Why Instant Messaging is Worst for Web Design Client Communications
Working as an independent contractor for almost a decade and having direct access to the decision-maker was a bliss. Unlike working with large teams, one-on-one communication is easier to manage. Getting feedback is faster and requests are much easier to track when there are only a few people accountable.
I started when clients prefer e-mail over Yahoo! Messenger, so you can imagine how I fell in love with instant messaging when it first started to become a must-have in every virtual workspace. The feedback cycle became faster and more personal. No more checking e-mails every now and then to check if the client has decided to finally reply.
The Realization
It was when I started working for a startup years ago when I realized that IM apps like Skype and Slack are a rather toxic addition to the workflow. Secret Slack groups that were first created for collaboration became a hub for office politics. Any superior could just go and call us out for a meeting whenever they feel like it.
It was a major distraction.
Don’t get me wrong, I still love my Slack and Glip. Besides, we really don’t have a choice these days. The problem really is not Instant Messaging itself. It’s how companies use these communication apps that made them counter-productive, if not toxic, additions to the workflow.
The “Instant” Mindset
We live in a world where clients expect 24/7 connectivity from us. Unlike asynchronous messaging like e-mail, the client has the “instant” mindset the moment he hops into Slack or Skype to send you a request during work hours. They want almost-instant responses and instant approvals. Not getting a reply from you is seen as unresponsiveness, and not being able to address their concerns right away puts you in a difficult position.
This also makes every request an order. As a professional web designer, you are paid to apply your creative skills to a project. That’s why there’s a feedback cycle where clients send over requests that you will either do or ditch based on your professional opinion. However, most clients don’t want to go through this creative process.
Without ample time to craft a good response explaining why something can’t be done, you either get to just do whatever they please (and therefore come up with a poor design) or fall short in presenting your case. And if you continue to insist without giving a satisfactory explanation, clients may feel that you’re questioning their taste and it becomes an ego war instead of being part of the creative process.
Who Said What?
It was when we started working on a project as an external agency last year that I felt the most negative impact of Instant Messaging. Our agency has a project management and ticket system for requests but the client prefers we use Skype for communications.
When we started to present the first phase of our design work, all hell started to break loose. We got requests via Skype and Glip from different people. Worse, they keep adding new people to conversations to “help” with revisions. We get contradicting requests, receive direct messages and tasks are buried between small talk and brainstorms. We got to the point where requests were too many to log into the main ticket system and therefore too difficult to track.
Even if you’re just dealing with a couple of decision-makers, the pressure to respond right away makes noting every request inefficient.
Trust Issues
Have you ever had a client who chimes in every couple of hours to ask you how you’re doing?
Even if they mean no harm and are genuinely interested in knowing how your work life is doing, did you ever feel that they’re checking up on you to see if you’re really working?
I always give a client an estimate of how long a project takes. When I say a project takes two days to complete, I don’t expect them to follow-up within the next 5 hours. Designing a website doesn’t start with building the first section or editing the graphics. Different designers have different workflows. I personally start with something abstract like research and creating a mood board. For the client, not seeing any visible or obvious progress translates to not working. “Research” may even sound like an excuse to procrastinate.
We can’t expect every client to understand our unique creative processes, especially if they have worked with someone who makes “faster” visible progress in the past. It’s normal for any designer to feel defensive whenever they are being followed-up every now and then. This distraction creates a pressure that keeps us from doing deep and meaningful work.
Instant Messaging the Right way
There’s no reason to ditch Instant Messaging completely. These problems can be avoided if you have written a formal agreement with your client regarding your workflow terms before you started a contract with them.
Regular Huddles
I had a client who runs a digital marketing agency in California, and I admired his communication system so much. We would have a meeting 3 times a week, a “Group Huddle” where we talk or chat about where we are in a project, our wins and losses.
Make it clear to your client that you are available for a chat at specific hours and that new requests should be added to your ticket system for easier tracking.
Ticket System
A ticket system can be as simple as an Airtable form or a support system using Freshdesk. Limit Instant Messaging to urgent matters and make sure that tasks stay in your project management platform or ticket system.
Take Time to Make Decisions
If you have already started with a client and now is not the best time to talk about your communication terms, start by making some matters asynchronous.
For example, if the client asks you to do something that you think is bad design, acknowledge the request, and let them know that you’ll think about it. Simply saying “Ok, I have that noted. Give me a couple of hours to explore that option and see if it looks good” works.
Delaying your response will save you from bad design decisions and buy you time to work on the perfect response to explain your case and present them with better options.
Set Client Expectations
A client who has trust issues and follows-up with you every couple of hours can be annoying, but you need to understand where they are coming from. They may have had bad experiences with designers that they have left alone in the past and they want to micro-manage to feel “in control” of the situation.
Break down the project or task into smaller milestones and inform them that you may not be able to respond to them right away while working on a project. Remember that the cure for trust issues is visible progress. “I will send you an update in 5 hours for the first milestone” works and helps set their expectations.
If your client feels that you are wasting your time and they can’t respect the processes that are proven to work for you, then it might be time to fire them. Don’t waste your time on projects that may only yield poor results that you can’t add to your portfolio. They might not be the perfect client for you and you may not be to them.
By setting clear expectations about your availability and creative process, you’ll be spending more time doing it than chatting. It’s important to put systems in place to manage client requests and keep important tasks from getting buried in the conversation.
