Weekly Accounts Review System

Shot this sitting outside on my deck in early Summer. Loved the vibrancy of colors.

Back in February, I held my first Weekly Account Review session with Account Leads. I set up the time on Wednesdays to check in on the status of the accounts I'm involved in supporting rather than relying on ad-hoc meetings that were often only scheduled when something went wrong. These meetings have proven to be a great checkpoint in the week to discuss how projects are moving along and share learnings.

Since February, we have developed a robust system to review accounts weekly and keep a pulse on progress. During my Weekly Account Review session last week, I remembered how none of these rituals took place at the start of this year. I thought it would be worthwhile to use this space to document our current system and how each checkpoint works together.

Tuesday

Weekly Biz Dev & Resource Planning Meeting (1 hour): On Tuesdays, the Partners, Team Leads, and Business Development team meet to discuss new business leads with Dan, Director of Business Development, and any upcoming account activity with Kate, Director of Client Services. This meeting is helpful for everyone to prepare for upcoming projects and align on the approach. From an accounts perspective, we get insight into how accounts are growing and have an opportunity to discuss other ways we may be able to help our clients with their needs.
Weekly Account Status in Notion: When I rolled out the Weekly Accounts Review sessions, I created a space in Notion to capture our notes. After a couple of weeks, I asked Account Leads to start updating Notion by the end of the day on Tuesday so we could be more efficient with our time on Wednesday. As of last week, Notion now includes all accounts across the agency. While the other partners don't meet with their respective Account Leads to review it, it is a space to capture weekly updates.

Wednesday

Weekly Pulse Meeting (2 hours): As part of the Partners' weekly morning meeting, we now set aside a few minutes to run through all accounts. Candidly, we started doing this when we had several high-risk accounts, but as things settled down, we still saw value in making the time. With the aforementioned Weekly Account Status Notion doc, we have a reference point for updates in addition to our exposure to the work. We capture notes in a separate Notion document. We do this to synthesize the highlights and inspire discussion.
Weekly CS <> Finance Review (30 min): Our COO/President, Sei-Wook, meets with our Account Leads to review account finances. They discuss the status of all projects, looking at hours burned and what's projected. This check-in helps keep account finances on track and agency financials as accurate as possible.
Weekly Accounts Review (15-30 min): I mentioned most of the details of this session above. For a bit more color, I meet at the end of the day on Wednesdays with Account Leads and Kate. We run through the Notion doc and discuss any follow-ups that surfaced in the morning during Weekly Pulse.

I haven't accounted for the many ad-hoc meetings, one-on-ones, and daily stand-ups that also surface insights on accounts. These will continue to take place, but the key is that they're not the only source of discussion.

The system outlined above is one we can rely on to keep us all accountable. Amid a busy week, it prompts us to pause and think about every client we have on board. The system ensures that leadership is aligned while inspiring new ideas, promoting knowledge-share, and inviting changes in strategy that drive results for the client and the agency.

I'm proud of how far we've come this year and look forward to working with the team to continue iterating on this system in the coming month.

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