Briefs and request intake: one template, one place, no requests lost in emails

Most delays in communication start at the beginning: a request arrives by email, with no deadline, no goal and a link to a file nobody can open. One brief template and one place to submit requests remove this problem at the source.

What is a good brief?

A brief is not bureaucracy. It is a way to make sure the contractor does not have to guess and the requester does not have to answer the same questions three times.

A good brief asks only the questions without which work cannot start, and asks them once. Usually this is enough:

what is to be created and why: what goal and for whom,
by when and whether the deadline is fixed,
what already exists: materials, earlier versions, templates,
who approves and who is the contact for the matter,
where the material will be used: channel, format, language.

How do we roll out briefs and request intake?

We check how requests arrive today. Emails, messengers, corridor conversations. We write down what is most often missing from requests and how much time follow-up questions take.
We design the brief template. Short, tailored to the types of requests in the company. One for a post, another for a catalogue, but both in the same spirit.
We agree on one place. A form, a board or a channel in the tool the company already uses. Every request gets a number, a person and a status.
We teach and keep watch. We show the team how to submit requests and, for the first month, gently redirect requests from emails to the right place.

What do you get?

brief templates for the types of requests in the company,
one place for receiving requests, with statuses,
a rule: no brief, no place in the queue,
a review after a month and adjustment of the templates to practice.

When is it worth tidying up request intake?

when requests arrive through many channels and some get lost,
when contractors start work by asking about the basics,
when nobody knows how many jobs are in progress and at what stage,
when the company works with external contractors who need clear guidelines.

Frequently asked questions

Will people actually fill in the brief?

Yes, if it is short and if a request without a brief does not enter the queue. After a few weeks, filling in the brief takes less time than writing an email, because there are no follow-up questions to answer.

Do we need a new tool?

Usually not. We build the brief and the request intake in the tool the company already uses. We suggest a new tool only when the current one does not allow statuses and assignments.

What about urgent requests?

Urgent requests also have a brief, a shorter one. The rule is simple: the more urgent it is, the more important it is to know straight away what it is about.