Most agency teams are overworked. But worse than that — they’re over-giving.
Over-servicing doesn’t just erode profit margins. It chips away at morale, motivation and, ultimately, people’s sense of ownership. Why? Because when your team can’t see the cost of their generosity, they don’t realise they’re giving away their own bonuses, bandwidth and breathing space.
A founder I work with put it perfectly:
“It’s not that we didn’t work hard in December. We just gave it away.”
That line stuck with me. Because so many agencies end up in the same place: stretched thin, delivering brilliant work, and still wondering why the numbers don’t look as good as they should.
But there is a fix. It starts with visibility.
Here are three shifts that make the difference:
1. Make it Visible
Too often, over-servicing is invisible to the people doing it. Show the team a chart of what ‘good’ looks like. Show where the line of profitability sits — and what happens when you go under it. Numbers don’t lie. And when people see the gap, they care more.
2. Connect Effort to Reward
When you can show the link between healthy margin and staff bonuses, you shift the narrative. Over-servicing stops being about client happiness and starts being about team sustainability. (Spoiler: the two aren’t mutually exclusive.)
3. Build Accountability Without Fear
This isn’t about micromanaging or shaming. It’s about making it normal to talk about scope, to question requests, and to flag when things are getting out of shape. Weekly timesheet reviews, check-ins and a shared language of value help create a culture of care, not control.
Because at the end of the day, over-servicing is self-sabotage. And the fastest way to stop it is to show people what it costs them.
Thought into Action:
- Do your team know how over-servicing affects their bonus?
- What’s one chart you could show this week to make the value gap visible?
- Who can you bring into the conversation to lead the cultural shift from the inside?
Good intentions are great. But clarity changes behaviour. Let your team see the impact — and they’ll help you fix it.
Andy.