, you can access all this information in a dedicated project template! Edit and customize details, collaborate with others, and access meeting cancellation resources and tailored workflows.

Are you ready to become a proficient expert in canceling meetings? Dive in or begin with the FREE dedicated template!

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No fluff, no sales pitch – just the facts. In this article we share a complete summary of the benefits Agile can bring to your business operations.

New to Agile? Here’s a quick definition: Agile is an iterative, flexible approach that prioritizes collaboration, customer feedback, and adaptive planning to deliver high-quality products or services efficiently and effectively.

Now that we covered definitions, let’s discuss 16 agile project management benefits that supercharge success among teams.

1. Faster time to market

Agile accelerates the launch of products or deliverables. Key aspects of Agile that contribute to this accelerated pace include:

• Iterative development: Agile divides projects into short, manageable sprints, usually lasting 1-4 weeks. Each sprint results in a potentially shippable product increment, allowing for rapid and consistent delivery.
• Feature prioritization: Agile teams prioritize features based on customer value and importance. By focusing on high-value output, the most critical aspects of the deliverable are shipped early on.
• Minimum Viable Product (MVP): Agile implementation processes emphasizes developing an MVP: a simplified product version with enough features to satisfy early users and gather feedback. This approach enables quicker releases and iterative improvements based on feedback.

The combination of these elements allows the Agile methodology to significantly reduce the time to market.

2. Improved customer satisfaction

When thinking of benefits Agile offers customer satisfaction often comes on top.

Customers are put front and center when teams are operating in an Agile way. Operations, planning and workflows all strongly emphasize on delivering value to customers and incorporating feedback.

Teams ship early and frequently deliver highly requested features and changes. This assures that the product is aligned with customer needs and expectations.

All throughout this leads to happier and more loyal customers. It’s not surprising that in term customer satisfaction is often high when teams adopt Agile.

3. Enhanced flexibility

Agile is built on the principle of embracing change and deploying iterative improvements. Through this mindset, teams can adapt to changing requirements and incorporate customer feedback quickly and efficiently.

Frequent sprints make it easy for teams to stay flexible. Adjustments and new information can be incorporated when teams reassess priorities at the retrospective of each sprint.

Additionally, another benefit Agile environments brings to flexibility is emphasis on collaboration and open communication. Cross-functional teams work closely together allowing different skill sets to chime in when needed.

4. Higher product quality

Implementing Agile often leads to a higher quality product because of continuous testing and feedback loops. These fundamental processes play a crucial role in identifying and resolving issues through the development process.

• Continuous testing is the practice of conducting tests throughout the development cycle rather than waiting until the end. With this, teams can identify and address defects as soon as they arise.
• Feedback loops in an Agile operation encompass regular reviews, retrospectives, and customer input. All stakeholders, including developers, testers, product owners, and customers, should have an opportunity to provide input.

The combination of the two processes minimizes the risk of releasing a flawed product and reduces the cost of fixing defects. As a result, the product will have higher product quality and stronger market performance.

5. Higher team morale

Higher team more is one of the benefits of agile methodology that impact your whole organizational culture.

Teams strengthen their bonds through meaningful relationships, mutual support, and a shared sense of purpose. Agile reinforces these principles by operating with cross-functional teams.

Additionally, team members are given the autonomy to manage their tasks which fosters creativity and innovation. Task management enables teams to track and showcase progress. This gives team members ownership while also boosting morale by demonstrating the value of completed work.

6. Reduced risk

Among benefits agile offers, reduced risk is important to consider.

Products and services are built and improved with customer needs in mind, reducing the risk of misalignment. Additionally, continuous testing throughout the development cycle ensures product stability and reliability.

Risk is also reduced through team dynamics that foster collaboration and collective problem-solving. Cross-functional work avoids siloes by combining different perspectives and areas of expertise on a task.

7. Increased efficiency

Working in Agile streamlines projects by eliminating bottlenecks, reducing waste, and promoting effective resource utilization. With a defined set of tasks in each cycle, team members can focus on what is urgent and avoid dragging work out.

Additionally, teams can identify and address inefficiencies through regular reviews. At the end of every sprint or cycle, teams come together in retrospective meetings. These dedicated meetings can be used to pinpoint inefficiencies, discuss their origin and brainstorm how to avoid them moving forward.

When looking at the bigger picture, unnecessary work is also eliminated when prioritizing high-value features and focusing on delivering an MVP.

8. Better resource allocation

An agile way of working ensures that team members' skills and expertise are used in the most effective way possible. By prioritizing tasks, team members can work on the features with the greatest impact on business outcomes.

Prioritization techniques (such as the Eisenhower Matrix) help teams identify and focus on high-value features first. Overall, this reduces the risk of wasted effort on low-priority or unnecessary features.

9. Scalability

The modular nature of this methodology enables teams to tackle tasks incrementally. Agile can be tailored to suit different team sizes, project scopes, and organizational strategies.

Teams can maintain control and adaptability as projects grow or evolve. Frameworks like Scrum and SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) provide additional guidance for scaling operations across multiple teams, departments, or even entire organizations.

10. Cost control

Organizations can achieve better cost control, optimize resource utilization, and minimize waste through agile. This all leads to more cost-effective business operations.

Agile enables early identification and resolution of issues through it’s iterative development approach. Prioritization of high-value tasks, adaptive planning, and customer collaboration all minimize spending on unnecessary features.

The continuous improvement mindset and emphasis on quality further contribute to cost control. Teams mitigate costs associated with project delays, scope creep, or misaligned requirements by operating in a lean way.

11. Faster feedback

Agile's approach to feedback cycles is more frequent, collaborative, and adaptive compared to Waterfall. Teams foster a continuous improvement mindset and better alignment with customer needs.

Customer feedback is gathered early and often, leading to more informed decision-making and better product outcomes.

12. Less bureaucracy

Self-organizing, cross-functional teams take ownership of their work and make decisions autonomously. This decentralization of decision-making reduces the need for hierarchical management structures and bureaucratic layers.

Additionally, the iterative approach allows for incremental progress and frequent course corrections. As a result, teams don’t need rigid, long-term planning and extensive upfront documentation.

13. Better stakeholder engagement

Agile encourages active participation of stakeholders, including customers. Input from all relevant stakeholders is sought in defining requirements, prioritizing features, and providing ongoing feedback.

Shorter sprints and incremental releases enable stakeholders to provide feedback early and often. Within every sprint, the team attempts tackle new feedback points, some as new as tasks released in the previous working cycle.

Product backlogs and prioritization methods also help teams focus on features that are most valuable. This ensures that resources are directed towards tasks that meet stakeholder expectations.

14. Easier progress tracking

Agile teams can monitor their work, identify potential issues, and adjust plans through dedicated processes. Here are some techniques and practices that facilitate progress tracking:

• Short iterations (sprints): Agile divides projects into small, manageable iterations, usually lasting 1-4 weeks. By breaking work into smaller units, teams can assess their progress more easily and make adjustments as needed.
• Daily stand-ups: Daily stand-up meetings are a core Agile practice. Team members briefly discuss their progress, obstacles, and plans for the day in a short meeting. Stand-ups provide a regular opportunity to monitor progress, address issues, and promote accountability.
• Task boards: Agile teams often use visual tools like task boards (e.g., Kanban boards) to track the progress of work items. These tools provide a clear, at-a-glance view of the team's progress and identify bottlenecks.
• Retrospectives: Sprint retrospectives are held after each sprint to reflect on the team's performance and identify areas for improvement. These sessions help teams assess progress, learn from their experiences, and discuss improvements.

By employing these Agile practices, teams can easily track their progress, identify and address potential issues. This transparency and adaptability contribute to the overall success and efficiency of Agile projects.

15. Optimized team size

Optimized team size is one of the key benefits Agile methodologies promote. The number of people you work with significantly impacts the effectiveness, communication, and overall performance of a team. Agile recommends keeping team sizes small and manageable, usually between 5 to 9 members.

Smaller teams often develop a stronger sense of camaraderie and shared purpose. This can improve morale, teamwork, and overall productivity.

Optimized team sizes also encourage the formation of cross-functional teams, where each member brings a specific skill set to the table. As a result, you can tackle a wide range of tasks.

16. Data-driven decision-making

The last benefit of agile project management discussed in this article is data-driven decision-making.This plays a crucial role in ensuring that teams can continually adapt and optimize their processes. Agile teams rely on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure progress and performance.

Teams consider these metrics when planning and prioritization, rather than relying solely on intuition or gut feelings. This approach helps ensure that the team's efforts are focused on the most impactful tasks.

Data-driven decision-making also plays a crucial role in risk management. By closely monitoring metrics and trends, teams can identify issues early and make informed decisions to mitigate risks.

How long is a sprint? Generally speaking, sprints should last anywhere from 1 to 4 weeks. The length of a sprint should be determined based on your project and the capacity of your team.

Whether you want the length of a sprint to be weekly, bi-weekly, or once a month depends on the scope and nature of the project.

Determine how much work can realistically be completed before deciding on the duration of your sprints. If short sprints cannot be completed properly, then pushing for weekly sprints will only burn your team out and create a toxic work culture.

