Project Management Tips for Digital Agencies with Brett Harned

Gray MacKenzie talks with Brett Harned of Digital PM Consulting about the practical realities of project management in digital agencies. Brett brings deep experience from his time at Happy Cog and his consulting work with agencies of all sizes. He is also the author of Project Management for Humans and co-hosts the Sprints and Milestones podcast.

Formalize Your Processes

Brett starts with the foundation: agencies need to formalize their processes before they can improve them. Many agencies run on tribal knowledge - processes that live in people’s heads and vary from project to project. This works when the team is small, but it breaks down quickly as the agency grows.

Brett recommends mapping out the entire client journey from business development through delivery. At each stage, identify the breaking points - where handoffs get dropped, where information gets lost, where clients get frustrated. These pain points are the highest-leverage opportunities for improvement.

The goal is not to create rigid bureaucracy. It is to establish a consistent baseline that the team can follow and iterate on. When everyone works from the same playbook, the quality of delivery becomes more predictable, and new team members can ramp up faster.

Define the PM Role Clearly

One of the most common problems Brett sees in agencies is ambiguity around the PM role. In some agencies, the PM is a scheduler. In others, they are a client liaison. In others still, they are expected to upsell and manage the commercial relationship. This inconsistency creates confusion and frustration.

Brett recommends defining the PM role explicitly before hiring. What is the scope of their authority? Are they responsible for scheduling only, or do they also manage staffing, client communication, and budget oversight? Clarity at this stage prevents the role from becoming a catch-all for everything no one else wants to do.

As Brett puts it, the PM role is strategy. It involves taking projects from Point A to Point B efficiently, effectively, and on budget while delivering results. That definition should guide both hiring and day-to-day management.

Hiring the Right PMs

Brett shares specific qualities to look for when hiring agency PMs. Technical skills can be taught, so he prioritizes attributes that are harder to develop: strong team compatibility, genuine curiosity about the work, fast learning capability, independence and initiative, and a commitment to both the agency’s and client’s success.

Likability matters more than some hiring managers want to admit. A PM interacts with every person on the project team and often serves as the primary client contact. Someone who is pleasant to work with, communicates clearly, and handles stress gracefully will outperform a more technically skilled PM who creates friction.

The Business Case for Good PM

Brett closes with a reminder that investing in project management is not overhead - it is a growth strategy. Agencies with strong PM practices deliver more consistent results, retain clients longer, and free up leadership to focus on business development rather than firefighting.

The Sprints and Milestones podcast and the Digital PM Summit community are resources Brett recommends for agency PMs looking to continue their professional development.