Tayburn is a 40-person agency based in Edinburgh that helps businesses with branding, identity, digital and service design. It has branches in Liverpool, Manchester, and Istanbul. The document discusses how Tayburn has been profitable for 35 consecutive years and the values and differentiators that have contributed to its success, such as creativity and a focus on effectiveness. It also describes how the agency improved operations and empowered employees by implementing the Synergist project management system, which provides real-time tracking of costs, time utilization, and financial reporting.

1. TAYBURN ARE A 40-STRONG AGENCY THAT HELPS
AMBITIOUS BUSINESSES CREATE REMARKABLE BRAND
JOURNEYS COMBINING STRATEGY, IDENTITY, DIGITAL
& SERVICE DESIGN. BASED IN EDINBURGH, THEY HAVE
BRANCHES IN LIVERPOOL, MANCHESTER AND ISTANBUL.
Client work for Scottish Provident
by Tayburn
www.synergist.co.uk
www.synergist.co.uk
01625 572 690
www.theagencyworks.co.uk
01455 553 246
Implementation and consultation by
MEET THE AGENCY THAT’S
BEEN PROFITABLE EVERY
YEAR FOR 35 YEARS...
SO HOW DID THEY ACHIEVE ALL THAT?
Many thanks to Steven Clark, Financial and Commercial Manager of
Tayburn for his input
AGENC Y PROFITABILIT Y FOR 35 CONSECUTIVE YE ARS?
HOW ON EARTH CAN YOU POSSIBLY IMPROVE ON THAT?
BY GOING FOR A 36TH... IN THE MEANTIME, IN NOVEMBER
’14 TAYBURN BECAME THE ONLY UK AGENCY TO BE INCLUDED
IN THE TOP 10 FOR BOTH EFFECTIVENESS (5TH IN DBA’S
DESIGN EFFECTIVENESS AWARDS) AND CREATIVITY
(5TH IN DESIGN WEEK’S CREATIVE LEAGUE TABLE 2014).
Client work for Standard Life
by Tayburn
Client work for Crosse & Blackwell
by Tayburn
Client work for DC Dalgliesh
by Tayburn
Client work for Heineken UK
by Tayburn
Client work for Historic Scotland
by Tayburn
OUR FIVE VALUESA. ‘
“ S T A N D F O R S O M E T H I N G , B E D I S T I N C T I V E ,
IMPROVE PEOPLE’S LIVES AND GET TALKED ABOUT.
“GET THE RIGHT PEOPLE TOGETHER FROM THE OUTSET,
SHARE T HINGS AND COL L ABOR AT E WI T H T HE BE S T.
“BE CLEAR ON THE OBJECTIVES, STAY FOCUSED, TAKE
R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y A N D D O I T W I T H EN T H U S I A S M.
“ U N TA N G L E C O M P L E X I T Y, G E T T O T H E P O I N T
A N D H E L P M A K E A L L O U R L I V E S E A S I E R .
“ADD SOME SPARK, HAVE FUN, CELEBRATE SUCCESS
AND IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU DO, LET IT SHOW.
AND WE HAVE FOUR DIFFERENTIATORSB. ‘
“YOUR WORK FOR CLIENTS HAS TO MAKE MONEY FOR
THEM. THAT’S OUR FOCUS EVERY DAY. SO ALTHOUGH WE
LOVE WINNING AWARDS FOR CREATIVIT Y, WE PREFER
WINNING THEM FOR EFFECTIVENESS EVEN MORE.
“WE’RE A VERY CREATIVE AGENCY HERE, BUT
WE’RE FINANCIALLY ASTUTE TOO. YOU HAVE
TO HAVE BOTH OF THOSE TRAITS, IN PARALLEL.
“WE LIKE TO OFFER TRANSPARENCY TO CLIENTS, SO THEY CAN
SEE THE COMMITMENT AND INVESTMENT WE’RE MAKING
ON THEIR BEHALF. IT INCREASES AWARENESS AND TRUST.
“AND WE GIVE TRANSPARENCY TO OUR TEAMS, SO
THEY HAVE THE INFORMATION THEY NEED TO MANAGE
JOBS PROPERLY. TODAY, DESIGNERS, ARTWORKERS
AND ACCOUNT MANAGERS ARE KNOWLEDGE WORKERS,
EVEN MINI-ENTREPRENEURS, FOR US. THE DAYS OF
THEM DOING ISOL ATED TASKS IN THE DARK ARE OVER.
AND YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE RIGHT TOOLSC. ‘
WHAT’S CHANGED SINCE WE GOT SYNERGIST?D. ‘
“INVESTMENT IN DOING A PITCH IS NOW COMPLETELY
VISIBLE. TIME, TRAVEL, EXPENSES, STAFF UTILISATION,
IT’S ALL IN THERE. THE TEAM UNDERSTAND HOW IT ALL
FITS TOGETHER. SO PITCHES ARE MANAGED PROPERLY.