Looking to learn more about sprints? This article walks you through the following:

• Sprints in Scrum recap: The basics and important definitions
• How to create a sprint in practice: Step-by-step workflow + free template
• Short sprints: indicators and solutions for sprints that fall short on time
• Long sprints: indicators and solutions for sprints that are too lengthy

You can also get directly started with the  🎁 FREE sprint planning template. Invite others and manage sprints from a single project management space with tasks, notes, chat and more.

Sprints length in Scrum recap: everything you should know

Scrum is an agile project management framework that helps teams reach their goals by providing structure and guidance. The sprint length in scrum is 1 to 4 weeks because it allows teams to quickly iterate on work and deliver output in short collaboration cycles.

With sprints, teams can stay agile in fast-paced environments that deal with a lot of uncertainty. Here are a few terms you might have come across, or which are relevant to know when discussing sprint duration:

• Scrum master: The scrum master is the team member responsible for implementing the scrum framework. They act as a coach and facilitator, and work to remove any roadblocks that may prevent the team from achieving their goals.
• Scrum ceremonies: Sprint planning, daily scrums, sprint reviews, and retrospective meetings are all considered scrum ceremonies. They are essential to the implementation of scrum and help keep teams on track while maximizing productivity.
• Backlog: the backlog is a list of tasks that need to be completed during a sprint. The backlog contains goals and technical tasks that are broken down into smaller packages to help teams focus on what needs to be done.

Next up, let's dive into the actual planning and definition of a sprint. We have defined the process to support teams in different business functions. Think managing a sprint in engineering, marketing, customer success or even sales.

How to manage a scrum sprint: step-by-step

There are multiple stages to a sprint in Scrum. Each stage has different activities that help the team to stay organized at work and complete tasks.

Common stages in sprints are: pre-planning, Working Breakdown Structure (WBS), task completion, testing and review, and retrospective.

Pre-Planning: the cornerstone of any good sprint

Pre-planning entails establishing goals, timelines, resources, and budgets before starting any work. This stage also includes stakeholder meetings to align expectations. Gather everyone to discuss the sprint's parameters.

Remember, thorough pre-planning reduces surprises. It helps avoid mid-sprint confusion and setbacks. Invest time in this phase for a successful, productive sprint.

The sprint planning template includes a step-by-step process to complete the pre-planning of your next sprint. Define goals, set the duration of your sprint, allocate resources and set your budget.

Agile working breakdown structure: A sprint essential

Next up: the Working Breakdown Structure (WBS). The WBS helps teams break down goals defined in the pe-planning stage into smaller, more manageable tasks that are positioned in the backlog for the upcoming sprint.

This allows the scrum master to track progress through task management and keep an eye on progress, blockers and resource usage throughout the sprint.

When creating a WBS, it's important to keep the following in mind:

• Tasks should be SMART: Specific and Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
• Individual tasks should be time-based, with a start and finish date assigned.
• Priorities should be set based on importance and urgency.
• Every individual action item should be related to the overall goal of the sprint.
• Keep the difference between project vs task in mind so tasks don’t become overwhelming.

The ultimate output of WBS is a set of SMART tasks that should be completed throughout the duration of your sprint. Teams can decide who will be working on what and when each individual task must be completed.

Looking for a deep dive into the WBS? The sprint planning template includes a detailed step-by-step process to define the backlog of your next sprint. Get started now!

Task completion/sprint work

During the sprint, it's important to track progress and make sure that tasks are being completed on time. Weekly to-do lists, scrum ceremonies and active task tracking all are activities that can help with this.

The scrum master should monitor progress and ensure obstacles are addressed swiftly. Follow these best practices to help your team with task completion:

1. Prioritize tasks: Rank tasks based on importance, dependencies, and impact on the project. Tackle high-priority tasks first.
2. Set realistic goals: Ensure sprint goals are achievable within the sprint duration. Don't overcommit or underestimate effort.
3. Communicate: Foster open communication within the team. Address roadblocks, share progress, and offer support.
4. Use time-boxing: Allocate fixed time slots for tasks. This promotes focus and discourages procrastination.
5. Limit work-in-progress: Encourage team members to complete one task before starting another. This reduces context-switching.

You can seamlessly incorporate these best practices with our dedicated sprint planning template. Click here to get started for free!

Review & testing

At the end of each sprint, teams should review their progress and conduct any necessary testing to ensure that tasks are completed correctly.

Sprints in scrum are all about learning and iterating. Frequent feedback plays a pivotal role in ensuring your output hits the mark. Engage with stakeholders and your target audience, soaking up their insights to refine your priorities.

Keep a close eye on the numbers, too. Key performance indicators (KPIs) help you understand the value of the work completed.

For instance, marketing teams can monitor metrics like conversion rates, click-through rates, and engagement levels. This way they can make data-driven decisions to fine-tune strategies and allocate resources effectively.

We share more examples and a step-by-step process for defining your very own KPI’s in the sprint planning template. Bring your project management to the next level and get started today for free!

Team retrospective: Reflect, learn and adapt

After the sprint is over, teams should get together to discuss the output. Team retrospectives help assess workload, KPI completion, collaboration and more. These experiences can help you improve the pre-planning, WBS configuration and KPI’s for your next sprint.

New to retrospectives? Here are some best practices to follow:

• Foster psychological safety: Encourage open and honest communication. Create an environment where team members can share their thoughts without fear of judgment.
• Stay focused on the process: Keep discussions centered on the process, not individuals. Avoid blame and focus on how to improve as a team.
• Encourage participation: Ensure all team members have an opportunity to speak. Use techniques like round-robin or silent brainstorming to give everyone a voice.
• Keep it positive: Balance discussions of challenges with recognition of successes. Celebrate accomplishments and learn from both positive and negative experiences.
• Be action-oriented: Focus on identifying actionable steps for improvement. Prioritize and assign responsibility for implementing these changes in the next sprint.
• Set a time limit: Keep retrospectives focused and time-boxed to maintain momentum and avoid lengthy, unfocused discussions.
• Document outcomes: Capture key takeaways, action items, and assigned responsibilities. Share this information with the team and refer back to it in future retrospectives.

💡 Tip: Make sure share your meeting agenda at least 48 hours in advance so everyone can write down discussion items, share documents and prepare accordingly.

The sprint planning project management template includes a step-by-step process on retrospectives. Access the project space for free and plan your next retrospective today!

Are your sprints too short? Here are 3 signs to keep an eye out for

If your sprint duration is too short, then it's likely that most tasks are not completed in time or to an acceptable standard. Here are a few ways you can spot your sprint being too short:

1. You are spending too much time in retros & planning: Retros and planning lose value if they take up too much of the overall sprint cycle.  If you find that these activities are taking up too much valuable time, then your sprints might be too short.
2. Output is too small: Your sprint time might be too short if the output from your sprints is not considered a completed phase or enough output. This could hint that you are not providing enough time for the team to complete their tasks.
3. Overloaded teams: There will not be enough time for people to take breaks if the sprints are too short. Remember that the scrum process should help foster collaboration and align with your communication strategies.

Do you think your team might be facing one of the previously mentioned issues? Then read on for potential solutions.

What to do if your sprint duration is too short

Do you think that your sprint duration is too short? Consider the following strategies to course-correct and optimize the sprint planning process:

1. Reassess goals and tasks: Review the goals and determine if they need to be broken down into smaller, more achievable tasks within the sprint. Additionally, try revisiting the backlog to re-prioritize tasks based on importance and dependencies.
2. Extend the sprint duration: If feasible, increase the sprint length to accommodate the workload. Be cautious though, longer sprints can reduce focus and agility. Aim for a balance between time and momentum.
3. Improve task estimation: Analyze the accuracy of your task estimations and refine your estimation techniques. This helps in setting realistic timelines and reducing the risk of falling short in future sprints.
4. Streamline communication: Encourage transparent and effective communication within the team. This way you can identify and address obstacles early, reducing delays and keeping the sprint on track.
5. Implement a sprint buffer: Allocate a small percentage of the sprint's capacity as a buffer for unexpected work, emergencies, or delays. This absorbs unforeseen changes without impacting the overall sprint timeline.

Don't be afraid to reassess and adjust your sprint durations. With careful planning, teams can achieve company goals and objectives while enjoying a healthy working environment.

4 signs that might indicate your sprints are too long

On the other hand, your sprint duration can also be too long. Here are a few signs that might indicate you need to reduce the sprint length:

1. Teams accelerate as sprints near their end: Teams increase their productivity as they near the end of a sprint. The lack of pressure to finalize work allows teams to procrastinate and leave activities for the end.
2. Teams lose perspective on work: There is less understanding of what user story or overall goal a sprint is actually covering. When there are too many tasks in a sprint and work just piles up, it becomes a challenge to understand what everyone is working towards.
3. Teams become disengaged: If a project drags on, then the team might start to lose enthusiasm toward it. This can lead to procrastination and a lack of commitment.
4. Mini waterfalls emerge: A mini waterfall is a phenomenon that occurs when different sets of tasks are blocking each other within the same sprint in order to complete a user story.

Up next, we discuss some strategies you can implement if you think your sprints are too long.

What to do if your sprints are too long

Consider implementing one or more of the following strategies if you feel your sprints are too long.

