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.