PUTTING IT INTO PERSPECTIVE
‘
“ I N A S E N T E N C E : W E ’ V E C R E A T E D A R E M A R K A B L E
C U L T U R E H E R E , A N D W E ’ V E D E C I D E D T O M A K E
R E M A R K A B L E H A P P E N F O R O U R C L I E N T S T O O .
‘ R E M A R K A B L E ’ I S O U R M A N T R A W O R D H E R E .
B U T W H A T M A K E S U S D I F F E R E N T, E X A C T L Y ?
VALUE 1 ‘CHALLENGE THE UNREMARKABLE’
VALUE 2 ‘BETTER TOGETHER’
VALUE 3 ‘ACT WITH PURPOSE’
VALUE 4 ‘SIMPLICITY’
VALUE 5 ‘PLAYFUL’
DIFFERENTIATOR 1 ‘CREATIVITY & ASTUTENESS’
DIFFERENTIATOR 2 ‘EFFECTIVENESS’
DIFFERENTIATOR 3 ‘CLIENT TRANSPARENCY’
DIFFERENTIATOR 4 ‘TEAM TRANSPARENCY’
CHANGE 1 ‘VISIBILITY’
CHANGE 2 ‘BILLING’
CHANGE 3 ‘TRACKING PITCHES’
CHANGE 4 ‘EQUITY INVESTMENT’
CHANGE 5 ‘TOGETHER’
CHANGE 6 ‘FINANCIALS’
CHANGE 7 ‘MONTH END’
CHANGE 8 ‘EMPOWERMENT’
“IN THE OLD DAYS WE USED A CLUNKY, HORRIBLE JOB
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM. I USED TO HAVE TO SIT DOWN
WITH THE ACCOUNT MANAGERS EVERY MONTH AND
ASK QUESTIONS LIKE ‘WHY IS THIS JOB OVER?’ AND
‘WHY HAVE WE NOT BILLED THIS ONE?’ AND IT TOOK AN
ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF TIME TO SORT OUT EACH
MONTH. WE ONLY FOUND OUT WHAT WAS REALLY HAPPENING
AFTER THE EVENT, WHEN OF COURSE IT WAS TOO L ATE.
“THAT WASN’T THE ONLY PROBLEM. CLIENTS ARE CUTE,
AS EVERY AGENCY KNOWS. THEY SUBTLY ASK FOR
AMENDMENTS HERE AND THERE, WHICH USED TO GET
NODDED THROUGH FOR FREE. BUT THE EXTRA WORK
REALLY MOUNTS UP. OUR SYSTEM DIDN’T MAKE IT EASY
TO TRACK THOSE CHANGES, CAUSING BIG PROBLEMS.
“EVERY THING TOOK SO LONG TO DO. IT USED TO TAKE ME
TWO WEEKS TO DO THE MONTH-END EVERY MONTH. IT
WAS L ABORIOUS TO DO THE BILLING, THE ACCOUNTING
ENTRIES, CREATE THE REPORTS AND HAVE MANY, MANY
MEETINGS TO CHASE THE INFORMATION WE NEEDED.
“IT GOT TO THE POINT THAT WE HAD TO GET A
BET TER SOLUTION. SO I LOOKED AT LOTS OF SYSTEMS.
W E C H O S E S Y N E R G I S T.
“WITH SYNERGIST I KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON IN
EVERY JOB, AND THE GREAT THING ABOUT IT IS
THAT I KNOW IT AS IT’S HAPPENING. COSTS ARE
CAPTURED REAL-TIME. SO THERE ARE NO SURPRISES.
“AND THE TEAM SEES HOW MANY HOURS ARE
ALLOCATED TO A JOB AND HOW MANY HOURS ARE
LEFT. SO WHEN WE HAVE A MONDAY MORNING
MEETING TO ALLOCATE WHO WILL BE WORKING ON
WHICH JOB, IT’S COMPLETELY TRANSPARENT TO ALL.
“AND THE W.I.P. IS SO GOOD. MOST DESIGN AGENCIES
DON’T HAVE A CLUE ABOUT WHERE THEY ARE ON
TIME SPENT AND COSTS INCURRED TO A JOB. THEY
HAVE A HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY TIED UP AND THEY
DON’T KNOW EXACTLY WHERE, UNTIL IT’S TOO L ATE.
“WHAT SYNERGIST DELIVERS IN TERMS OF
FINANCIAL CONTROL IS FANTASTIC. ONE L ARGE
PROSPECTIVE CLIENT ASKED TO SEE OUR FINANCIALS.
AFTERWARDS, THEY SAID ‘THIS IS THE BEST SET
O F FI N A N C I A L R EP O RT S I H AV E E V E R S E E N ’.
