A few weeks ago, I joined Maria Ottewell and Jamie Williams from Linney Create on stage at Creative Operations London, a Henry Stewart Events conference. The conversation centred on how agencies and clients are rethinking the way they work together.
What followed was an honest, wide-ranging discussion about operating models, pricing, talent, technology, and the role of AI. Here is what stood out to me, and what I think it means for the industry.
The Forces Reshaping the Agency and Client Operating Model
The agency world is under pressure from several directions at once. In-housing is accelerating. Agency consolidation continues. Consultancies are moving into creative territory. And AI is challenging the billable-hour model that has underpinned agency economics for decades.
The consequence is clear. Agencies that do not adapt their operating models risk losing relevance, margin, or both. The old model of selling time is no longer enough when clients can access talent, tools, and automation directly.
The fix is not to resist these forces. It is to build an operating model that responds to them: one that connects workflows, talent, and technology into a single, coherent system. That was the thread running through our entire panel discussion.
Why the Shift from Time-Based Pricing to Value-Based Models Matters
For years, agencies have sold hours. The brief comes in, the team estimates time, and the client pays for that time. It is a model everyone understands, but it is increasingly misaligned with what clients actually value.
Clients care about outcomes: campaign performance, speed to market, creative effectiveness. They are less interested in how many hours it took to get there. This creates tension when the pricing model rewards effort rather than impact.
The shift to value-based and outcome-driven models is not simple. It requires agencies to rethink how they scope, resource, and measure work. But it also opens the door to stronger partnerships, where both sides are invested in results rather than activity.
How Operational Excellence Earns a Seat at the Strategy Table
Operations has traditionally been seen as the back office: the team that keeps the lights on but rarely shapes strategy. That is changing.
As agencies face tighter margins and more complex delivery models, operational excellence has become a competitive advantage. The teams that manage intake, resourcing, capacity planning, and workflow governance well are the ones that deliver consistently and profitably.
Jamie Williams highlighted how operational roles are finally getting “a seat at the table,” with a clear focus on:
- Scalable processes
- Standardized workflows
- Automation and efficiency
- Revenue protection
At Linney Create, this shift was deliberate. Operations moved from a support function to a strategic one, with direct input into how work is scoped, priced, and delivered. The result is faster turnaround, better visibility, and stronger client confidence.
Building the Right Mix of Technology and Talent
Technology alone does not transform an agency. Neither does talent alone. The value comes from connecting the two within a workflow-driven operating model.
On the technology side, this means investing in automation for repeatable tasks: briefing, approvals, status reporting, and resource allocation. It means consolidating tools so teams work from a single source of truth rather than switching between disconnected systems.
On the talent side, it means expanding the definition of who belongs in an agency. Behavioural scientists, data analysts, CX specialists, and operations leads are now as important as creatives and strategists. The agencies that recognise this are building more resilient, adaptable teams.
How to Build AI into Workflows Without Losing Control
During the panel, one theme came up repeatedly: AI is everywhere, but most teams are still figuring out how to use it responsibly. The pressure to adopt is real, but so is the risk of moving too fast without clear guardrails, as Maria mentions.
You have to be quite intentional with what you do… if we’re using AI to create work for our clients… we have to be able to do it with some guardrails and some guidelines
While generative AI is unlocking new levels of speed and creativity, it also introduces challenges:
- Clients expect faster and cheaper delivery
- Not every workflow is suitable for AI
- Security and governance are critical
- Teams need training to use tools effectively
The insight from our discussion was straightforward. AI delivers the most value when it is built into defined workflows with clear governance, not used ad hoc by individuals experimenting in isolation. That means setting rules for where AI can be applied, what approvals are needed, and how outputs are reviewed.
If you are exploring AI in your agency or in-house team, start by mapping the workflows where it could reduce manual effort, such as content tagging, first-draft generation, or data analysis. Then build the governance around it before you scale.
