80% less emails: how 50 people from RAUL! manage Jizerska 50 and 8 other projects with Freelo

Emails, phone calls, post-it notes. It can't go on like this.

As long as RAUL! had a few events a year, emails and shared spreadsheets were enough. But with each new event came more tasks, people and communication channels. Tasks were recorded in three different places. The handover had no clear rules. Smaller things were dealt with at the last minute, or not at all. Everyone felt that this was no longer possible.

”Need a project tool,” said co-organizer

The first impulse to change came from the organizer of the Slovakman triathlon race, with whom RAUL! cooperates to organize the Behaj lesmi race. ”We have a good experience with Freelo,” was heard from the neighbouring shore.

RAUL! realised they needed a tool that would:

• He'll watch hundreds of dates across 8 projects at once
• Unifies communication 9 teams per place
• Replaces emails and postcards a clear assignment with a responsible person

From audit to demonstration for management

Therefore, Jakub Riedl and a colleague conducted an audit of the available tools. Freelo came out as the most suitable and there was nothing to wait for. They started with a presentation for the management - a simple document with an overview of features, benefits and a proposal on how to deploy Freelo.

In the free 14-day version , they created a test project to show managers how to work on real tasks. No PowerPoint presentation. A straight demonstration.

And so they boarded the Freelo

What RAUL! helped to speed up implementation

After the presentation to the management, Jakub met with the project managers of the individual events and together they discussed how the projects should be set up to keep everything running smoothly.

The 4 pillars without which boarding would not work

• One person who is responsible for implementation. In RAUL! It was Jacob. He led a workshop for the whole company, solved questions, introduced news. It wouldn't have worked without a guarantor.
• Demonstrate added value with real examples. No theory. Straight to ”See how it saves you work.” Status, action creation, keyboard shortcuts, dashboard.
• Set clear company-wide rules of the game. In RAUL! applies: ”If I don't have it in Freelo, I don't see it, I won't do it.” Whoever didn't put the documentation in Freelo got a lower priority.
• Be patient but consistent. Not everyone accepted Freelo right away. But gradually, when they saw the results of colleagues, they took him into their good graces.

Training from Freelo

They managed the implementation in RAUL! by themselves. Our captain Hana was then invited to answer questions and speed up the orientation in the new system. The combination of an internal guarantor and external training proved to be ideal.

Not everyone was jumping for joy. And that's normal.

In the beginning, not everyone wanted to. The most common objection? ”I'm happy, I don't want to learn anything new.” The solution was simple: a practical demonstration from my own environment. Not a general presentation. When you see your task in Freelo instead of in an email, you quickly understand the difference.

3 practices that keep RAUL! afloat

Find out what a typical day looks like in RAUL! - from the dashboard to the last task completed and get inspired by the processes you can implement in your week.

1. Dashboard as the headquarters of the whole agency

Every day starts on the dashboard. An overview of custom tasks, filtered by project, colleagues or timeframe (typically 30 days in advance). Tasks in RAUL! are continuously commented, updated and forwarded to solvers.

2. Commissioning a graphic design studio

The graphics department of RAUL! is one of the busiest. In addition to regular communication, it also prepares documents for all events. In Freelo they have their own project ”DTP”.

How RAUL! works: before anyone assigns work to the graphics department, they first check the calendars of the graphic artists and their current workload. They set the deadline according to the actual capacity, not according to their own wishes.

3. The hot potato rule

RAUL! created this rule themselves and it works simply: each task must always have a clearly identified solver and deadline. If you can't move the assignment forward, you have two options - change the solver or close it.

If more than one person is involved in a task, the comments form subtasks with specific solvers. No one waits, no one makes excuses, nothing fits. It's like a relay... pass the baton, get it to the finish line as soon as possible.

When a crisis hits, you need a system. Not panic.

In one season RAUL! had to cancel four events. Jizerska 50, Skitour, the race in Topolčánky due to the swine fever and Road Classics Ještěd due to bad weather forecast. Four crises, dozens of tasks, hundreds of competitors to let know. And fast.

Freelo became an invaluable partner in that moment. The tasks were immediately assigned: who would communicate the cancellation on social media, who would send SMS to the competitors, who would contact the partners, who would handle the organizational issues. The project manager could see in real time who was in charge of what and whether everything was done.

You'll appreciate the benefits of a project tool in times of calm, but you'll see the real value when things go wrong and you need to act quickly and in a coordinated way.

RAUL! thanks to Freelo, he doesn't sail blind, but really manages his work

Features that RAUL! likes

Task in multiple projects

A feature that was created directly at the instigation of RAUL! You don't have to record one task in eight projects separately. You share it where it's needed. Indispensable for an agency with cross-project teams.

Dashboard and kanban view

Dashboard and kanban provide an intuitive overview of all tasks filtered by project, colleagues, deadlines. Jakub prefers kanban, which is easier to navigate.

Own private project

James' tip for everyone: ”I have my own project in Freelo that no one else can see. I write down daily and weekly priorities, notes from meetings, personal goals. It's a simple habit that has greatly improved my work organization.”