What does Creative Operations look like in 2023?
Project management and resource management tools were the most popular solutions when we last surveyed the creative operations industry. The year was 2021 and the pandemic was still top-of-mind. In the same survey, we learned that half our respondents had implemented new software that year to help manage creative work. Maybe that was related to the 66% of creatives that revealed workloads were on the rise?
After a brief hiatus for 2022, the State of Creative Operations survey is back. This year’s report will pull pack the curtain on the creative workspace and find out what makes teams tick in 2023. On that note, it’s time to see what the post COVID creative operations industry looks like.
What is the industry outlook?
We want to know what the creative landscape looks in 2023. Did your team hire new staff in 2022? Or did your team downsize? Additionally, we will plot the course for the year ahead looking at hiring plans, freelancer usage, and offshoring regularity. Rumours of recession and downsizing have afflicted the creative operations discourse for the last 12 months. However, we are seeing positive signs from the market too. So, is it time for creatives to tighten the belt or loosen the screw?
How are creatives working in 2023?
How much time do creatives still spend on non-creative work? We’ll be answering this question to see whether respondents have found ways to prioritise their creative efforts since our last survey. For example in 2021, 25% of creatives spent more than 2 days per week on non-creative work. That’s more than 40% of the working week dedicated to tasks that do not help creative output.
What’s more, we’ll also be examining creative stimulants, most common challenges, contemporary workspaces, and more. Find out what how creative work is produced in 2023, what helps it flourish, and what can inhibit it.
What are the most common communication practices?
The State of Creative Operations in 2023 will examine how creative teams are communicating, sharing ideas, submitting briefs, and collaborating with partners. Are creatives still using the same communication channels as before? What’s the most common form of receiving a brief?
Furthermore, we will find out if collaboration is easier or more difficult in 2023. We found that many creative teams struggled in 2021 to communicate effectively while working remotely. Has the creative world fully adapted to remote collaboration?
What technologies are creatives reliant on?
The creative tech stack is continually evolving as the industry embraces automation and systemic processes. On that note, we will find out what technologies are essential for creative teams in 2023. Is work management software now ubiquitous? Do any creatives still depend on old school Excel and Email methods? Lastly, we are very interested to see whether AI has become a part of the creative toolkit in 2023.
