Agency learning - Ideal team selection

The first hurdle for an agency leadership team regarding major change projects is identifying and choosing the team that will implement this change. Assuming that you are new to headless, the early evaluation stages will include a review of headless as a CMS concept, followed by an assessment of various CMS options. If you are here, you’re planning on proceeding with Storyblok as your solution. It’s most likely that up to this point you have involved a number of team members, however now you will have to involve a wider group for a ‘proof of concept’ project.

We’ve learned from our agency partners who are working with Storyblok that they chose their team members based on who showcased the following traits:

• Progressive - willingness to try something new
• Innovative - sees opportunities for improvements
• Not wedded to existing technology
• Able to see the bigger picture - i.e. the changing face of CMS technology
• Excited about improving delivery and outcomes for clients
• Collaborative - able to work well with other
• Problem solvers - persistent in finding solutions when problems arise

At an agency-level, you need to consider the authority and influence of this team. The aforementioned traits could all be exhibited by junior team members, but to fully onboard a new solution you need to also have some senior, influential team members, especially in the early stages. If your agency is busy, you might feel apprehensive about taking key people off ongoing projects but you need to consider how this team will be perceived across your agency.

It's also very important to choose the most suitable project to maximize your chances of success. From our conversations with existing agency partners, we’ve learned that they typically either start with an internal project for the agency itself, or choose a client project that meets most if not all of the following criteria:

• Client is either relatively agnostic in terms of CMS choice or actively seeking the latest CMS technology
• A specific Storyblok/Headless benefit is of particular attraction to the client (e.g. page-load speed, ease of use, design flexibility, security, transparent price etc.)

It’s important to keep in mind that efficiencies are built up over time, with more usage and learning spent with the new technology you are looking to adopt. To help you reach this stage, Storyblok’s Learning Center is geared at educating partners on how to use Storyblok and how to utilize it in the best way possible. You’ll find courses to develop your basic Storyblok skills, learn how to utilize its features, perks and apps, as well as learn how you can extend your business through multiple opportunities for co-marketing.

In essence, choosing the right team and the right project is essential to starting out while maximizing your chances of success with onboarding Storyblok.