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Fixes In Action
Messy bits show up in every business - the hidden steps and missing checks that make work harder and more complicated than they need to be.
Here's how we fix them to get everything organised - one fix at a time.
Real clients. Real problems. Real results.
Messy Bit: Sales support chased heads of departments for updates on quotes that had already been accepted. Everyone assumed someone else had told her.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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Assumed someone else would see the acceptance
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No clear acceptance step
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No shared status
What We Fixed: Added a visible Accepted / Not Accepted status field in their CRM that everyone could see.
Outcome: Clear ownership across the team, no duplicated sales effort and instant visibility of every acceptance.
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Messy Bit: Clients were asked to print, sign and photograph PDF forms to send back. There were no regular updates, no clear next steps and no visibility of progress, leaving clients unsure where things had got to.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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No defined onboarding flow from enquiry to completion
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No client-facing status updates, even when nothing had changed
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No clear “what happens next” step for the client
What We Fixed: Replaced PDF forms with simple digital forms, defined clear onboarding stages and added automated updates so clients always knew where things stood and what was coming next.
Outcome: Fewer client chasers, clearer expectations, reduced admin for the team and a calmer, more professional client experience.
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Messy Bit: A project to digitise fundraising risked delivering the wrong solution. Expectations were unclear and there was no agreed definition of “done”.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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Invisible assumption of shared scope
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Missing a consolidated scope
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Missing multi-team input
What We Fixed: Started with a cross-team review to build a clear, shared project scope, then created quiz-style testing to make it simple and interactive for everyone to check functionality.
Outcome: Functionality aligned across all teams, no last-minute surprises, zero grumbling and an on-time, on-budget go-live.
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Messy Bit: Directors wanted to put the business on the market to sell, but all operations were mainly in their heads”.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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No way to show the business could run without the directors
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Missing documented processes
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Increased risk of a reduced valuation
What We Fixed: Built a full operational manual covering all areas, showing the business would run well without the owners.
Outcome: Buyer concerns disappeared, negotiations became straightforward and the sale completed at the expected price.
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Messy Bit: Sales pipeline stages were undefined, follow-ups were missed and some leads were contacted after sales had converted.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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Steps lived in the owner’s head
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No consistent follow-up approach
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No role clarity for the team
What We Fixed: Designed a sales pipeline with defined stages and an owner so follow-up happened in a steady, consistent way.
Outcome: A predictable pipeline, zero duplicated effort and a double-digit uplift in conversions and profit.
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Messy Bit: New enquiries were captured on a single paper-based form that also held project scope, dates and actions. Follow-ups were inconsistent and mistakes sometimes led to refunds or discounted work.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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One form used for both lead qualification and live enquiries
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No visibility without reviewing the form
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Time wasted working out the next action and who owned it
What We Fixed: Mapped the real sales steps, separated early qualification from live enquiries and built a clear board where each step and owner sits in the right place.
Outcome: Proper lead qualification and consistent bookings gave the team a shared, visible, error-free sales process, reducing refunds and discounts.
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Messy Bit: Rollout of a new case management system risked operational disruption because there was no visibility across remote sites.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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Hidden requirements and nuances at non-HQ sites
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Missing team-specific requirements
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No cross-charity understanding of how the system should be used
What We Fixed: Ran discovery sessions with all sites and departments to surface the real requirements for specialist outreach teams and to minimise downtime.
Outcome: By surfacing site-specific needs early, teams were heard. The go-live schedule was shared early so people could plan properly. A zero-impact rollout.
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Messy Bit: Jobs were completed successfully, but the relationship quietly ended. Past customers were never contacted again, meaning satisfied clients simply drifted away and repeat work was missed.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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No defined post-job follow-up step
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No ownership of customer re-engagement
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No reminders for seasonal or repeat work
What We Fixed: Added a simple post-job follow-up step, introduced light-touch reminders and set up basic automation to prompt future contact at the right time.
Outcome: More repeat bookings without extra marketing effort, stronger customer relationships and a steadier pipeline of work.
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Messy Bit: One spreadsheet was used to manage prospects, clients and actions. No way to see what needed doing next and important follow-ups were missed.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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Prospects and live clients spread across multiple rows
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No clear next action or reminder structure
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Time lost constantly reworking priorities
What We Fixed: Introduced a free CRM so notes were stored centrally and next actions sat clearly in a list or calendar.
Outcome: Follow-ups are clear, nothing gets forgotten and both actions and pipeline now work without hiccups.
