Marketing Team Member Resigns
I am the manager of a marketing department for a small business. We are responsible for lead generation and brand awareness. One of my key team members, who was handling social media, just resigned unexpectedly. This has left us short-staffed, and we have important campaigns that are now at risk. What should I do? Please advise using 7SFS system.
Here’s how you can approach the situation using the 7 Steps Fulfilment System:
1. Celebrate & Be Grateful
Acknowledge Contributions
Celebrate the impact the departing team member had while they were part of your team. Recognize that they contributed to the progress of ongoing campaigns.
Express Gratitude:
Be grateful for the existing team members who are willing to step up and manage the additional workload during this challenging time. Recognize their commitment to maintaining campaign progress.
2. Align Your Fulfilment Vision
Clarify Your Priorities:
Reassess your marketing goals and campaigns. Identify which campaigns are the most crucial to maintain lead generation and brand awareness in the short term.
Align Resources with Priorities
Communicate clearly to your team that while short-staffed, the focus will be on high-priority campaigns. Ensure everyone is aligned with the vision and purpose of each project.
3. Know Your Win
Focus on the Key Campaigns:
Define your win as delivering the most critical campaigns on time and at a high quality. Focus on meeting deadlines for the projects that directly affect your lead generation and business goals.
Set Realistic Expectations
Understand that some less important projects might need to be paused or delayed. Prioritise the campaigns that offer the highest return on investment.
4. Know Your Client's Win
Understand Stakeholder Expectations:
Discuss the situation with any internal stakeholders or clients who depend on your campaigns. Set expectations and explain any necessary changes in timelines or deliverables.
Communicate Openly:
Let stakeholders know which campaigns will remain on track and how you plan to meet their goals with the available resources. This ensures transparency and builds trust.
5. Sign Win-Win Agreement or No Deal
Redistribute Workload Fairly:
Collaborate with your team to redistribute the workload based on each person’s strengths and capacity. Make sure no one feels overwhelmed, and that there is a fair balance of responsibility.
Consider External Help:
If necessary, consider hiring freelancers or temporary support to manage specific tasks like social media scheduling or content creation. This can ease the burden on the team.
6. Deliver with Excellence
Focus on High-Impact Campaigns:
Ensure that the campaigns identified as the highest priority are executed with excellence. Even with limited resources, deliver quality work to maintain momentum in lead generation and brand awareness.
Monitor Progress:
Keep a close eye on deadlines and deliverables. Conduct frequent check-ins with your team to ensure they’re managing their workloads and staying on track.
7. Achieve with Joy
Celebrate Small Wins:
As each campaign is successfully executed, take time to celebrate with the team. Acknowledge their hard work and dedication, even under difficult circumstances.
Reflect and Adjust
Once the immediate challenge is resolved, reflect on how the team handled the situation. Consider what adjustments can be made to avoid similar issues in the future, such as cross-training team members or automating processes.