1. Introduce mid-sprint check-ins: Establish checkpoints within the sprint to assess progress, reevaluate priorities, and make adjustments. This can help maintain focus and momentum throughout the sprint.
2. Leverage timeboxing techniques: Timebox specific tasks or activities within the sprint to encourage focused work and prevent tasks from dragging on.
3. Encourage cross-collaboration: Encourage team members to work together on tasks to promote knowledge sharing, faster problem-solving, and efficient task completion.
4. Establish a Definition of Ready (DoR): Develop a clear set of criteria that tasks must meet before being included in a sprint. This helps ensure tasks are well-defined and minimizes the risk of unexpected delays.
5. Implement stretch objectives: Set primary goals and include stretch objectives to tackle if the team completes the main goals ahead of schedule.

In conclusion, if your sprints are too long, it's essential to identify the underlying causes and take appropriate action. By thoughtfully adjusting your sprint length, you can optimize your Agile process and empower your team to deliver consistent, high-quality results.

Manage your sprints in one place with Rock

Recap: How long is a sprint in agile? Scrum or agile sprint length should be anywhere from 1 to 4 weeks.

Implementing sprints can help improve productivity in your organization. Rock natively combines task management with chat so you can merge project management and team communications in one place.

Collaborate with your team no matter where you are in the project by utilizing the Chat and Topics mini-apps. Link to any task, note, person, or file by simply mentioning @ ____ in the chat.

Rock also provides an in-depth approach to task management with list, board, and calendar views. Task cards are full of features such as a dedicated sprint feature, assignees, labels, cloud file attachments, followers, comment sections and so much more!

🎁 Bonus! the Notes mini-app allows you to add meeting agendas before your next retrospective meeting. Add cloud files, leave comments and edit the notes before, during, and after your meeting.

Ready to get started? Sign up today to create tasks, invite team members and manage full projects. Need some extra help? Access our sprint planning template with examples, workflow and definitions, all for free.

Building strong networks and relationships with stakeholders is key. With this in mind, mastering effective communication can be the difference between success and failure.

Communication is the foundation for all work relationships. This holds true for anything from running a business to managing a team and interacting with clients, investors or corporate partners.

In this Communication Strategies Handbook, we'll share examples, hacks, workflows, and templates to help you improve your day-to-day communication with anyone. This article covers:

• Individual communication: Your individual communication style: become an assertive communicator.
• Organizational communication: Clearly communicate goals and objectives through your organizational strategy.
• Stakeholder communication: Effectively communicate with external stakeholders: leads, clients, partners.

Let's dive in and learn how to implement effective communication strategies examples across all areas of your work.

Your individual communication style: become an assertive communicator

Mastering individual communication requires skill, as some types of communication styles can spark conflict. Before diving deeper into the topic, let’s jump into the definition first:

Individual communication strategies: A communication strategy in this context refers to a personal plan or approach developed to effectively convey thoughts, ideas, and messages. These strategies aim to improve interpersonal relationships, and foster better collaboration.

A well-crafted approach to individual communication empowers you to navigate conversations with ease. Next up we cover how and why you should prioritize assertiveness for your strategy.

Prioritizing assertiveness in your individual communication strategy

The most common communication styles are assertive, passive, aggressive, and passive-aggressive. From the different styles, assertiveness is the only one that creates clear, direct and respectful interactions on a daily basis.

Assertive communicators express their ideas clearly and confidently while also respecting the opinions and ideas of others. This can help create a more effective and efficient environment for collaboration.

Note that incorporating assertiveness in your individual communication strategy can be challenging. You have to navigate personalities, dynamic social environments, and your own ever-changing moods.

If you want to become more assertive, we discuss how to do so in this dedicated article. Bonus, we also share a free step-by-step template on how to become more assertive.

Keep goals and objectives in check with an organizational strategy

Efficient organizational strategies steer decision-making, prioritize work, and synchronize team communication strategies throughout the company. When properly implemented, internal communication strategies pave the way for success.

To start, let’s define business communication strategies in the context of an organization:

Communication strategies in business: The systematic planning and execution of methods that ensure clear, consistent, and purposeful information exchange. These strategies facilitate collaboration and improve decision-making towards achieving the organization's goals and objectives.

Components of communication in an organizational strategy include:

1. Internal communication channels: Establish appropriate channels for information flow, such as emails, meetings, and messaging platforms.

2. Clear messaging and guidelines: Develop messages that are concise, coherent, and easily understood. This way you can provide employees with the necessary information to perform their tasks.

3. Open feedback culture: Encourage a transparent environment where employees can share their thoughts, suggestions, and concerns. This fosters continuous improvement and innovation.

4. Goal alignment: Communicate organizational goals and objectives to ensure employees understand their role in the organization. This promotes a sense of unity and shared purpose.

5. Consistent updates and progress reports: Regularly share key updates, successes, and challenges with employees. This keeps everyone informed and engagedon the latest updates.

6. Training and support: Provide employees with the necessary tools, resources, and training. This enables them to improve their communication skills and adapt to new technologies.

By integrating effective communication strategies in the workplace, you can create a cohesive, well-informed team. This way everyone works collaboratively towards achieving the company's goals and objectives.

How to define your complete organizational strategy

To create a complete strategy for your organization, it's essential to comprehend the internal and external factors affecting your business. This typically includes establishing a vision, performing market and internal assessments, and outlining an implementation plan.

Start developing your very own organizational strategy with our free, step-by-step template. Ensure you follow the steps sequentially, as they are designed to build upon one another.

Effectively communicate with external stakeholders: leads, clients, partners

External stakeholders require many communication touch points. After defining your personal communication style and organizational strategy, it’s time to focus on external stakeholders.

First things first, let’s dive into the definition of strategy under this context:

Stakeholder communication strategies – These strategies aim to build trust, foster collaboration, and achieve mutually beneficial outcomes with external parties. This involves designing and implementing methods that facilitate clear, concise, and impactful exchanges.

Effectively communicating with external stakeholders—leads, clients, and partners—is crucial for building strong business relationships. Key components include:

1. Understand their needs: Listen carefully and empathize with stakeholders' concerns and expectations. This creates trust and a solid foundation for collaboration.
2. Tailor your message: Customize your communication style to match the preferences of each stakeholder. Adapt your tone, language, and approach to resonate with them.
3. Be transparent and honest: Share relevant information and maintain open lines of communication. Honesty promotes trust, credibility, and long-lasting partnerships.
4. Set clear expectations: Define roles, responsibilities, and objectives for all parties. This minimizes confusion and ensures everyone is on the same page.
5. Provide timely feedback: Share updates and progress reports regularly. Prompt feedback keeps stakeholders engaged and informed.
6. Be open to feedback: Encourage stakeholders to voice their opinions and concerns. Their input can bring valuable insights and improvements to the table.

Mastering these skills helps you forge lasting connections with external stakeholders, contributing to the growth and success of your business. Read on to learn how to implement this as a workflow on the daily.

Effectively manage all your channels with external stakeholders

Managing stakeholder communication channels requires dedicated workflows.

Here is a step-by-step process to incorporate external stakeholders in your communication strategies:

1. Identify appropriate channels: Determine which communication channels best suit the needs and preferences of each stakeholder. Options may include personalized email, newsletter, phone calls, webinars, face-to-face meetings and social media platforms.
2. Set channel-specific guidelines: Establish guidelines for each communication channel, addressing aspects such as tone, response time, and content. Consistency in your approach helps maintain professionalism and clarity.
3. Centralize information: Store and organize stakeholder contact information, communication history, and preferences. This ensures everyone on your team has access to up-to-date information.
4. Assign responsibilities: Clearly designate team members responsible for managing specific channels and stakeholder relationships. This ensures accountability and prevents communication gaps.
5. Adapt to stakeholder preferences: Stay flexible and adjust your communication channels based on stakeholder feedback and changing preferences. Demonstrating adaptability can strengthen relationships and improve collaboration.

By effectively managing your communication channels with external stakeholders, you can enhance relationships, drive collaboration, and contribute to the overall success of your business.

Get started with the stakeholder management template for free! Create task cards, invite team members and keep communications on track within a single project space.

Communication strategies handbook, get started with free and easy to access resources and templates

It's crucial to emphasize the importance of building robust networks and relationships with stakeholders. In this article we cover communication strategies to improve conversations, align the team and interact with stakeholders.

Now that you've gained valuable insights into implementing strategies for effective communication, you're ready to apply these skills across all aspects of your professional life.

• Individual communication: Refining your personal communication style through the art of assertive communication template.
• Organizational communication: Effectively conveying goas and objectives through the organizational strategy template.
• Stakeholder communication: Successfully engaging with external stakeholders, including leads, clients, and partners through the stakeholder management template.

I wanted to share some important changes we are making to Rock.

Two years ago, we opened Rock to the public and thousands of people now use Rock to get work done with their team, clients, and customers. We know a lot of you love the product we’ve built and we are truly thankful for that.

With Rock we set out to build a productivity tool that would simplify how teams get work done. We also wanted to make this tool as accessible as possible by providing a lot of functionality for free or at a substantially lower price than alternative solutions. 

