Introduction & Context:
TSEL Agency is a Social Media Marketing Agency (SMMA) based in Casablanca, Morocco. As the CEO and founder, I led a full-stack digital team composed of 7 professionals—each specializing in performance media, copywriting, creative design, community management, data analytics, SEO, and automation.
We offered full-service solutions for local and international brands in e-commerce, hospitality, fitness, and beauty. Despite promising growth and talent in place, we faced typical scaling challenges: poor process alignment, siloed communication, inconsistent quality delivery, and founder bottleneck syndrome.
Initial Challenges:
– Lack of operational SOPs across departments
– Over-reliance on the CEO for approvals
– Burnout risks and unclear responsibilities in the creative and media buying team
The Challenge (Pain Point & Problem Statement):
As the client base grew, we needed to transition from reactive operations to a proactive, scalable system.
Quantifiable problems:
– Average project delivery time: 17 days
– Client churn rate: 29%
– CEO involvement in 90% of deliverables
– Missed deadlines in 4 of the last 6 launches
Category
Project Management & Team Leadership
Clients
TSEL Agency
Location
Casablanca, Morocco
Led & Executed by:
Mohamed Chourouki
The Strategy & Execution (Step-by-Step Breakdown of Actions Taken):
We approached the challenge by rebuilding team dynamics, project workflows, and reporting structures from the ground up.
Phase 1: Roles Clarity & Team Accountability
– Rewrote job descriptions with clear KPIs and ownership areas.
– Appointed a project coordinator to reduce CEO dependency.
Phase 2: SOP Development & Tool Integration
– Created step-by-step SOPs for campaign creation, content approval, and launch timelines.
– Implemented Notion for task management and Slack for cross-role communication.
Phase 3: Agile Workflows & Weekly Sprints
– Introduced Monday planning sprints with clear task assignments.
– Daily 15-minute stand-ups to unblock teammates and improve velocity.
Phase 4: Client Communication System
– Created client-facing dashboards (via Google Data Studio) to reduce back-and-forth.
– Assigned one account manager as the single point of contact per client.
Phase 5: Performance Culture Implementation
– Monthly team retrospectives to share wins and lessons.
– Built an internal leaderboard and reward system based on KPIs (on-time delivery, client feedback, upsells).
The Challenges & Roadblocks:
1. Resistance to New Tools: Some team members were hesitant to switch from informal workflows to structured tools.
– Solution: Led internal training sessions and gave role-specific tool demos.
2. Overcommunication Fatigue: Daily stand-ups felt excessive to creatives.
– Solution: Reduced to 3x/week and made async updates optional via Slack.
3. Balancing Leadership & Creative Freedom: The creative team feared micromanagement.
– Solution: Gave them flexibility within the SOP boundaries and celebrated innovation in team meetings.
The Results & Impact (Before vs. After Data Comparison):
Key Operational Wins (within 90 days):
– Average Project Delivery Time:
– Before: 17 days
– After: 10.2 days (-40%)
– Client Retention Rate:
– Before: 71%
– After: 91% (+28%)
– CEO Involvement in Deliverables:
– Before: 90%
– After: 25%
– Weekly Productive Output (tasks delivered on time):
– Before: 63%
– After: 92%
– Team Satisfaction Score (Internal Survey):
– Before: 6.1/10
– After: 8.4/10
Key Takeaways & Lessons Learned:
1. Structure Creates Freedom: Clear SOPs actually empowered the team to work more independently.
2. Founder Bottleneck Is a Growth Killer: Delegating ownership allowed the agency to scale with quality.
3. Project Managers Are ROI Multipliers: The addition of one coordinator improved speed and reduced chaos.
4. Celebrate Small Wins Publicly: Recognition boosted morale and healthy peer accountability.
5. Use Tech That Fits the Team: Simplicity in tools > flashy systems that nobody adopts.
Conclusion & Final Thoughts:
Founding and leading TSEL Agency taught me the value of operational clarity, agile thinking, and trust-driven leadership. By turning a small team of specialists into a cohesive unit, we delivered better, faster, and with less burnout.
What’s Scalable:
– The agile framework can be replicated for future team builds.
– SOPs created now form the base for onboarding and training.
– The team culture and systems are adaptable to both remote and in-house structures.
This experience proved that smart systems and intentional leadership are the real engines behind creative growth and client success.
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