4 Keys to Successfully Managing an Ad Ops Team

It’s no secret that any badly managed team generates a loss for a company – not only in terms of revenue, but also time, energy, and resources that every company should use efficiently. A manager who uses their resources incorrectly will likely lose their team sooner or later (if he doesn’t become exhausted first, that is). Keep in mind that better management lies in your best interest, readers!

How to manage an Ad Ops Team?

Poorly managed teams are 55% less effective, on average. That’s why every team of employees should operate at the same levels, as part of a well-maintained machine. This is especially true in the rapidly evolving ad tech industry, where no company can allow itself to fall behind the competition. With there being such a shortage of ad ops specialists and traffickers in the market (as we’ll look into below), it’s just not an option.

What are the foundations of a well-integrated ad ops team?

• Partnership
• Good communication
• Motivating one another

Sounds a bit too ideal? It could be, but it’s still possible to execute. Yieldbird experts cooperate with hundreds of ad ops teams worldwide, and they confirm that regardless of the country, cultural conditions, or team size, those three rules are commonplace for effective groups of employees.

Below, we’ve prepared some other observations about providing your team with the right energy for cooperation. What do you need to know when managing a team of ad ops specialists or traffickers? Here’s the list:

Key 1: Variety is the source of effectiveness and innovation

It’s been a long time since unity was the prevailing theme in social and company structures. Nowadays, everyone wants to be an individual and to be treated as adequately as they think they should be. And actually, this is the key thing that you should start with – personalizing the method of management depending on:

• The details of a given person’s duties.
• The person’s temper.
• Communication style.
• Methods of learning.

Keep in mind that:

• The more energy you put into learning about your employees, the greater the chance that you’ll actually keep them highly motivated.

Working with ad tech tools or analyzing campaigns often requires a lot of concentration, analytical thinking skills, and a comprehensive approach to a problem. This means that there is a big probability that a person with a calm and composed character, who might also be an introvert, will be the perfect ad ops specialist/trafficker.

Managing a team of introverts? What a challenge! On one hand, these people have a great ability to work with repeatable schemes and patterns, which is pretty abundant in this profession. On the other hand, your team might miss out on a real ‘people-person,’ who can always strike up conversations and work smoothly with others.

A variety of personalities on a team is important for reaching that perfect level of work dynamics. What does that mean? The more different personalities on your team, the more energy the team will have. And the level of energy that a team generates over a working day is proportional to its effectiveness. So if energy stays at the same level the entire time, it becomes too uniform and doesn’t create much of a ‘rush’ in the workplace. That then makes it hard to develop harmony within the team, with every member contributing varied sets of knowledge and convictions.

So just keep in mind that:

• When you’re establishing a team, look for people with varied personalities, diverse temperaments, and from different backgrounds.
• If you already have a team and you think that it is not varied enough, try to find the unique skills of your employees and underline the predispositions of such people in their daily work.

Key 2: New day, a new challenge

The work of a person in charge of ad operations can seem monotonous to some. It’s all too often associated with repeatedly performing the same tasks, but there are some truly big opportunities involved in it (especially in the programmatic ecosystem).

Ad ops specialists usually have the opportunity to test and introduce many new products and technological solutions, creating the possibility for on-going growth. Even if you have less innovative solutions to offer sometimes, and you work on well-known schemes, it’s worth developing a rotational model in your team in terms of executing particular tasks and projects. Changing the scope of completed activities from time to time allows your team to learn all possible perspectives of the work of a trafficker. It also brings a lot of variety to your team’s daily work.

So just keep in mind that:

• A bored employee will not be effective, so do whatever you can to keep your team from drowning in stagnation.

Key 3: Be free and let others be free

It’s worth noting how specific tasks are completed by the people who are responsible for such tasks. Every team has people of varying levels of independence, but the key to achieving balance is the proper assignment of tasks. If you are a manager, then you certainly know how it feels to have too many responsibilities. But in the end, this is always your choice.

So just keep in mind that: Some tasks may (and should) be assigned to your team, not only to you.

• Some of the tasks may (and should) be assigned to your team, not only to you.

Benefits of delegating assignments:

• Your employees see that you trust them, so they become more involved in the task. They’re motivated not to let you down.
• You diversify tasks in your team, providing your employees with chances to prove their skills in various areas.
• You make your team grow! Different and sometimes challenging tasks provide new skills to the team and resources that can be used in the future.
• You have more time for important things, such as the proper management of your team.

Keep in mind that:

• When assigning tasks, remember to provide your employees with freedom of work after they are given guidelines.

This will make the employee feel more motivated and supported in their independence. Don’t be afraid of employees making mistakes. You made mistakes in the past too, and you probably still do. They’ll learn from them and start performing better.

Key 4: Motivate!

One small step for a manager, one big step for an ad ops team! Neil Armstrong isn’t the only one who noticed that sometimes seemingly small tasks can translate into big successes for a large group (whether it’s humanity or your ad ops team). That’s why it’s worth considering the best ways to successfully motivate your team. There’s always a big selection of more-or-less obvious activities that make your employees more motivated, activities that don’t require much effort or time but often lead to huge results. Sometimes all you need is a little push!

3 motivation-hacks that you can implement straight-away:

• Hack #1: Introduce a tool, a new method of operation, or provide a short training course related to new solutions and innovations on the market.
  Such an initiative taken by the manager can really work wonders in overcoming the daily routine! Even though cyclical team training that keeps everyone’s knowledge up-to-date may be the norm with your team, but any additional reason to share knowledge and obtain that knowledge from others will motivate your staff. Consider organizing internal workshops where everyone can talk about their experiences based on particular case studies.
• Hack #2: Hanging out together.
  Even if there aren’t any party animals or dancing queen/kings on your team, you have to always remember that you’re a team. And the better you get to know each other, the easier it will be for you to cooperate. Try asking your employees what type of team-building they prefer. This doesn’t have to be a safari ride. You can all just go out for lunch or order pizza to the office and eat it together. People are usually really happy to work with such a team!
• Hack #3: Praise your team.
  According to research conducted in 2015 with results published in 2016 by the WorkHuman Research Institute, an employee should be praised at least once a week in order to achieve their maximum effectiveness. Think it’s too often? Not at all! Praising can be about really small things, such as doing a task better than the last time, developing an idea to optimize a method/speed of work, or even a positive approach to a problem despite numerous obstacles. Sometimes all you need is a “thank you”. A good team spirit can be continuously fed with positive feedback about the work of particular people. Even if your employee made a mistake, praise them for the effort. They tried, didn’t they?

Proper management and motivation of team members are important, and nobody needs to be convinced about this fact. The quality and speed of an ad ops team are decisive factors in the generation of profit for the entire company. With its capital in mind, taking care of your employees should be a priority. The value of their work is the value of the company. You should also remember that more and more often, there’s a shortage on the market of specialists offering technical skills. That’s why once you have employees on your team who are responsible for this area, trust them, let them grow, and motivate them to continue their work.

If you’re wondering how to find the right people to join your ad ops team, read my previous article entitled 7 Tips How To Find An Ad Ops Specialist.