Bold Session Recap — Operational Excellence for Agencies and Services Providers: Expert Tips

Reaching operational excellence is a challenge for agencies and service businesses of all sizes.

From workload visibility and resource management to identifying the right metrics, many leaders struggle to balance efficiency and growth.

We spoke with Albert Banks from Apertus, a long-time agency founder and operational expert to explore how agencies can address these challenges. With over two decades of experience, Albert has led teams through acquisitions, integrations, and large-scale operational transformations.

In this session, Albert shares his approach to solving operational challenges, the must-watch metrics for workload management, and how agencies can identify the most valuable metrics to drive their success.

I started my first agency, Myjive, over twenty years ago, during the early days of the web. As the company scaled, I evolved from its first developer to technical director. Over the years, we expanded our services to include strategy, account service, social media, digital advertising, video production, and animation. In addition to our client work, I led operations and finance, overseeing HR, resourcing, IT, legal, and everything else that kept the business running.

In 2018, we sold Myjive to Union, a local competitor in the Charlotte market, where I led the post-merger integration and continued to oversee operations. During that time, we repositioned the business to focus on creative and performance marketing, developed a clear compensation strategy, and implemented a career path framework. After successfully navigating challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, we drove revenue growth and maintained strong margins, which made us attractive to buyers.

Ultimately, Union was acquired by Valtech, a global digital agency in 2022. I led the post-acquisition integration process, worked on reporting, and insulated the team from major changes while maintaining revenue growth. After helping integrate Union into Valtech, the next chapter of my career is focused on Apertus, an advisory practice that helps agencies improve operational and financial excellence, build strong employee engagement, and prepare for potential exits and acquisitions.

When agency leaders come to me, they usually bring a specific issue—such as a tool or process—that they believe needs fixing. For example, they might say, “We need to change our project management tool.” While it’s great that they’ve identified a problem, I often question whether that is a symptom of a deeper issue. I start with a thorough assessment to ensure we’re addressing the root cause.

This process involves talking to executive stakeholders because buy-in from the top is essential. I also conduct leadership surveys, meet with subject matter experts across the business, and examine areas beyond operations and finance, like employee satisfaction and long-term plans. I compare their data to industry benchmarks to identify opportunities and assess their progress.

At this stage, the real issues sometimes turn out to be different from the original problem. For example, leaders might not be aligned on what they want to measure within their project management system. I aim to collaborate with them, share findings, set clear objectives, and determine priorities. I always ask why they think an issue exists and what outcomes they expect once it’s resolved. From there, we might move into specific projects or sprints. In the example of a project management tool, we might first tackle their measurement process to align on metrics before considering a new system.

Workload management requires striking a balance between tracking enough metrics to get a clear picture and avoiding overwhelming decision makers. Many agencies either look at too few metrics or far too many. For example, you miss the bigger picture if you focus only on utilization but ignore your effective bill rate. On the other hand, tracking dozens of metrics leads to confusion.

I work with agencies to narrow their focus to the metrics that matter most for their business, and I emphasize understanding how changes in those metrics impact decisions. For workload management, there are a few foundational metrics I consider essential. First, on the sales and marketing side, you should track qualified leads, new clients, and account growth. If your model includes recurring revenue, renewal rates are critical as well.
Operationally, I always look at effective bill rate, cost rate, and billable utilization—comparing them to targets and industry benchmarks. These metrics give you insights into project gross margin and overall profitability. Time tracking is non-negotiable for accurate data.

I also encourage agencies to monitor cultural metrics like voluntary turnover rate and team satisfaction. Tools like weekly pulse checks, one-on-one feedback, or people management software can reveal how teams feel. Ultimately, workload visibility depends on a combination of clear financial metrics and an understanding of the team’s capacity and well-being.

The first step is ensuring the agency has the right number of metrics—enough to provide a complete picture without overwhelming the team. I often see agencies struggling in one of two ways: they either track too few metrics, which leads to flawed decision-making, or they track far too many, which causes confusion.

To identify the most valuable metrics, I collaborate with leadership to clarify what matters most for their specific business model. While some metrics are universal, like effective bill rate, cost rate, and utilization, the exact combination depends on how the agency works. For example, a project-based agency might prioritize short-term capacity planning, while a retainer-heavy agency would focus on recurring revenue and annual renewals.

Ultimately, the goal is to narrow the focus to metrics that provide actionable insights. Agencies should understand what it means when a metric moves up or down and how they can respond. This clarity allows leadership to focus on trends, identify opportunities, and make data-driven decisions that support sustainable growth.