Revolutionize Your Creative Team's Review and Approval Process: 6 Proven Strategies

The review and approval process is an integral part of any creative project. It allows team members to provide feedback, make suggestions, and ensure that the final product meets the required standards. However, if not properly managed, the review and approval process can be time-consuming and inefficient, hindering the team’s productivity and creativity. In this blog, we will explore the importance of streamlining the review and approval process for creative teams and discuss some practical strategies for achieving this. By implementing a few simple changes, it is possible to create a more efficient and effective team workflow that allows the team to focus on the creative work itself rather than getting bogged down in administrative tasks.

Make Edits in a Single Tool

Having a single tool to manage edits is key to streamlining the review and approval process for creative teams. It allows team members to easily track changes, collaborate on edits, and keep all relevant documents and feedback in one place. This saves time and reduces the risk of confusion or miscommunication, as everyone is working from the same source of truth.

Additionally, a single tool can provide a clear audit trail of the editing process, making it easier to understand how a project has evolved and who has made which changes. By streamlining the review and approval process, creative teams can focus on the creative work itself rather than getting bogged down in administrative tasks. This can ultimately lead to higher productivity, better collaboration, and more successful outcomes.

Master the Comments Tool

Mastering the comments tool is key to streamlining the review and approval process for creative teams. The comments tool allows team members to provide feedback and make suggestions directly within the document rather than having to communicate changes through separate emails or meetings. This not only saves time but also ensures that all feedback is captured and accessible in one place. It also helps to reduce the risk of misunderstandings or miscommunications, as team members can clearly see and respond to each other’s comments. By mastering the comments tool, creative teams can effectively collaborate on edits and make informed decisions about the direction of a project. This can ultimately lead to a more streamlined and efficient review and approval process, allowing the team to focus on the creative work itself.

Be Explicit About What you Need, and how you Want to be Contacted

Effective communication is essential for the success of any creative project, and this is particularly true when it comes to the review and approval process. When working with clients, it is important for creative teams to establish clear methods of communication to ensure that feedback and suggestions are effectively conveyed and acted upon. This might include using specific software or platforms for tracking changes and providing feedback, setting clear timelines and expectations, and establishing protocols for how feedback should be provided.

Internal communication is also crucial for the success of the review and approval process. Creative teams should have clear channels of communication in place to facilitate the exchange of ideas and feedback. This might include regular meetings, email updates, or the use of specific project management tools. By establishing clear methods of communication internally and with clients, creative teams can more effectively collaborate on projects and ensure that the final product meets the required standards.

Pay Attention to Communication Mediums

Team chat is an essential tool for creative teams to communicate and collaborate on projects. Managing the review and approval process through this channel can help streamline communication and improve productivity. To ensure that team chat is being used effectively for the review and approval process, it is important to establish clear guidelines and protocols. This might involve creating dedicated chat channels for specific projects, setting up alerts and notifications to ensure that important messages are not missed, and establishing clear expectations for response times. By paying attention to team chat and using it effectively, creative teams can more efficiently manage the review and approval process and focus on the creative work itself.

Turn It Into a Meeting or Phone Call

While email and chat can be useful tools for communication and collaboration, there are times when it is more effective to have a meeting or make a phone call in order to streamline the review and approval process for creative teams. This is particularly true when complex issues or decisions need to be discussed or when there is a need for more immediate feedback or solutions.

In these cases, having a meeting or making a phone call can be more efficient and effective than exchanging multiple emails or chat messages. It allows team members to have a more in-depth conversation, ask questions, and come to a resolution more quickly. This can save time and reduce the risk of misunderstandings or miscommunications, ultimately streamlining the review and approval process.

Knowing when to stop emailing or chatting and have a meeting or phone call instead is critical for creative teams. By being mindful of this, creative teams can more effectively manage the review and approval process and focus on the creative work itself.

Streamline the Review Process With Mobile Apps

Mobile apps can be critical for streamlining the review and approval process for creative teams. With the increasing prevalence of remote work, many creatives, especially designers, rely on mobile apps to stay connected and collaborate with team members and clients while on the go. Mobile apps can be especially useful for creative teams and designers who work with tight deadlines or need to respond to client feedback quickly.

Mobile apps can provide a range of useful features, such as the ability to access and edit design files from a smartphone or tablet, collaborate with team members in real time, and share work with clients for review and approval. These features allow creatives to stay connected and productive, even when they are not in the office. By streamlining the review and approval process, mobile apps can help creative teams be more productive and successful in their work.

Approval process – Use case:

“All collaboration happens on Spike – from brainstorm sessions to final approval”
Read more about Freelance Graphic Designer Inna, that uses Spike to make collaboration easy so her clients get the best results.

Superpower the Review and Approval Process With Spike

Spike is an ideal app for streamlining the review and approval process for creative teams. An all-in-one productivity workspace, Spike combines email, chat, collaboration, video meetings, and more into a single app, making it easy for team members to stay connected and collaborate on projects.

One of the key benefits of Spike is that it allows team members to see all relevant emails and chat conversations in one place, rather than having to switch between multiple apps or inboxes. This saves time and reduces the risk of confusion or miscommunication. Spike also includes features like real-time chat, video meetings, and document sharing, which can be used to facilitate the exchange of ideas and feedback.

By combining multiple communication and collaboration tools into a single digital workspace, Spike helps creative teams streamline the review and approval process and focus on the creative work itself. It is an ideal solution for teams looking to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their design collaboration tools.

Why These Concepts are Vital for Agencies

A clear review and approval process is essential for a creative agency to ensure that the work they produce meets the client’s expectations and adheres to their brand guidelines. Without a clear process in place, there can be misunderstandings, delays, and potentially even costly rework. To establish a smooth review and approval process, agencies should communicate with their clients about their preferred method of communication and turnaround times for feedback. It’s also helpful to establish a clear chain of command, so it’s clear who is responsible for providing final approval on projects. Having a clear process in place can help foster a positive working relationship between the agency and the client, and ensure that the final product is of the highest quality. Here’s why one CEO said Spike Groups was their “secret sauce”:

“Spike Groups improved workflow between our teams and across our clients since they now had a collaborative workspace that didn’t require logins. All that project history, and all needed files in one place.” – Max Shcherbakov, co-founder and CEO of Hooligans

Wrap up

The review and approval process is an essential part of any creative project, but it can also be time-consuming and inefficient if not properly managed. To streamline this process, creative teams can take a few simple steps to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. These might include using a single tool to manage edits, mastering the comments tool, establishing clear methods of communication, paying attention to emails, knowing when to have a meeting rather than an online chat, and using mobile apps. By implementing these strategies, creative teams can focus on the creative work itself rather than getting bogged down in administrative tasks, leading to higher productivity, better collaboration, and more successful outcomes.