Building a product like Rock is hard and requires a lot of skill, resources, and commitment from our team and the reality is that all of this is not sustainable with the pricing we had in place. We have also heard from users that our existing paid plans are too complicated and that they felt too much nickeled-and-dimed for additional functionality beyond the free plan. 

Today, we’re making a change to our free and paid plans to allow us to keep building a great product while still keeping Rock simple to use and as accessible as possible.

Changes

• The Unlimited Plan - We are introducing a new paid plan called Unlimited which will replace the current PRO and TEAMS plans. This plan takes all the premium features in Rock and combines them into one easy to use, unlimited plan. We’re not doing per user pricing for this plan so you don’t have to worry about costs spiraling out of control while your business scales. This plan starts at $49 per month with discounts for existing customers, NGOs, and educational institutions. Read more
  
• Changes to the Free plan - The Free plan will continue to have unlimited 1:1 spaces and messages, but will now have limits on group spaces, tasks, notes, and other features. In most cases, this will allow anyone to use Rock for small to mid sized projects for free. Read more

Even with these changes, Rock costs considerably less compared to for instance a combination of Slack and Trello as these charge per user, don’t easily allow you to add guest users for free, and or put other limitations on their products. With the new, simple-to-use Unlimited plan – we hope more people will now be able to benefit from all the new features we’ve built in the last couple of months.

So what’s next?

We know that this might change how you currently use Rock so we want to make this transition as seamless as possible and provide different options to help you decide what to do next:

1. The changes to the Free plan will take effect in 14 days. None of your conversations, tasks, notes, or files will be lost if you’re over the new limits on the free plan. In most cases, you will still be able to read everything, but you might not be able to edit/make any changes unless you upgrade or decrease your Rock usage. 
2. As before you can always export all your account data and tasks for each space without limitations.
3. If you’re on a PRO plan, your subscription will expire at the end of your payment period. This could be within a month or within a year, and you can upgrade to Unlimited at any time. As an existing customer you will get an automatic 30% discount off the monthly or annual plan if you do decide to upgrade.
4. If you’re on the TEAMS plan, you will be switched to the Unlimited plan at no additional cost to you. 

Your support

As a current Rock user, you will receive a message in the Rock Support and Updates space with further information about upcoming pricing changes. If you have any questions or need additional information, please visit our Pricing page, check the Unlimited Plan page, email us at support@rock.so or connect with us at https://space.new/support.

Making this change today will allow us to simplify how people access all of our premium features while also allowing us to keep building a product that is loved by thousands of people. We hope we can count on your continued support. Thank you! 🙏

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Your most valuable asset is time. You can never have enough of it, and you can’t make more of it.

Time shouldn’t be wasted – be it yours or anyone else’s. In an ideal world, every meeting in your working schedule is effective and value-adding. However, that’s often just not the case.

Thus, knowing how to cancel a meeting becomes a valuable skill to possess in today’s work culture. This is especially true if you don’t want to burn bridges while gaining back productive time.

Our “How to cancel a meeting” roadmap walks you through:

• Valid reasons for sending a meeting cancellation notice
• Channels to cancel meetings: when to use each one & examples
• The basics of canceling a meeting
• How to avoid cancellations altogether

You can also access all information from this roadmap in a dedicated project template! Edit and personalize information, engage with others and access meeting cancellation resources and custom workflows.

Ready to become a well-rounded expert on canceling meetings? Read along or get started with the dedicated FREE template!

Valid reasons for sending a meeting cancellation notice

Cancelling a meeting can be a tricky situation, but sometimes it's necessary. When it comes to deciding whether or not to cancel a meeting, consider the reasoning.

Next up we explore some scenarios that are often perceived as justified reasons for cancelling a meeting:

• Lack of Preparation or key information: If crucial information or resources are not available, it might be wiser to postpone the meeting to ensure a more productive discussion.
• Unavailability of key participants: In some cases, a meeting loses its purpose if certain attendees are unable to participate. If the absence of one or more key participants would render the meeting unproductive, reschedule.
• Double-Booking: Mistakes happen, and sometimes meetings get double-booked or overlap with other important events. In these situations, it's important to evaluate the priority of each meeting and cancel or reschedule the one with lower urgency.
• You have no input: There are some meetings where you may not add a lot of value or input to the conversation. This is especially true if the topic at hand doesn’t involve your department, or doesn’t require your expertise.
• Insufficient Agenda or Objectives: If the purpose or meeting agenda is unclear or lacks specific goals, it might be best to cancel. Maybe try reorganizing the meeting with a more focused objective.

Remember, before thinking about how to cancel a meeting, what are valid reasons within the organizational culture of your team?

Critically assess whether the meeting should be held and what the value of your presence is. Whether the meeting should be canceled, rescheduled or move on without you, it’s important to take action.

The meeting cancellation template highlights these reasons and more! Work together and adapt the template to reflect when meetings should be canceled within your organization.

6 Channels to cancel meetings: when to use each one & examples

When canceling a meeting, it's important to choose the appropriate channel of communication to ensure that all participants are informed in a timely and professional manner. Here are some of the most relevant channels to consider when canceling a meeting:

• Email
• Phone call
• Chat message
• Calendar cancellation
• In-person
• Asynchronous video

1. How to cancel a meeting with a cancellation email

A cancel meeting email is a widely used and efficient method. It's suitable for most situations, particularly when you need to inform a large group of people or provide detailed information about the cancellation.

• When to use: Use email for most cancellations, including scheduling conflicts, lack of preparation, insufficient agenda, or low attendance.
• How to politely cancel a meeting example: "Dear team, Due to unforeseen scheduling conflicts, we need to cancel tomorrow's project update meeting. We'll reschedule for a later date and update the calendar invite. Apologies for any inconvenience.”

Learn more about using email when thinking about how to cancel a meeting through the dedicated template!

"Meetings should be like salt - a spice sprinkled carefully to enhance a dish, not poured recklessly over every forkful. Too much salt destroys a dish. Too many meetings destroy morale and motivation.” - Jason Fried co-author of "Rework"

Wondering how to write a cancellation email? We have added a few examples in the template! Think of:

• One-on-one meeting cancellation email sample
• Department meeting cancellation email sample
• Client meeting cancellation email sample
• All-hands meeting cancellation email sample

2. Phone call for urgent meeting cancellation notices

A phone call is a more personal method of communication and can be used when the situation requires a more immediate response or when dealing with sensitive matters.

• When to use: Use phone calls for emergencies, last-minute cancellations, or when you need to convey empathy or urgency.
• How to politely cancel a meeting example: "Hi John, I'm sorry to inform you that I have to cancel our meeting today due to a family emergency. I understand this is short notice, but I hope we can reschedule for next week.”

Learn more about using phone calls when thinking about how to cancel a meeting through the dedicated template!

3. Text message or messaging apps as a tool to cancel meetings

Text messages or messaging apps (e.g., Rock, WhatsApp) are suitable for quick and informal communication, especially when the meeting participants are already using these channels for team communication.

• When to use: Use text messages or messaging apps for small, informal meetings, or when you need to quickly notify participants of a cancellation.
• How to politely cancel a meeting example: "Hey all, we need to cancel today's brainstorming session as our meeting room is unavailable. Let's reschedule for next week."

Learn more about using text message when thinking about how to cancel a meeting through the dedicated template!

4. Calendar cancellation: quick but impersonal way to cancel a meeting

If you've organized the meeting using a calendar app (e.g., Google Calendar, Outlook), you can cancel the event directly in the calendar. This will automatically notify all participants about the cancellation.

• When to use: Use calendar cancellations for meetings that are not very important or don’t require attendance as it is a rather impersonal channel.
• How to politely cancel a meeting example: Cancel the event in the calendar app and include a brief explanation for the cancellation in the "message to attendees" section.

Learn more about using calendar cancellation when thinking about how to cancel a meeting through the dedicated template!

5. Working in the office? Here’s how to cancel that meeting In-person

If you're in close proximity to the meeting participants, or if the situation calls for a more personal touch, you can inform them of the cancellation face-to-face.

• When to use: Use in-person communication for small, in-house meetings, or when you want to discuss the reasons for the cancellation more thoroughly.
• How to politely cancel a meeting example: "Hi Sarah, I wanted to let you know that our meeting this afternoon has been canceled. The client had an emergency and needs to reschedule. Let's touch base later to discuss the next steps."

Learn more about how to cancel a meeting in person through the dedicated template!

6. Asynchronous video: transform information-sharing meetings into time-saving opportunities

In today's fast-paced work environment, meetings are often seen as time-consuming and sometimes even counterproductive. This is particularly true for meetings where the primary purpose is to share information, rather than foster discussion and collaboration.

By replacing these meetings with asynchronous video presentations, we can create a more efficient and informative experience for all participants.

• When to use: project updates, training sessions, or company announcements.

Learn more about each channel and add your very own for free by getting started with our how to cancel a meeting template!