Removing Workflow Friction to Protect Margins and Speed
Small friction points compound. A brief that arrives without the right information. An approval that sits in someone’s inbox for three days. A status update that requires checking four different tools.
Individually, these feel minor. Collectively, they erode margins, slow delivery, and frustrate teams. The data from agencies that have addressed this is consistent: consolidating to a single source of truth for project status, briefs, and approvals reduces rework and accelerates turnaround.
The action is to audit where friction lives in your current workflows. Look at intake, approvals, and handoffs between teams. These are the areas where small improvements deliver outsized returns.
As Maria mentioned during the panel:
The key thing for us at the end of the day is we wanna make things as easy as possible for our clients. It’s about delivering the work with the least friction and adding the highest amount of value that we possibly can
What a Stronger Operating Model Means for the Client Relationship
When an agency gets its operating model right, the client feels it. Turnaround times improve. Visibility increases. The agency moves from being a supplier to being a strategic partner.
This was one of the most compelling points from the Linney Create team. By investing in their operating model, including workflow automation, capacity planning, and a connected technology stack, they changed the nature of the client conversation. Clients could see where work stood, how resources were allocated, and what was coming next.
We’ve now got everything in one connected platform as opposed to having planning boards in one thing, resource boards in another, you brief somewhere else
That transparency builds trust. And trust is what turns a transactional relationship into a long-term partnership.
Why It Is Not In-House or Agency, It Is Both
The in-housing debate has been running for years, and it often gets framed as a binary choice. But the reality is more nuanced.
In-house teams face unique pressures:
- Proving value as a cost centre
- Balancing stakeholder expectations
- Managing internal client relationships
Most organisations need both in-house capability and agency expertise. The question is not which one to choose. It is how to orchestrate both effectively so that work flows between internal teams and external partners without duplication, delay, or loss of quality.
This requires a shared operating model: common workflows, shared visibility, and aligned ways of working. When that is in place, the in-house and agency distinction matters less. What matters is that the right people are doing the right work at the right time.
Why Successful Transformation Starts with People
Every operating model change is, at its core, a people challenge. You can invest in the best technology and design the most efficient workflows, but if the people involved do not understand, trust, or adopt the new way of working, it will not stick.
The Linney Create team spoke openly about this. Transformation worked because it was collaborative, not imposed. Teams were involved in designing the new processes. Communication was transparent. Ownership was shared.
If you are leading change in your organisation, invest as much time in the human side as you do in the systems and processes. That is where transformation succeeds or fails.
As Jamie mentioned during the panel:
It’s not about replacing that creativity and that human judgment… It’s about enabling people to do better, easier work by taking some of those repetitive and manual tasks away
What Intelligent Orchestration Looks Like in Practice
The thread connecting every part of our conversation was orchestration. Not just managing work, but orchestrating everything intelligently
- People
- Technology
- Workflows
- Data
- Partnerships
This is not about adding more tools or more process. It is about designing an operating model where every element works together, where intake feeds into resourcing, resourcing connects to capacity planning, capacity planning informs timelines, and timelines link back to budgets and client commitments.
Use this checklist to assess where your organisation stands:
1. Do you have a single source of truth for project status, briefs, and approvals?
2. Can your team see real-time capacity and utilisation across departments?
3. Are your intake and briefing workflows standardised and repeatable?
4. Is AI built into defined workflows with clear governance, not used ad hoc?
5. Do your agency and client teams share visibility on timelines, budgets, and deliverables?
6. Are you measuring operational performance (turnaround time, revision rounds, margin) alongside creative output?
7. Is change management treated as a shared, human process rather than a top-down mandate?
If you answered no to more than two of these, there is an opportunity to strengthen your operating model.
Screendragon helps agencies and in-house teams build connected, workflow-driven operating models. From intake and briefing through to resourcing, approvals, and reporting, everything lives in one place.
Book a demo to see how it works, or if you would like to view the webinar On-Demand, please click here.