From “Just Ask Kim” to Documented, Scalable Systems
With no documented processes in place, this business was relying on long-standing team members to keep things running, but new hires kept missing the mark, causing frustration and inconsistency. I stepped in to capture and document how things were actually done, starting with sales, then admin.
Despite early resistance, the result was a complete knowledge base that preserved their way of working and made it easy to train others.
Years later, even the sceptics admitted it changed everything.
CASE STUDY: Turning Tribal Knowledge Into Scalable Systems
The Problem
The business had zero documented processes. Everything lived in people’s heads, especially the long-standing admin and sales team.
This led to:
New hires constantly guessing or improvising
Inconsistent service and double-handling
Frustration from the experienced team who felt, “That’s not how we do it”
No standardised way to train, delegate, or scale
The team had become gatekeepers of critical knowledge—but that knowledge wasn’t being transferred properly.
What I Did
Started by shadowing the sales team, capturing every step of how they worked
Documented what they did, how they did it, and included:
Shortcuts and tips
Definitions of products and terms
Real examples to make it practical
Repeated the process with the admin team, even though I faced more resistance there
There was hesitation, understandably. Some team members worried the documentation meant I was trying to replace them. I wasn’t. I was trying to protect their hard-earned knowledge and make it easier for others to follow.
The Outcome
Every core task now has a clear, step-by-step guide
The best way to do things is no longer a secret, it’s the standard
New hires can hit the ground running without constant hand-holding
Years later, I ran into one of the admin team members.
She told me:
“At the time I didn’t get it. I thought you were trying to document all my
knowledge so they could replace me.
But now I see, you actually protected the way I worked and
helped others learn from it. My job actually became enjoyable again
I can now go on holidays and not come back to a sh*t show when I return”
That’s the power of operational clarity.
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