How to cancel a meeting - the basics

Canceling a meeting should be done in a professional and respectful manner. Here are the steps to follow when canceling a meeting:

1. Decide on the cancellation: Assess the situation and determine if canceling the meeting is the best course of action. Weigh the importance of the meeting against the reasons for canceling it.
2. Choose a method of communication: Based on the context and your relationship with the participants, decide whether to use email, phone calls, text messages...
3. Provide a clear reason: Explain the reason for the cancellation in a concise and honest manner. This helps maintain transparency and ensures that participants understand the circumstances behind the decision.
4. Propose rescheduling or alternatives: If appropriate, offer a new date and time for the meeting or suggest alternative ways to address the meeting's objectives (e.g., via task management, smaller group discussions or maybe even a video).
5. Update the event in the calendar: Modify the original calendar event to reflect the cancellation or delete it entirely. If the meeting has been rescheduled, create a new calendar event and invite the participants.

By following these steps, you can cancel a meeting professionally and courteously, while minimizing the impact on the participants and maintaining strong working relationships.

In order to keep track of every step in the process, using a task management tool can be handy. The template includes a to-do, doing and done list where you can add meetings you have to cancel.

"Meeting culture is something that needs to change — there’s no reason to have eight hours of meetings in one day. Meetings are not how humans are most productive." - Claire Hughes Johnson, COO of Stripe

Make sure the correct meetings are canceled, everyone is brought up to date and next steps have been set. It’s as simple as reviewing the list and moving the task card across columns to stay organized at work.

Get started with the meeting cancellation template today for free!

How to avoid canceling meetings altogether

It may not always be possible to avoid sending out meeting cancellation notices altogether. Nevertheless, you can take steps to reduce the likelihood of cancellations and minimize their impact.

Here are some workflow changes we implemented in order to avoid scheduling unproductive meetings on a day-to-day basis:

1. Work asynchronously by default: Asynchronous work is a type of setup where not every team member has to be online and working at the same time. This gives you more flexibility when you want to get work done without having to wait for others.
2. Reduce context switching: It’s best to reduce the number of tools your team has to shuffle between. Doing this makes it easier to keep track of progress for different projects, which can lessen follow up meetings for progress.
3. Improve documentation: Create clear guidelines on how you store documents so everyone is aligned. Explore having walkthroughs through asynchronous video recordings instead of meetings.

By avoiding cancelled meetings and having a more efficient process, you can focus on the work at hand. In the long run, this can greatly help you and your team achieve your company goals and objectives.

How to cancel a meeting template: get started today!

In conclusion, implementing a process for meeting cancellation notices is an excellent way to ensure clear communication with all involved parties.

By incorporating tasks, notes, files, chat, and meeting features, the how to cancel a meeting template enables efficient collaboration with anyone. Don't hesitate to get started and manage meetings while fostering an organized environment for all team members.

Give it a try and experience the benefits of a well-structured approach to handling meeting cancellations to maintain productivity.

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An organizational strategy structure and process is essential if you want to keep your team focused, grow exponentially and keep clients happy.

Defined strategies streamline efforts and interests regarding investments, prioritization and performance across stakeholders. You want to make sure your business is sending a clear signal and value proposition both internally and externally.

Strategy is about making choices, trade-offs; it's about deliberately choosing to be different. - Michael Porter, esteemed Harvard Business School professor

A strong organizational strategy definition ensures everyone is on the same page. This way your goals and objectives clearly connect to your mission and vision while leveraging your core competencies.

This article walks you through the types of organizational strategy and everything you need to know if you want to define your organizational strategy.

Get started with the organizational strategy project management template for FREE.

Definition organizational strategy

What is organizational strategy? An organizational strategy outlines the long-term goals, objectives, and structure of an organization. The strategy highlights how the organization plans to achieve its mission, leverage core competencies, and position itself in an ever-changing competitive landscape.

Effective organizational strategies help guide decision-making, prioritize tasks, and align the efforts of team members across the organization.

An effective strategy is key to improve productivity in an organization, as everyone knows what they're working towards. When configured correctly, it sets your business up for success to keep achieving company goals and objectives.

Key components of the strategy for an organization typically include:

1. Vision and mission
2. Market and competitive analysis
3. Organizational structure and culture
4. Core competencies
5. Goals and objectives
6. Monitoring and evaluation

To develop and implement an organizational strategy, you should understand both the internal and external forces that apply to your business. This typically involves setting a vision, conducting market and internal analyses, and defining a plan for execution.

Set up your organizational strategy through a hands-on template that highlights everything that should be considered. Make sure to follow the steps in the order given, as they built upon each other.

What is the vision and mission of your organization?

The vision and mission represent an organization's purpose, direction, and aspirations. These statements serve as guideposts for decision-making and help to align the efforts of all stakeholders.

These statements are a great first step in defining your organizational strategy as they highlight the higher purpose of your business. Once they’re defined, you can break down the different components that will help you achieve the vision and mission.

Here’s what you should be looking for to define your vision and mission:

Vision:

• Describes the organization's desired future state or long-term impact.
• Is aspirational, ambitious, and inspiring, painting a vivid picture of what success looks like.
• Provides a sense of direction and motivation for stakeholders.
• Typically remains constant over time, but may be revisited as the organization evolves or external conditions change.

Example of a vision statement: A world where everyone has access to clean and affordable energy.

Mission:

• Outlines the organization's core purpose and how it will achieve its vision.
• Specifies the primary activities, target audience, and unique value proposition.
• Is actionable and focused on the organization's day-to-day work.
• May evolve over time as the organization adapts to new challenges and opportunities.

Example of a mission statement: To provide innovative, clean energy solutions that empower communities and protect the environment.

In summary, the vision of a company paints a picture of the desired future, while a mission statement defines the path and actions the organization will take to achieve that future. Both play their own role in guiding an organization's strategy, culture, and decision-making.

Ready to create your very own vision and mission? The organizational strategy template includes a 9-step process to create and implement a strong vision and mission.

Conducting market & competitive analysis

Conducting a market and competitive analysis is a crucial step in developing a strategy for your organization. It helps you understand your target market, industry trends, and the competitive landscape. This way you can more effectively position your business and set realistic goals.

Nevertheless, the process of conducting market research and competitive analysis can feel daunting at first. What frameworks and metrics are most relevant to your organization? What steps should you prioritize?

To streamline the process, we included a step-by-step task management workflow in the template. This way you can break down the steps within the market and competitive analysis of your industry.

Activities include:

1. Define your market
2. Analyze market trends
3. Study your competition
4. Analyze your target customers
5. Assess market opportunities and threats

Individual tasks in the template include further resources and checklists to fully define the organizational strategy. This way you can more effectively break down the different activities that have to be completed to understand the external forces around your business.

Conduct your own market and competitive analysis. The organizational strategy template includes a 5-step process to develop a market and competitive analysis.

Defining Your Organizational Structure and Culture

Your organizational structure and culture are essential components of the business. They influence how the company operates, strategies for improving organizational communication, and decision making.

Understanding these aspects creates a more efficient, collaborative, and successful environment for your team. Let’s start with some high level definitions:

• Organizational Structure: Organizational structure refers to the way a company arranges its people, roles, and responsibilities to achieve its goals. There are several types of organizational structures, each with its advantages and disadvantages.
• Organizational Culture: the shared values, beliefs, norms, and practices that shape the behavior of individuals within a company. It influences how employees interact with one another and your organizational communication strategies.

Creating a cohesive organizational structure and culture requires a deep understanding of your company's goals, values, and desired ways of working. If you want your team to work effectively and efficiently then clearly defining structure and culture is crucial.

Culture eats strategy for breakfast. - Peter Drucker

The template includes two dedicated tasks that offer a step-by-step process to define both your structure and culture within your organizational strategy.

Regularly revisiting and adjusting these elements as your business grows and evolves will help you maintain a healthy, adaptive organization that supports long-term success.

What are the core competencies of your business?

Core competencies are the unique combination of capabilities, resources, and skills that give your business a competitive advantage. They are the strengths that enable differentiation from competitors and create unique value for customers.

These attributes can stem from various aspects, such as technology, innovation, processes, or organizational culture.

In order to be considered a core competency, the advantage should check the following boxes:

1. Value creation: superior products, services, or solutions that uniquely meet needs and preferences of the customer.
2. Differentiation: the characteristic or offering should set your company apart from competitors and provide a unique selling proposition.
3. Hard to imitate: core competencies must be difficult for competitors to replicate, either because they involve proprietary knowledge, technology, or processes, or because they are deeply rooted in the organization's culture and history.
4. Flexibility: the competency should be adaptable and can be leveraged across multiple products, services, or markets. This enables a business to innovate, expand, and respond to changing market conditions.
5. Sustainability: core competencies should be sustainable over the long term, providing a stable foundation for a company's growth and success.

By focusing on these areas, a business can allocate its resources efficiently, develop a competitive advantage, and create value for customers and stakeholders.

Identifying and nurturing core competencies is an essential aspect of your organizational strategy. Apply our 8-step process to start defining the core competencies of your business.

Defining your organization’s goals and objectives in the strategy

Goals and objectives are the most actionable and ever-changing elements in your organizational strategy. They serve as milestones and targets that guide decision-making, performance evaluation, and resource allocation.

Goals and objectives are the last step in your strategy. Take all the information you previously gathered and define the short-to-medium term accomplishments you want to focus on.

The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score. - Bill Copeland

Consider your mission and vision, market and competitive analysis and internal forces when setting new goals and objectives.

