Do Better with Less: Unlock Success with Continuous Improvement

by Nickole Brown, Senior Consultant at Cella by Randstad Digital

The state of Marketing is challenging in 2025 to say the least, budgets remain down, complexity continues to grow, and strategic dysfunction is the norm. Change fatigue can be seen across most Marketing organizations so it is no surprise to learn that marketing employees have a significantly higher rate of feeling burned out. Yet the directive remains clear, “do more with less”. 

Marketing organizations require real, sustainable solutions to provide hope in a situation that is getting close to feeling hopeless for many. Continuous Improvement (CI), a proven methodology for making improvements that puts the power of transformation into everyone’s hands, may very well be that spark of hope we need. 

The Do More with Less Trap

Let’s start with the “Do More with Less” trap. Challenging teams to do more with less is not necessarily inherently a bad exercise. In short-term situations, for example a hiring freeze, it can be a forcing mechanism that leads to greater efficiencies, adaptability and innovation. When the directive is long-term, the reality is it is rarely sustainable and often leads to burnout, reduced effectiveness and efficiencies. 

As team’s struggle to support the flood of work coming into the department, they get trapped in a cycle where the focus becomes “in” the business (doing the work), not “on” the business (improving the work) making it virtually impossible to do more with less. It is not surprising to see in the Cella’s 2025 Intelligence Report, strategic thinking and innovation rating low on the list of perceived in-house creative teams value proposition.

Now let’s consider the human effect in this equation. Marketing employees are feeling burned out trying to keep up with the demands of day-to-day operations. In the Gartner 2024 CMO Strategy Survey, 89% of CMO’s reported moderate to high change is needed to support enterprise growth strategies. According to the Harvard Business Review, 70% of change initiatives fail and in Gallup’s 2024 State of the Global Workforce, 62% of employees are classified as not engaged with 15% more actively disengaging. The common reasons for change initiative failures are:

• Lack of employee buy-in
• Poor communication
• Insufficient training
• Not being part of the solution
• Lack of trust in leadership
• Fear of the unknown

Working harder isn’t going to be the ethical or sustainable answer, we need to find ways to work better.

Changing the Narrative from “Do More with Less” to “Do Better with Less”

The directive for 'more with less' from marketing leaders often lacks the 'how'. Marketing and Creative Operations leaders, who often define the “how”, are uniquely positioned to bridge this gap by enabling teams to “do better with less”.

Continuous Improvement is certainly not a new philosophy, but I would argue it is sorely underutilized across Marketing teams. CI is a set of principles focused on making small, incremental changes to products, services, or processes in order to ensure ongoing improvements. Implementing a Continuous Improvement (CI) Program will emphasize the importance of engaging and empowering employees to make meaningful improvements.

Why will it help? 

• Small changes are easier to manage, adopt and have lower risk 
• Continuous improvement utilizes collective knowledge and after all, those closest to the process are the ones that should be improving the process
• It fosters a culture of ownership, buy-in and engagement and builds the momentum for successful change. 

The Enemy of Process: Waste

There are numerous CI methodologies, the more common being Lean, Six Sigma, Total Quality Management and Agile. Each powerful and often able to be combined to suit your organization’s needs. Continuous Improvement should aim to uncomplicate your processes, or remove the waste, which will create an organization that is more resilient and future ready in the following ways:

• Increased agility and adaptability as market conditions shift or new technologies emerge a simplified process can be more quickly modified
• Enhanced clarity in decision-making reduces confusion, minimizes errors and empowers employees at all levels to make quicker, more informed decisions
• Reduced vulnerability creates a lean, simplified process that has fewer places for things to go wrong, making it more robust and less susceptible to disruption
• Increases innovation when liberated resources can be reallocated to strategic initiatives, innovation and exploring new opportunities
• Improved employee engagement can result when processes are clear and efficient, making employees feel more competent, productive, and empowered

The Impact of Compounding Efficiency

They say small hinges open big doors, but are small wins really worth the effort? Think of this as a storytelling exercise. In isolation, small process gains seem minor but when you compound the ongoing impact of many small gains, they can be profound. A continuous improvement program needs to measure the impact of all the small changes to quantify the sum of the effort. There are numerous ways to tell the story of a Continuous Improvement Program’s impact, here are just a few to consider:

• Cost Savings- reducing even a few minutes from a task or eliminating a redundant step, adds up over many tasks, many processes, and many employees. The accumulation of time savings, waste reduction, and error prevention translates into reduced operational costs. 
• Improvements in Quality- tweaks to minor inconsistencies or potential points of failure often improve overall quality of output. This results in fewer defects, less rework, and a more consistent customer experience which can boost the team’s reputation.
• Increased Adaptability- complex, rigid processes are broken down into manageable, adaptable components.
• Boosted Employee Engagement- fostering a sense of ownership, reducing frustration from inefficient workflows can significantly boostboosts morale, leading to higher engagement and lower turnover. 

Continuous Improvement at Every Level

CI is a mindset which involves creating a supportive culture where small improvements become a way of life. To create a CI culture within the org will require everyone to have a role. 

Leadership-. While CI is not about improvements coming from the top down, leadership buy-in is non-negotiable as the effort will take resources and requires authority, alignment and accountability. Without leadership support, CI will seem like additional work rather than “how” we work.

Operations- CI is the mindset and operations is the mechanism. CI requires process documentation, data for analysis, and a cross-functional perspective to identify improvements. Once solutions are validated and implemented, it requires the ability to standardize, govern and drive the change management. 

Employees-  CI needs to be lived by making improvement part of how they think, act, and work every day, not waiting for permission, but leading with curiosity, collaboration, and commitment.

Do Not Underestimate the Impact of Hope

A continuous improvement program is neither a quick fix nor a solution for all our problems. Large, disruptive changes that have the potential to leave teams feeling overwhelmed or helpless will always emerge. Yet, by intentionally balancing these with smaller, manageable continuous improvement efforts, we empower individuals to make meaningful changes. This restores agency and control, shifting mindsets from passive recipients to active problem-solvers. 

Every successful incremental step is a tangible win, building confidence, proving that 'better' is attainable, and generating momentum for even greater transformations. It can be the spark of hope for a more effective, manageable future.

Having personally witnessed the profound impact of CI within creative departments, I can attest to its power. By showcasing creatives as strategic problem-solvers who actively dismantle waste in the process, we not only optimize workflows but significantly elevate their value and influence.

Need help moving beyond doing more with less and begin doing better with less? Our Consulting team is ready help with solutions and use cases to make your goals a reality. Learn More.