How XWP Optimized Agency Operations and Resource Planning with Productive
XWP is a globally distributed agency specializing in enterprise WordPress development. They partner with some of the world’s leading digital publishers and technology companies to solve complex content management challenges. From migrating 25 years of Rolling Stone archives with zero downtime to powering over 70 media brands on a shared WordPress platform, XWP is at the forefront of scalable, high-performance publishing solutions.
We spoke to Magnolia Wren, Operations Manager at XWP, about how they use Productive to streamline operations, enhance cross-department visibility, and optimize resource planning.
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Can you tell us a bit about XWP and your role?
XWP was founded in 2014 and specializes in helping enterprise publishers drive measurable business growth through strategic WordPress development. We focus on solving complex digital publishing challenges by leveraging existing tools in the WordPress industry while also developing custom solutions that balance innovation with efficiency. We primarily serve enterprise clients in digital publishing, fintech, and technology.
When we first launched Productive, I was an Operations Coordinator focused on improving scheduling and reporting for our delivery and engineering teams. Over time, I became the primary contact for Productive across all functionalities within XWP. As an Operations Manager, I now focus on optimizing it to support our operations team.
Did you use any tools before Productive?
Before using Productive, our departments were well-organized with documented processes, but there was a disconnect between them. Sales, for example, had limited visibility into delivery, making cross-team alignment more challenging.
We used Harvest and Forecast—Forecast was a straightforward tool for scheduling, and Harvest helped with time tracking. However, we needed more flexibility in reporting to gain deeper insights into financials and workload fluctuations.
Utilization tracking required manual calculations, pulling data into spreadsheets, and extensive filtering. There wasn’t a seamless way to analyze utilization across teams or at different levels of the organization.
Why did you start looking for a new tool?
We needed something customizable, user-friendly, and affordable. Since we work with contractors and have varying workloads, we require a system that can handle contractual guarantees versus actual capacity.
Our most significant pain points were:
- Lack of cross-department visibility.
- Too much reliance on spreadsheets for reporting.
- Inability to handle edge cases like contractor engagements and fluctuating workloads.
- Inability to centralize and customize data and reporting within our previous register of tools.
We explored many other options with robust features, but they didn’t fully align with our budget, and the user-experience of other tools was a far steeper learning curve than we were aiming for. What stood out about Productive was:
- Its balance of customization and ease of use.
- Strong support team.
- Integrations with key tools like HubSpot and Jira.
- A pricing model that made sense for an agency of our size.
What benefits did you see once you started using Productive? What were the biggest changes?
We saw a lot of changes across various points, but these are the most significant ones:
- Cross-department visibility improved dramatically.
- We now have all of our key employee and time data in one place, which has eliminated a great number of spreadsheets and one-off reports.
- Customizable permissions allowed us to empower our team while keeping sensitive data private.
- Our scheduling has been streamlined through multiple functionalities and increased visibility in the resource planning tool, reducing time spent on manual calculations and searching for supporting information.
- The customizable reports and dashboards have saved leadership and operations countless hours.
My favorite feature in Productive is the customizable permissions. They allow us to give employees as much visibility as possible while securing sensitive data.
Do you have a favorite feature in Productive and why?
My favorite feature in Productive is the customizable permissions. They allow us to give our teammates as much visibility as possible while securing sensitive data. I also love the ability to use customizable fields and formulas in reporting- it’s been a total game-changer for us. Building and sharing specific reports has saved us time and supported efficient decision-making across our organization. I’m also a huge fan of the recent updates to resourcing. The improved visibility into individual absences from the “project” view has made scheduling much smoother and more efficient.
How would you feel if you didn’t have Productive?
Without Productive, we would lose valuable time reverting back to countless spreadsheets, and rebuilding our current processes would take months. Our ability to track our utilization, manage our fluctuating team capacities, and resource our teams efficiently would be significantly impacted.
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