"Last week, one client raved about how we nailed the work. This week, another one is wondering if we only staffed interns on the project."

Quality whiplash isn’t about talent, it’s a systems failure.

Tell-tale signs of inconsistent quality in agencies:

• Design comps shift style by project lead; code quality swings sprint to sprint

• BD sells timelines that most of the team feels is impossible

• Freelancers drop in mid-flight with zero onboarding, zero artifact standards

• No agency-wide QA checklist, so “done” means something different on every Slack thread

• QA feedback go five rounds deep, eroding client trust (and margin)
  
  

We've faced our fair share of quality challenges across our Barrel Holdings agencies, and here's a systems-based way to experiment & address them:

1. Map the breakdown:

• SOPs live in personal Docs; no shared QA gates

• Onboarding varies; freelancers learn standards on the job

• Dashboards track velocity but no discussion/visibility on quality

• BD scoping best-case velocity, ignoring realistic buffers ​
  
  

2. Re-ground the team in core principles:

• Reliability is client value, make it non-negotiable

• Shared craft standards beat lone-wolf heroics

• Definition of "done" must be simple, visible, and shared

• Every defect = data for the playbook, not ammo for blame
  
  

3. Close the operational gaps:

• Agency-wide QA checklists for design, code, content (stage-gated)

• Central component libraries + design tokens to reduce variance

• Onboarding session dedicated to "quality/QC" for all hires and vetted freelancers

• Proposals embed QA buffers; BD gets input from dept. leads on quality feasibility/trade-offs as part of the scoping process
  
  

4. Reinforce with structure, rhythm, and feedback:

• Appoint a Quality Lead per practice who can be owner of SOPs and audits

• Weekly cross-team QA huddle; monthly touch-base to share wins/misses

• Real-time dashboard surfaces defects, rework hours, SLA breaches

• Internally celebrate first-pass approval, scrutinize late-night patch fixes (why did it happen?)
  
  

5. Watch the ripple effects:

• Scoping process may lengthen sales cycles, equip BD team with effective ways to frame the QA process/why it's important

• Short-term margin dips from extra QA, but rework write-offs disappear

• Celebrate process adherence as loudly as creative flair to cement culture shift
  
  

Success looks like:

• >90 % first-pass QA approval within two quarters

• Rework hours down 40 % and reduction in feedback rounds per project

• BD proposals include QA buffers 100 % of the time, no scope write-offs

• Client scores on “quality & consistency” hit 9/10 and stay there

Avoid relying on senior leads or "A-Team" to bail you out when quality falls short. Instead, build a system that delivers predictable excellence, letting BD sell with confidence and ops scale without surprises.