Understanding the differences between a goal and objective and how they complement each other is crucial in creating an effective strategy for your organization. Here are some key things to consider:

Goals:

• Goals are broad, high-level statements that describe the desired outcomes or achievements of an organization or team.
• They are typically long-term, focusing on the overall direction and purpose of the organization.
• Goals help provide a sense of direction and offer a framework for setting more specific, actionable objectives.

Objectives:

• Objectives are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) targets that support the accomplishment of goals.
• They break down the broader goals into actionable steps, providing clear guidance on what needs to be accomplished, by when, and to what extent.
• Objectives help keep teams focused and accountable, as they can be used to track progress and evaluate performance.

Creating goals and objectives for your organizational strategy requires multiple steps. Our dedicated template includes examples and a step-by-step workflow.

Monitoring and evaluation

Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of an organizational strategy are essential processes that help ensure that a company's strategic plans are on track to meet their objectives.

M&E help identify areas for improvement, assess the effectiveness of strategies, and inform data-driven decision-making. Set recurring timelines for the different activities within your organization strategy.

What gets measured gets managed. - Peter Drucker.

Goals and objectives should be refreshed most frequently, adapting them to the needs and current priorities of the business. Other activities might only be relevant once a year, three years or even longer term. Nevertheless, setting a due date for redoing the activity guarantees nothing fall through the cracks.

You can easily do this in the project template for creating an organizational strategy by adding a new due date after finishing the task.

Start building your organization strategy today: free template

In conclusion, developing a robust organizational strategy is crucial for achieving company goals and objectives and ensuring long-term success. Remember, the key to a thriving organization lies in its ability to adapt and evolve, and our template is designed to help you achieve just that.

Invite other team members to the project, leverage task management, notes, topics and chat and connect cloud files to your project space. You can also start a meeting with Zoom or Google Meet without leaving the template.

Now that you know how to define organizational strategies and all the elements in in you can Get started with free organizational strategy template

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Change is hard. Our work habits have been honed through years to decades of professional experience. Stacked with the habits of colleagues, organizations, stakeholders, and clients, change is all the more challenging.

One habit that can be especially painful when poorly addressed, is getting good feedback.

How you gather and manage comments or revisions is so often overlooked. That is, until it becomes an impossible-to-ignore problem that chips away at your project's success.

Addressing the review and approval process doesn’t require a “digital transformation”. Your clients are already providing revision comments and suggestions. Adapting your approach can be simple and significantly boost the quality of your deliverables.

So how do you build a system for gathering accurate, timely, and useful feedback from key stakeholders?

The Symptoms of Poor Feedback

We’ve all been there; Project delays, finger-pointing, disgruntled clients and teams… These are often the signs that there is something wrong with how we are communicating around a project.

All too often, perhaps because we can be so used to it, we ignore the symptoms of a broken feedback process or misattribute it.

Is it the person’s fault that they missed a deadline, or was the process too complicated?

Before getting to the solution, there are a few key problem areas that you might recognize if you’ve ever had a broken creative workflow:

• You lose or miss comments and notes from stakeholders.
• There’s often a need to return to someone for clarification.
• You find your team redoing revision tasks because they were poorly communicated.
• There is no clear connection between the requests and who must act on them.
• Deliverables are always delayed.
• You and the client are often unsatisfied with the creative output.

Do you recognize any of these symptoms? If you identify with them it’s time to take a look how your creative workflow.

The Pillars of Healthy Feedback

On the flip side, it isn’t that difficult to update your creative communication process.

To get there, there are a few key considerations that you’ll need to address.

• Quality: On the most basic level, you want revision suggestions, questions, and conversations to be relevant and informed.
• Clarity: Ideally, all forms of communications, especially requests or updates, are accurate and clear. This is especially important with visual references. For example, think about the last time you got notes on a video project via email - and it contained multiple timestamps saying “cut here”.
• Coordination: Moving communication with stakeholders across silos, such as different tools, meetings, and emails, can result in confusion. Retrieving information and versions can also be an issue. For example, finding the latest version of a file can sometimes become a guessing game and relies on messy title conventions.
• Accountability: Who does what? Why was it done a certain way? Without transparency, issues are bound to repeat themselves and result in  avoidable mistakes. Without accountability there is no learning.

4 Steps to Better Feedback

So how do you set up feedback systems that cover all 4 of the aforementioned pillars?

Here are 4 steps to deliver significant improvements to the quality, clarity, coordination and accountability of the communication.

1. The Clear and Relevant Ask

Getting quality feedback on projects starts with knowing who, when, and how to ask for it. Before reaching out to request revisions, consider what you hope to gain from it. Is it creative input from stakeholders? A general review of visuals and graphics? Final approval from the project’s decision-maker?

A good question is half the answer. Ask the right questions if you need clarification on something. Everyone wants the project to succeed, so don’t be afraid to request clarification if you’re unsure of what’s expected. To use another cliche, an ounce of prevention is a pound of the cure.

Ideally, plan how you will tackle the review and approval process before starting your project, with all stakeholders buying in. This is simpler with an online communication tool that’s easily accessible to everyone involved.

2. Make it Simple

Once you’ve tackled the clear ask, make it simple for the receiver to take their next step(s). The more time spent on figuring out how to tackle your ask, the longer it will take to start (or possibly just give up).

Removing friction is essential for simplicity. Any time someone has to download anything, sign up, or learn a challenging new software, it adds potential delays to your project. Ensure they have the right tools to keep the back-and-forth quick and effective.

Email, shared documents, phone calls, and team video conferencing can all be useful communication methods for certain tasks. But these forms of communication can quickly get confusing and time-consuming.

By making it simple for your stakeholders, with purpose-built tools, you can effectively share information, tasks and updates.

3. Be Receptive and Respond Well

Being receptive to feedback is a crucial part of collaboration. Stakeholders will feel more comfortable being straightforward when they know the recipient(s) is open to suggestions, constructive criticism, and new ideas.

Taking feedback well can be a challenge. Fear of failure, an emotional connection to your work, and negativity bias can all make you feel uncomfortable receiving edits or suggestions. Developing a positive attitude towards this process will benefit your workplace relationships and communication skills.

Temper your initial reaction and emotions to show collaborators you’re receptive to their suggestions. Take time to consider it before responding if necessary. Consider their perspective of the issue, ask follow-up questions, and thank them for their input - even if you disagree.

Being receptive creates a cycle where people see you as a positive person to work with. In return, they will be more open with you and will ultimately be happier with the results. And, of course, they will enjoy working with you or your team.

4. Maintain Accountability

A critical part of the creative process is maintaining accountability. Be sure to set clear expectations. What is required or expected of everyone, and by when? Workflows are much easier when there’s transparency regarding expectations, roles, project stages, and deadlines.

Consolidation (keeping comments, notes, file versions, and relevant activity in a central space) is essential. This maintains accountability across the entire project so everyone can go back and see the logic behind a decision.

The Right Tools for The Right Feedback

The right tools are essential to enable clarity, simplify workflows, facilitate a healthy feedback loop and maintain accountability.  Here are 3 to consider:

Rock - Rock allows users to communicate with collaborators while also assigning tasks. It’s a seamless messaging platform and project management rolled into one. Besides your internal team, you can also add clients and external collaborators can also be added to project spaces without issue. Keep all your communication in one place and say goodbye to the context switching that comes from working with different messaging and project management apps on your projects.

ReviewStudio - As a creative workflow and online proofing software, ReviewStudio makes it simple for teams to gather precise, clear, and consolidated feedback. Highly intuitive, it provides an effective way to mark up, share, and approve creative in a centralized location. All your versions are collated, comments and notes are threaded, and tasks are integrated with markups. Whether video, image, web, or documents - it is a standalone space that can incorporate easily into your current workflows.

Loom - Sometimes, recording a video of your experience or just walking through your revision notes can be most effective through a tool like Loom. If a picture is a thousand words, a video is a book. A great tool to capture your screen, with the option of recording your voice and face. Sharing is very straightforward, and features like adjusting playback make the whole experience very useful.

Good Feedback Leads to Successful Collaboration

Getting good and timely communication with decision-makers and outside clients is essential for any project to succeed.

Showing collaborators you’re open to listening and implementing their suggestions or requests will help them feel comfortable providing more in-depth thoughts and requests. In addition, provide them with the tools and resources to make the creative review and approval process as easy as possible.

It's important to remember that receiving feedback can and should be a continuous process. Use what you learn from the process to adjust your strategies, improve your products or services, and ultimately enhance the overall experience for your team or clients.

With a proactive approach to your creative workflows, you can build stronger working relationships, ensure deadlines are met, make better decisions, and drive growth and success for everyone involved.

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Working across spaces and upgrading to Unlimited has never been easier! Create spaces in seconds with template spaces, Gift a month of Rock Unlimited and receive $20 in balance to upgrade, and move discussions across spaces by forwarding messages.

Space templates

Create new projects faster than ever with space templates. Duplicate any existing space configurations for future collaborations; from client onboarding to marketing campaigns and event management.

To access templates, go to space settings (admin permissions required) and create a new template.

Select the icon and space name of your template. You can choose what information you want to carry over to future copies (tasks, notes, topics, pinned items).

Once you've created a template, access it anytime from your user settings under "templates". Simply select apply to new space and a new space will be created.

