Why Managing Ops Data is so Damn Hard... , With Kristen Kelly

In this episode of the Agency Profit Podcast, Marcel introduces Kristen Kelly, the newest addition to the Parakeeto team. Kristen shares her 20 years of agency experience, particularly in account and project management, culminating in her recent passion for operations as a Director of Operations at a startup agency. Together, Marcel and Kristen unpack the nuanced challenges of operational roles in agencies, emphasizing the complexity of aligning data, frameworks, and processes to create actionable insights. They discuss the pitfalls of trying to piece together metrics like utilization and average billable rate without proper systems and the cost of doing so without expert guidance—both in lost profitability and wasted resources. Kristen reflects on her journey of trial and error, noting how Parakeeto’s simplified yet robust framework could have saved her team significant time and money. The episode serves as a guide for operators grappling with agency data challenges, offering practical advice on bridging the gaps between finance, operations, and leadership for better decision-making.