Background
Our client is a small but growing business with a single owner-manager overseeing a team of seven staff members. For the past five years, they have struggled to find an IT system that could effectively coordinate their operations. Despite significant investment in various industry-specific platforms and tools like Monday.com, they were repeatedly left disappointed, with every attempted solution ultimately failing to meet their needs.
Challenges
Lack of a unified, embedded system to support business operationsPoor alignment between IT systems and actual business processes
Repeated investment in software without sufficient return
Miscommunication between the owner and team members regarding roles and expectations
Limited understanding of profitability across different products and services
Our Approach
We began by conducting a thorough assessment of the business. This involved:
Process Mapping: We developed a detailed, end-to-end process map, tracking the client journey from initial interaction through to project completion
Role and Responsibility Analysis: We carefully documented the specific roles and duties of each team member to better understand internal workflows and communication channels
Financial Assessment: We carried out an in-depth review of the business’s finances, identifying areas of profitability and opportunities to maximise returns across services and products
Key Findings
Through our analysis, it became clear that the repeated IT failures were not simply about choosing the wrong system. The real issue was a lack of proper integration between the systems and the business’s day-to-day operations. Systems had previously been selected based on loose, high-level requirements and were implemented without ongoing support or adjustment, leaving staff disengaged and processes fragmented.
Our Solution
We designed a comprehensive plan that includes:
A full end-to-end process map as the foundation for system selection
A shortlist of potential IT systems suited to the business’s specific needs
A commitment to embedding the system into the fabric of the business, not just installing it and walking away
Regular review sessions to adapt and refine the system based on user feedback
Alignment of IT, finance, and staff processes to create a cohesive, sustainable operation
Next Steps
We are now moving into the Implementation Phase, where we will:
Finalise the IT system choice based on the mapped requirements
Build the system around real-world usage rather than assumptions
Train staff, support ongoing adoption, and ensure the system becomes the operational backbone of the company
By focusing not just on the technology but also on the people and processes, we are confident that this project will deliver a robust, lasting solution that positions the business for growth and efficiency.