Create unlimited new spaces with the template configuration and invite anyone to join you for messaging, tasks, and all your favorite apps in one place.

To learn more about space templates, check out this dedicated product guide.

Give Get

Looking to help out your clients, freelancers, or contacts while also saving money on your own unlimited plan? You can now Give a month of Unlimited and get $20 to your own plan.

Once your invitee successfully redeems the reward and signs up they will get a month of unlimited for free. If they stay on the plan, you'll receive $20 off on your own Unlimited plan.

To get started, simply head to your user settings to find your personalized gift link. Share this link with anyone you want to gift a free month of Rock Unlimited to.

For more information on how to use Give Unlimited, Get $20, check out this dedicated product guide.

Forwarding messages

With forwarding messages you can move discussions across spaces without copy-pasting or manually moving messages. To forward a message simply hover over it and select the forward icon.

Improvements on mobile

We have also made a bunch of improvements to the mobile app.

• Templates: Create your own space templates. Use templates to skip setting up new spaces from scratch every single time or share your Rock template with others.
• Referral program: Gift a month of Unlimited for free and get $20
• Chat: More organized and less cluttered message threads
• Workspaces: More fine-tuned privacy options for workspaces and spaces

If you have any questions about this release, connect with us at space.new/support.

Download the mobile app

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Rock now provides the fastest way to set up a space with anyone using Quick Connect and your own personal space.new link. Anyone can now quickly open a group space with you using your link which can easily be shared on social media, your website, email, or any other external page.

Read along to learn more about Quick Connect and other new features! This release also includes iCal sync (PRO), animated GIFs (powered by Giphy) and scheduled messages (PRO) on mobile.

Quick Connect ? - The fastest way to set up a space to work together

No more back-and-forth to figure out which tool to use to start working together on a project. With Quick Connect on Rock, anyone can quickly create a brand new group space with you so you can start chatting, working on tasks, or sharing files within seconds.

Share your link in emails or social media or add your QR code to your website, social media posts or anywhere else, and allow anyone to connect and collaborate with you on Rock.

You can find your Quick Connect link by going to Settings. In Settings, you can find your space.new URL as well as a handy QR code anyone can scan to instantly set up a group space with you.

Personalize the experience by adding a welcome message to your Quick Connect spaces. This can be anything from a 'Welcome to my space' to 'Here's some information I need to get started: [...]'.

Keep control over your Quick Connect links by toggling the ON/OFF switch or press the three dots in the top right corner of the panel to reset the link if ever needed.

Note that once you reset your link there is no way of restoring it to a previously used Quick Connect link. This means that you have to update your Quick Connect link on all live pages or visuals.

We’re using the brand-new (pun intended :) .new domain to make it really easy to create a new group space with anyone. .new domains were introduced by Google and work for anything from sheets.new (links to Google Sheets) to canva.new(Canva) to now space.new on Rock.

Stay tuned for lots more on Quick Connect and the space.new domain!

Calendar sync with iCal [PRO]

Sync Rock with Google Calendar, Outlook, and any calendar that supports the iCalendar format. This is not just limited to the Apple/iOS calendar app, but also works with most popular calendar services.

Visualize task deadlines right next to all your other meetings using your favorite calendar app. (Note that this integration is only available in PRO spaces).

Calendar sync can be enabled on web/desktop/mobile by a space admin for the entire space by following these steps:

1. Go to ⚙️ Space Settings, select integrations and pick ? Calendar Sync from the different options.
2. Confirm ? Calendar Sync. Note that you can always disable the feature in the future through ⚙️ Space Settings.
3. Calendar Sync is now enabled for the space.
4. When copying the link members of the space can choose whether they want to see tasks they are assigned to, they are following or to see all tasks within a space on the calendar.

Anyone can now copy the iCal link and add it to any calendar (e.g. Apple/iOS calendar, Google Calendar, Outlook) that supports the iCal format. Check here to see whether your calendar supports the iCal format.

GIFs on mobile

Purrfect 5-second distractions for any occasion with GIFs in the Chat mini-app! Browse thousands of different options from the Giphy library and share them in the Chat mini-app of any group space you're in.

GIFs can be accessed in the messaging panel by pressing the GIF button. You need at least 3 people in a group space for the feature to be enabled so add people to share your favorite memes!

Schedule messages and polls on mobile [PRO] ⏰

In a PRO space, you can now schedule messages or polls to be sent out when most convenient to you on mobile. This way you can send messages at a time that suits a team members' timezone better.

How to schedule a message or poll

1. Write down the message or poll you want to schedule in the Chat mini-app.
2. Keep the send button pressed for a few seconds. The schedule a message panel will automatically open.
3. Check the time zones of everyone in the space if needed by pressing the arrow right under 'Schedule message'.
4. Pick one of the suggested times or press 'Pick date and time' to manually adjust a time for the scheduled message.
5. Press 'Schedule' in the bottom right corner of your screen and your message should be scheduled!

Editing your scheduled messages

You can edit your scheduled message in a few different ways by following these steps:

1. Press the scheduled messages button on the bottom left corner of your screen. Note that this button only appears when you have one or more messages scheduled.
2. Press the scheduled message or poll you want to edit.
3. Pick from the option menu: change schedule, send now, edit message or delete message.

Mobile updates

This release brings a lot of improvements to the experience on the mobile app. Check out the following list for all the new features.

Chat mini-app

• Schedule messages: pick times for messages or polls to be sent in the Chat mini-app.
• Gifs: Access thousands of gifs and share them in the Chat mini-app of any space.

Tasks mini-app

• iCal integration: add task deadlines to your calendar and keep an eye on everything that is going on.

Other

• Quick Connect: Allow anyone to open a group space with you within seconds.
• Due date notifications for tasks on mobile: receive pop-up banners for due dates on mobile.
• Invite new members from @mentions: trying to mention someone that is not in the space yet? Quickly invite them to the space from the @mention list!
• Bug fixes and performance improvements

Download the mobile app

If you have any questions or suggestions you are always welcome to ping us in the Rock Support and Updates space.

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Support us by sharing Rock content with your network and earn credits, exclusive discounts, and free upgrades!

Starting a new project with clients, partners or freelancers often requires too many tools that don’t easily connect to each other. This makes work between organizations unnecessarily difficult, time-consuming, and inefficient. To solve this, we built Rock which allows anyone to start collaborating on a project within seconds with messaging, tasks, and everything related to a project in one space.

With this program we set out a simple list of activities teams can do as part of this program. In return, you can earn credits, discounts, and free upgrades to the unlimited plan.

With your help, we can reach more people and inform a wide number of audiences about a better way of working. The best part? You are not just earning rewards towards the unlimited plan. Participating in the program also allows you to actively advocate for better collaboration and build out your business or personal brand.

Ready to support our mission and earn rewards? Get started today.

Rewards

Upgrade for free or receive major discounts on a monthly or annual unlimited plan! Collect 200, 400 or 600 credits to redeem one of the available rewards.

Are you looking for significant discounts or want to upgrade for free? We now offer options that cater to everyone! Collect 200, 400 or 600 credits to redeem one of the available rewards, listed below. 👇

What new activities allow you to earn credits?

We defined a set of activities that teams and individual users do to receive rewards. We directly transfer credits to your account once an activity has been completed and verified from our side. Credits can be used to get a discount on your paid plan or upgrade for free. Get started.

Share valuable content on your channels: Receive 1 credit per shared post per channel. Quickly stack up credits by posting across channels or multiple times a week. Here are some example workflows that can be set up as part of the program:

• Post 2 times a week on 3 different channels and earn 24 credits per month!
• Post every week day on LinkedIn and earn 20 credits per month!

Feature Rock on your next newsletter edition: Add valuable content to your newsletter and engage your audience in a variety of ways. Think of for example linking to one of our content pieces, a product page or a space.new link. Receive 25 credits every time you add Rock in your newsletter! Get started!

Power your site with our webform: Collect data from your website visitors, streamline the workflow and earn credits by adding a custom Rock webform to your website! Receive 40 credits per live webform on your website. Get Started!

Reach a large audience: Are you an influencer or do your posts often gain a lot of attention? Quickly rack up thousands of credits by getting quality content in front of your audience! Rewards start at 200 credits, but you can earn up to 1000 credits with this activity!
For more details regarding posts that gain a lot of impressions, reach out to us!

Join the program today!

Ready to join the program? Open a space with us. Let us know how many credits you want to earn and we will help you get set up, share assets, and configure a custom flow.

Activities are not set in stone, if you have suggestions for other ways to earn credits you can reach out to us by creating a dedicated support space.

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Managing relationships with clients is a big part of your job when freelancing. Keeping a close relationship with clients is key for all freelance services including copywriting, design or engineering work.

Efficient and smooth collaboration with clients ensures that you can meet deadlines and build long lasting connections. However, setting up smooth collaboration flows is often easier said than done.

How do you make sure that communicating with clients is effective and tailored to their needs?

Read along to learn more about some best practices. We have gathered workflows and best practices from freelancers all across Rock which you can easily implement in your next freelance project!

What does good client management look like for a freelancer?

You want your clients to be heard and understood, all while meeting their expectations and deadlines. Likely you have more than one client, and all of them require your input on the daily or at least weekly or monthly basis.

