Workflow with International Clients

Clearly agreeing on the steps of a working process is a way to start a partnership well. Our clients are mostly located abroad, so we must deal with cultural and time differences to make our collaboration successful. Here are key elements that we are used to implement to build a climate of trust.

Before starting a partnership, we need to set all the needs and constraints of both parties like duration of the task, cost, brief, stages expected... A live call is perfect to answer all these questions at once. It gives us all the elements to prepare a proposal and check if we agree on everything. The final version of this document will be the guideline during the project. Once the contract signed, time to start working.

This phase is essential to set a good communication on both sides. We select together the best channel to send files, talk… Most of the time, everything is in English, except when both parts speak another language fluently. In our case it would be Lithuanian, Russian, or French. We are used to working with companies situated on the US west coast, in Canada, France, or China, and we always find ways to communicate normally despite being in distant time zones. When the time difference is too important, we keep in touch by mail unless it’s necessary to have a call.

Get the best out of feedback is key in a creative partnership. We always keep in mind that all comments are for the work’s good. We will discuss this in a future post, because it is a big part of our job. To have time to deal with unplanned or late feedback and keep up with deadlines, it is better to schedule few days more and deliver earlier than to be late. We wouldn’t want to promise a due date if we know that we won’t be able stand by our commitments. This is valid for work-in-progress and final art pieces, but also information shared during the project.

Well-structured partnerships are easier, and more pleasant, to handle especially when collaborators work from different countries.