Traffic coordinator
When a new project comes into the agency, the account executive goes directly to the traffic coordinator to schedule it for production. They discuss the details of the project and the client's deadline. The traffic coordinator maintains the master schedule which shows how many projects are presently in production and when each of them will be completed. Traffic coordinators are also aware of any problems a particular project may be having and if those problems will effect production on other projects. With that information the traffic coordinator makes the final decision about when the account executive's project can be scheduled.
There are always times when schedules are tight and new projects must be held until an opening can be found in production. This is when an account executive may beg and plead with the traffic coordinator to please squeeze in their client's project. The AE often proclaims in panic, "We will lose the account if we don't meet the deadline!" Traffic coordinators need a sixth sense to know when the AE really means it and when it is merely a scare tactic. If the threat of losing the account is real, the traffic coordinator can usually judge which projects already in production have a built in time margin to allow some leeway in the schedule.
Traffic coordinators must be well organized, detail oriented, decisive, perceptive, and intuitive. Above all, they must have the ability to say "no" and mean it, and they absolutely cannot crumble under pressure.
For these positions you will need to be familiar with the agency's clientele, the production department, and how the agency handles its workflow. If you have the qualities I described in the previous paragraph, almost any job with an agency for at least a year will give you the background information necessary to qualify for traffic coordination. Personally, I have found that people who have come from secretarial, office management or executive assistant positions seem to be best prepared to meet the on the job demands of organization and follow through.
Production coordinator
It is the production coordinator's responsibility to make sure that all work flows smoothly through the agency and that it is completed on time. This is not an easy job. It means keeping a constant check on everyone in production to be sure they are on schedule with their projects. Sometimes that means the production coordinator is not the most popular person in the agency. A production coordinator works closely with the traffic coordinator to keep the traffic coordinator updated on the progress of all production projects. When the traffic coordinator makes a decision to push a high priority project through production when the schedule is tight, that decision cannot be made without cooperation from the production coordinator.
Before jumping into a production coordinator's shoes, you will need a few years of experience in a supervisory position. I have found that former teachers adapt well to this job because the techniques used in a classroom are very similar to those needed by a production coordinator. With the right combination of compassion and gentle persuasion, the production coordinator can be a steadying influence on the "pressure cooker" environment in the production department. Along with an ability to monitor people's progress and be an encouraging cheer leader, production coordinators should also have at least a year or two of experience actually working in some phase of production.
Often typesetters or mechanical artists will be drawn to a production coordinator's position when they are ready for a change of pace from the possible tedium of working on only one aspect of a project. Production coordinators are able to get involved with all phases of a project. They work with the art and copy people, typesetters, photographers, videographers, and account executives. It is a position that offers a great deal of variety and satisfaction as you see a project come together, but you are not faced with the daily grind of actually doing the work.
Business manager
The end result of all the client service, media buying, creative inspiration, and production is the profit the agency will make at the end of the year. A business manager is the person who oversees the agency's finances. The business manager will alert agency principals when or if the amount of money the agency owes to others is becoming greater than the money the agency is taking in a very dangerous point. Business managers also hound agency staff people for their job timesheets one of the more unpleasant tasks these number crunchers have to do. They then compile that information along with other job cost data in order to bill clients on a monthly basis. As the money comes into the agency, they decide how to spend it. Their input is often the last word when agency principals are pressured to give an employee a raise, when they want to hire new people, or when they want to buy additional equipment. Business managers make recommendations on how agency capital should be invested. They decide when an account is becoming unprofitable to the agency and how the agency can improve the profit margin on new accounts and projects.
A business manager may also be an agency principal. This is often the case in small to medium sized agencies. The larger agencies will hire M.B.A. types to do the job. The main requirement for anyone who becomes an agency business manager is a strong background in accounting and business administration, personnel management, and financial planning. An MBA is not essential, but it will definitely give you the edge.
