When Your Agency Outgrows Its Structure
- Tom Wilson
- 22 hours ago
- 4 min read
Agencies rarely grow in a straight line, most evolve by accident.
You win a new client and bring someone in. A new service looks promising, so you bolt it on. Someone leaves, you shift responsibilities around the remaining team. For a while it holds together, but eventually the cracks show.
Projects start getting stuck between teams. Roles overlap. People don’t know who’s accountable for what. And as the founder, you inevitably end up as the bottleneck, dragged back into decisions and firefighting constantly.
That’s usually the moment you realise something has to change. It’s time to step back and look at the way your agency is structured.
The First Signs You Need a Restructure
Every agency reaches a point where the way things worked before starts to break down. It’s not always dramatic, but there are clear signals if you’re paying attention.
You’re still the one clients call when there’s a problem.
Your team feel busy, but you’re not sure where the profit is going.
Projects slip because no one knows who’s responsible at each stage.
You’ve got a team in place, but you’re not getting the best from them.
You’re firefighting more than you’re planning.
If these feel uncomfortably familiar, it’s usually a sign that the current setup has reached its limits. That’s when you need to look seriously at restructuring. Not just to fix today’s problems, but to give the business the structure it needs for the future.
Why Restructuring Matters
Restructuring isn’t about redrawing the org chart, as most founders have already identified where they want the agency to go. They’ve got a vision and they know why it matters. The sticking point is getting the team to go with them. You have a people challenge.
This means as a leader, you have to help your team to behave differently. And that’s the tricky part.
McKinsey research* shows that role clarity is one of the biggest drivers of both effectiveness and job satisfaction. When people know what’s expected, they perform better. When they don’t, things drift. So without a restructure your agency could end up with:
Overlapping roles.
Confused accountability.
Leaders stretched too thin.
Teams relying on the founder to make every decision.
If your agency needs alignment, then you need to consider a restructure so your people know where they fit, within a workflow that makes sense. Then you can really scale your agency without the whole business leaning on you.
Four Practical Steps for a Successful Agency Restructure
This is all well and good, but how do you actually restructure? There are four phases I work through with the agencies I advise.
1. Map the workflow
Look at how work moves through the business. From new business to delivery to finance. Where are the bottlenecks? Where are the gaps? Where are things duplicated? You can’t build a structure until you know how the work should flow.
2. Redesign the structure
Build an organisation that supports the workflow. Don’t copy what you’ve already got. Don’t build it around individuals. Build it around what the agency needs to deliver.
3. Apply a responsibility framework
I often use RACI: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed. At each step of the workflow, who is doing the work, who is accountable for the result, who needs to be consulted, and who just needs to know? This stops things falling between the cracks and gives everyone in the process clarity on the part they play.
4. Define role profiles
A role profile isn’t just a job description. It’s a clear guide to responsibilities, accountabilities, and what good looks like in the role. It’s also a reference point for performance and progression. People should be able to look at their profile and know: “this is what’s expected, and this is how I’ll be measured.”
Beyond Restructuring
Restructuring is one piece of a bigger picture, what you’re really doing is systemising your agency.
Founders who want to scale their agency can’t rely on the agency running through individual effort. It has to run through systems. That means:
Consistent workflows.
Clear accountability.
Regular rhythms for planning and review.
Processes that live in the business, not just in people’s heads.
I’ve seen agencies make big shifts by putting in place simple operating rhythms; think weekly check-ins, monthly planning sessions, quarterly reviews. These create habits that reduce firefighting and make performance measurable.
Your role as founder can then change. You stop being the fixer and become the designer of systems and the leader of behaviours.
The Benefits When It’s Done Well
When agencies get this right, three things happen.
Profit improves. Cleaner workflows mean less wasted time and fewer write-offs.
Teams feel clearer. They know what’s expected, and they’ve got the structure to deliver.
Clients are happier. Projects run smoother, handovers don’t fall apart, and accountability is visible.
And perhaps most important, the founder gets out of firefighting mode. You get the headspace to lead, not just manage.
What’s Next for You
If you’ve recognised yourself in some of this, or in all of it, it’s a signal to take stock. The important thing is matching your ambitions for the agency with the right changes in how it runs. That might mean evolving your workflow, tightening accountability, or shifting your own leadership habits.
Restructuring is one place you can start because it gives the business a clear framework. But it’s only one part of the picture. Every founder’s challenge looks a little different, and knowing where you are in the journey makes it easier to focus on the things that matter most.
That’s why at Agency Adventure we use founder profiles. They help you understand what stage you’re at and what your agency needs from you right now.
To make this practical, we’ve built a short Scorecard. It takes 10 minutes, and you’ll get a tailored report straight away showing your founder profile and the priorities that will make the biggest difference.
You can take it here: https://www.youragencyadventure.com/