“SYNERGIST MAKES IT SO MUCH EASIER. MY MONTH END HAS
BEEN CUT IN HALF TO 5 DAYS, TO GET THE BILLING SORTED,
CHECK THE ACCOUNTING LINKS, GENERATE THE REPORTS AND
MEET UP WITH TEAM MEMBERS TO TALK THINGS THROUGH.
“SO IT GIVES ME 3 WEEKS TO CONCENTRATE ON OTHER
COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES AND ADD VALUE TO OTHER AREAS”.
“IF SYNERGIST WAS SOMEHOW TAKEN AWAY FROM US,
IT WOULD BE WORSE THAN US HAVING A FIRE. WE
HAVE DISASTER RECOVERY FOR FIRE. BUT NOT HAVING
OUR SYSTEM WOULD BRING DEL AYS IN EVERY THING WE
DO, AND WE’D LOSE THE VISIBILIT Y EVERYBODY WANTS.
“THERE’S A BUZZ HERE. WE DO A LOT OF THINGS TO INVOLVE
EVERYONE. WE HAVE INNOVATION TEAMS. WE DO SHOW AND
TELLS. I EVEN DO A SESSION CALLED ‘FINANCE IS FUNNY’.
YOU’VE GOT TO KEEP IT PLAYFUL – THAT’S ONE OF OUR VALUES
AFTER ALL. AND THAT PHRASE ‘HELPING MAKE REMARKABLE
HAPPEN’: SYNERGIST IS MORE THAN SUPPORTING THIS.
“AND SYNERGIST GIVES US SCAL ABILIT Y. IT’S ALL ABOUT
GROW T H. I T MAKE S GROW T H MORE MANAGE ABL E.
“ I W O U L D R E C O M M E N D S Y N E R G I S T T O D E S I G N
A G E N C I E S , C R E AT I V E A G E N C I E S , D I G I TA L A G E N C I E S ,
E V E N A R C H I T E C T S – A N Y T I M E- B A S E D C O M PA N Y.”
“WE CREATE DRAFT INVOICES BASED ON QUOTES,
PURCHASE ORDERS AND SO ON. WE GET MONTHLY
INVOICES SENT OUT BY THE 2ND OF THE MONTH.
“BUT WHY WAIT UNTIL THE END OF THE MONTH?
WE CAN NOW GET THEM OUT AT THE END OF A
PROJECT. WE NEVER USED TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
“WHEN WE CHOOSE TO, WE SOMETIMES INVEST IN A
START-UP COMPANY’S BRANDING AND MARKETING. WE
TAKE LIT TLE OR NO FEE, BUT WE EARN A SLICE OF THE
EQUIT Y IN RETURN. IT’S A STRATEGIC INVESTMENT.
“ S Y N E R G I S T M A K E S T H AT F E A S I B L E , B E C A U S E
WE KNOW EXACTLY WHEN IT MAKES SENSE TO DO
IT FROM A STAFF UTILISATION VIEWPOINT, AND
EVERY THING IS TRACKED SO WE’RE IN CONTROL.
“SYNERGIST PULLS EVERY THING TOGETHER. WE TRACK
INCOME, WORK IN PROGRESS, COST OVERRUNS,
MARGINS, TIME UTILISATION, PROFITABILIT Y
ANALYSIS – EVERY THING COMES FROM SYNERGIST.
“IT’S ALL ENCOMPASSING. YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO SEE THE
BIG PICTURE AT A GL ANCE. WE HAVE 40 PEOPLE HERE NOW.
THEY ALL USE SYNERGIST AND ACCESS THE SAME DATA.
“ T H E T E A M A R E M U C H M O R E EM P OW ER ED N OW.
I T ’ S B E E N A N E D U C AT I O N F O R T H E T E A M .
“IT GIVES SO MUCH MORE KNOWLEDGE TO THE ACCOUNT
D I R E C T O R S , F O R E X A M P L E. I T ’S I N C R E A S E D T H E
FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE TO NON-FINANCE STAFF TENFOLD.
“EMPOWERING THE ACCOUNT TEAMS MEANS THEY CAN
ADVISE THE CLIENT RATHER THAN MERELY WORK ON THE
JOB TASK. IT’S A MORE CONSULTATIVE RELATIONSHIP,
MORE VALUABLE. AND WHEN THEY SEE THAT WE’VE
SPENT MORE ON A JOB THAN THE BRIEF ALLOWED,
THEY’RE KEEN TO GET IT BACK AGAIN IN ANOTHER WAY.
HAVING A REAL-TIME SYSTEM MAKES THAT POSSIBLE.
“IT’S GIVEN THEM MORE OF A SENSE OF RESPONSIBILIT Y,
MORE DISCIPLINE. THE TEAM HAVE BECOME MUCH
MORE COMMERCIALLY MINDED NOW. THEY UNDERSTAND
MARGINS. IT’S ALSO HELPED OUR ACCOUNT MANAGERS &
ACCOUNT DIRECTORS EARN MORE FROM EXISTING CLIENTS.