A busy digital agency has expanded its team and invested in tech in a bid to improve productivity by 50 per cent.
Genius Division, based at the Business Village Barnsley, has gained grant support to back an investment package designed to slash the average time it takes them to complete website projects.
The aim is to tackle the stop-start nature of the process by reducing unproductive downtimes, often caused by waiting for missing pieces of content from clients or others.
Pilot projects bringing more control in-house and enabling the team to take the lead on more content creation have already shown they can reduce average start-to-finish delivery times on larger website projects from 151 days to 75 days.
The business is now set to spread this efficiency saving across all output after investing in new photography, videography and drone equipment, skills development and the recruitment of two additional staff members. The trainee web development and digital marketing executives take their team from seven to nine.
Genius Division’s investment has been backed by a Business Productivity Grant delivered by Barnsley Council through the Enterprising Barnsley programme and supported by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA); part-funded by the government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
Genius Division creative director Craig Burgess said: “We had an honest look at what we do and realised that, whilst we’re always busy, we had to change the way we work to improve our productivity and profitability as a business.
“Although we meet our own internal project deadlines, the sticking point has always been waiting for the creation of website content by others within a similar timescale.
“We realised we could help clients to do this much more efficiently by making this part of our delivery package. By bringing this work in-house, we have more control and eliminate a certain amount of drag involved in chasing clients and outsourcing work.”
Business support advisor at Enterprising Barnsley Judy Sidebottom helped Genius Division apply for a Business Productivity Grant to support its investment.
Judy Sidebottom said: “Genius Division has grown as a successful digital agency over 14 years and this bold move to invest in improved productivity inhouse demonstrates the business’ growing maturity. We are very pleased to support their ambition and look forward to seeing the company’s larger, better equipped team go from strength to strength.”
Business Productivity Grants support capital projects for small businesses that will help them grow through improving productivity, developing new products, accessing new markets and/or new customers or visitors.
Craig said: “We knew we wanted to invest, but gaining the Business Productivity Grant has made it happen quicker and all at once so we can see the project and cash flow management benefits sooner. Our clients get their new websites sooner and we get jobs done and invoiced for quicker.”
Genius Division provides a range of web design, development and marketing services and has increased turnover seven-fold since it was established by Craig Burgess and James Sheriff in 2010; attracting high value clients including Cannon Hall Farm, RNN Group and Fernco and extending its client reach to London, Finland and the USA.