This means you need to learn how to balance your time on each client effectively and efficiently. Don’t forget about at the same time providing personalized support, at the end of the day every client wants to feel like you’re prioritizing their project.

To do so, you need to create processes, workflows and systems that support this. Here are 7 habits most of our freelancers mentioned when discussing client management on Rock.

1. Balance personal with scalable

How do you keep your communication with multiple clients personal yet scalable? You need to set up a system which allows you to provide personalized support on your client projects in a scalable way.

Define typical projects you work on and create templates containing specific workflows. The templates might include systems, steps, and playbooks. You can use these templates every time you start a new project and adjust them depending on the needs of your client.

Think of a welcome or project start note that is shared in the beginning of a project. Feedback forms at certain milestones can also be scalable but personalized to your brand and project experience.

A common way to keep track of these activities is by implementing internal task management to set reminders about certain milestones or completed activities.

2. Easy access to information

Think about which information or files have to be shared with a client before starting a project. Making all relevant information such as project details and deliverables easily accessible will save you time. It also gives clients a more professional and well-prepared first impression of you.

Make sure your client knows how to access all information they might need. You should inform them of the documentation and grant access at the beginning of any project.

Neither you nor your client need to waste time searching for files or information across multiple folders, apps or long email threads.

Implementing this open up valuable time as clients don’t have to reach out to find files, reports or workflows. You can use this gained time to focus on nurturing the relationship, accelerate implementation, gather feedback or provide support.

3. Overview of progress

It’s crucial to provide your clients with an overview of your progress regarding projects you work on. This allows you to avoid miscommunication and make sure that the final result aligns with expectations.

You might want to establish a process and use a project management tool to keep your clients in the loop. A defined process and efficient tools work way more effectively than scattered progress pings via, for instance, email.

It also gives room for more asynchronous work. Clients can chime in whenever they have time if you update work through a shared system. No need to wait for a meeting or scroll through a messy email thread.

4. Fast and seamless communication

Communication is key. You should make sure that your clients are able to get in touch with you effortlessly. Make sure to have internal communication strategies that align with your brand voice and business offering.

It’s important to keep conversations flowing. Rock has a mobile app and offers the option to send audio messages. This way you can make sure that communication is fast and seamless anywhere, and can be taken on the go.

5. Make it effortless to enter in contact for first projects

It should be easy to start a conversation with you to discuss a new project or start working together. The Quick Connect feature on Rock comes in handy here.

We built Quick Connect in order to make it easier and quicker for everyone, including freelancers, to open new communication channels.

If you use Quick Connect, your clients can scan your QR code or click on your personal link to open a space with you to communicate. You can share the QR code and/or the link on your website, email, or any other external page.

6. Relationship building

It is cheaper and more efficient to keep existing clients than to search for new ones. Also, satisfied clients who are in touch with you even after a project might spread the word and refer friends or other businesses to you.

It’s very beneficial to stay connected with your clients even after the official project. You never know when a new opportunity arises. Build a long lasting relationship and stay in touch with your clients via, for instance, a newsletter.

Alternatively, you can build a community where your previous clients can connect with each other and keep their relationship with you.

7. Avoid multi-channels

Using several different channels for your communication and collaboration with clients can become confusing for both parties.

Things get messy if you use email, a messaging app, a separate cloud storage and a project management tool simultaneously. It gets quite time-consuming to find relevant information fast and you might not now where you left off in terms of communication.

By using one application for everything you can be sure that the information or files will be found within that one tool. You don’t need to switch your focus between different applications. It saves you time and stress.

How to manage your clients from one place

We’ve talked with freelancers who use Rock to manage UX and low-code development, content writing, design, engineering and other workflows. They share their experiences and suggestions on how to organize spaces, set up workflows and take the best out of Rock as a freelancer.

Here are three spaces we often see freelancers manage on Rock:

• Client spaces
• Customer relationship management (CRM)
• Communities

Client spaces

You can create dedicated spaces on Rock for each client you work with and invite them for free.

By creating a space per client you will be able to stay highly organized. Each client, their project information and communication will be grouped and easily accessible. Client spaces can be useful for day-to-day communication, project management and documentation.

Day-to-day communication

Use client spaces for seamless day-to-day communication. Discuss daily activities and quickly catch-up with your clients by leveraging full-fledged messaging functionality in every space.

The chat is at the forefront of a space and intuitive to use. This makes it a great solution for direct communication with the client. Leverage reactions, audio messages, polls, threads and so much more to keep the conversation going.

Sometimes you might need to arrange a quick video meeting with your client.  Rock offers the Meetings mini-app in ever space with integration to Zoom, Google Meet and Jitsi and Loom.

This can be beneficial for freelancers as they can connect their video conferencing account to Rock and start a meeting when other channels are not cutting it.

Project management

Besides day-to-day communication, you can use your same client spaces to manage ongoing projects. Project management through tasks mini-app will have you strongly equipped in managing your next project while involving clients..

You can toggle between multiple task views including board, list and calendar. The task board view allows you to visualize projects by dividing tasks in different columns and stages. Categorize tasks and filter them depending on your needs by leveraging labels, priority, assignees and so much more..

The comment section within each task makes it easy to follow up or have a more focused discussion with the client. This way you can make sure that both parties are always on the same page.

Documentation

Rock allows you to document relevant information so it’s easily accessible and safely stored.

The Notes mini-app can be used to store general information that is relevant for your client projects. It might contain some project guidelines, rules or briefings. When you add this information to notes it becomes easily accessible anytime. Otherwise, it might get scattered across different channels and eventually lost.

The Files mini-app is helpful if you often share files with your client. This can come in useful if you’re a copywriter, doing website project management, or graphic designer. Connect cloud storage providers such as Google Drive, Figma, Miro or Notion to Rock and share files with your clients without searching across folders or sharing links across messages, tasks and notes.

You can even attach files from a cloud storage of your choice to any task. It allows you to share task related files with your clients easily.

CRM space

Besides dedicated client spaces on Rock you can also create a space for yourself which serves as a CRM system.

This allows you to keep track of projects and details of current, past or potential clients. You don’t need to invest in any additional tools as spaces can be adjusted to support this use case.

Here’s how freelancers can manage their ongoing projects with a CRM space on Rock:

1. Use the task board as your main CRM view

Use the Tasks mini-app in the board view to arrange your CRM system. You can use lists to define the current status of each client.

For instance, you can organize lists as Leads, Active projects, Closed Projects, Revisit Later and more, depending on your needs.

2. Create a task per client

Create a task per client and add all relevant information to the task description. Easily attach any important documents or files such as contracts or invoices.

You can even set a deadline to prospect tasks in case you need to follow up or reach out before a certain date. Make sure you’re assigned to the task to receive a dedicated notification.

With individual task cards you can make sure all contacts, updates and remarks are stored and well-documented. You can update and adjust this information at any time.

3. Use labels and priority status to categorize

Labels might come in handy as you can categorize your clients by labeling them depending on a project type or size.

Labels will help you to visualize your client management and filter across client cards easier. Also, you can use the priority status feature to categorize your clients depending on their size, number of available projects or income potential.

4. Keep project details close by combining the checklist, @mention feature and attaching could files

Use the checklist to include relevant points about each client to keep your documentation neat.

You can @ mention tasks from different spaces. For example, you want to save a task that you were working on in a space with a client. You can mention that task as a reference in a client task in your CRM space. It allows you to easily connect spaces and find information faster.

Moreover, you might want to connect your cloud storage to the CRM space. You can easily attach cloud files to your client’s CRM tasks which will allow you to quickly check which files are relevant to each client.

Community space

Build a community on Rock! Do you design websites? Or write content? Whatever it is that you do as a freelancer, you can bring your target audience together by creating a themed community space on Rock.

Invite your former, existing or potential clients to the community for free. You can engage your community by asking stimulating questions, sharing industry news and creating polls to gather opinions.

You can use the Topics mini-app to spark more in depth discussion while reducing the noise! This way the discussions will be structured and people will be able to choose which topics they want to follow, similar to a discussion board.

The community space can become a unique tool in your project acquisition funnel. It will help you to nurture connections with your clients, build trust and show that you are knowledgeable in your field. Curious what a community space can look like? Join ours!

Advantages of using Rock for working with clients

Why should you start managing your client relationships on Rock? There are some advantages to using an all-in-one solution to work with clients. Here are two main advantages of centralized client management you should consider.

More functionality

If you manage your client relationships via email you likely know how confusing and long email threads can become.

In addition to that, it’s often difficult to involve new people into email conversations. We all know how easy it is to lose work details or documents between threads that include a different set of participants or revolve around a different discussion topic.

Rock allows you to forget about emails and have all the communication and collaboration in one place. All-in-one messaging combined with tasks, notes and files, provides a seamless experience.

Faster

You will save time as you don’t have to switch between different tools and keep an eye on your emails simultaneously. Using one tool for everything will pay off as you will be able to spend more time getting your work done faster.

Start managing your clients on Rock today

Rock is used by many freelancers around the world to manage and nurture their client relationships everyday.

Having everything in one place will improve your workflows and will get your client relationships to the next level!

‍Sign up today and facilitate your day-to-day client communication, project management, documentation, CRM and community building.