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Messy Bit: Previous issuing of laptops had caused downtime and stress, and this needed to be avoided for 800 new staff laptops.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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Missing personalised setup and accessibility needs
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Missing a post-issue survey to confirm everything worked
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Missing a structured handover and rollout schedule
What We Fixed: Created a booking system allocating each person a 30-minute handover with a user-friendly engineer - including a checklist to ensure each person’s laptop worked as expected.
Outcome: Personalised handovers meant staff knew exactly what to expect. Post-rollout checklists scored in the high 90s, with no disruption to service delivery.
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Messy Bit: No shared plan for introducing the new CRM created multi-team confusion and fear about the upcoming change.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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Teams felt their voices and needs were not heard
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Invisible concerns across departments about the new way of working
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Missing a reliable communication approach throughout the project
What We Fixed: Held a company-wide introduction to the implementation plan and set up weekly drop-in calls for updates, questions and issue resolution.
Outcome: Regular, open communication brought teams into the process, built trust in the change and meant the CRM went live with no surprises.
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Messy Bit: Everyone had bits of prospect info in their emails or heads, which meant things were repeated and important details got lost.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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Hidden knowledge held by individuals, not the wider team
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Missing central place for prospect and relationship details
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Missing fields for key information such as introducers, providers or next steps
What We Fixed: Implemented an entry-level CRM with structured fields and an easy way for the team to record insights after each interaction.
Outcome: Everyone could see the latest conversations and background in one place, showing who was in touch and where strong relationships could be leveraged.
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Messy Bit: Everyone used their own version of the sales process, so deals moved inconsistently and forecasting was unreliable.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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Invisible definitions of what each stage meant
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Missing shared language across the team
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Missing dashboard to track progress or forecast
What We Fixed: Defined four pipeline stages with clear criteria and added a central dashboard the whole team could use.
Outcome: Sales started closing in the month forecasted, the team used the same language for each stage and deals moved through the pipeline without errors.
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Messy Bit: Remote flower arranging workshop kits kept going out wrong. Items were missing, evenings were spent fixing mistakes and the team were always scrambling at the last minute.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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She thought there were 5 steps
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There were actually around 50 invisible steps in her head
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No checklist, so the team improvised every time
What We Fixed: Mapped the real steps, created a clear visible checklist and added a verification check at the end.
Outcome: Kits now go out right every time. Prep time is predictable, zero overnight courier costs and she has her evenings back.
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Messy Bit: The owner had put real effort into refining his tech and processes but felt certain several areas were still broken.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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Owner assumptions about issues that weren’t there
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One overcomplicated process spreadsheet
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No defined way to assess how things were working
What We Fixed: Reviewed all processes and systems and confirmed everything worked well apart from one outdated spreadsheet.
Outcome: No fixes needed from us. The owner felt reassured everything was in good order and could focus on tidying the one scruffy spreadsheet.
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Messy Bit: Sales happened in fits and starts. Some days it got done, other days it disappeared once client work, emails or admin took over. By the end of the day, it wasn’t always clear if anything had actually moved things forward.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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No protected time for sales
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Sales got pushed aside when the day got busy
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No simple way to tell if the day had been a “good” one
What We Fixed: Scheduled dedicated daily sales slots so selling happened first, not just after everything else. Non-negotiable , unless client or prospect meetings were already booked.
Outcome: Sales activity became consistent and predictable, with momentum building without pressure or burnout.
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Messy Bit: Everyone was busy and working hard, but it wasn’t clear what had actually been fully done. Actions drifted, priorities blurred and progress was hard to see.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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No shared view of what “done” meant
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Actions agreed in meetings weren’t clearly owned
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Progress measured by activity, not outcomes
What We Fixed: Agreed a set of light-touch daily expectations, measuring outcomes achieved rather than tasks done and introduced a central tracker for agreed meeting actions and owners.
Outcome: Defining what “fully done” meant helped the team finish work properly, with meeting actions clearly owned and completed without chasing.
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Messy Bit: A new system was ready to go, but the team didn’t feel confident testing it. They weren’t sure what they should be checking or how to tell if things were right.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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No testing plan designed for non-technical users
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No clear way to pass or fail user testing
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No time for full familiarisation before go-live
What We Fixed: Adapted and configured an online quiz solution using real client records and familiar scenarios so the team could test functionality and data with confidence.
Outcome: User testing became familiarisation, so the team understood what to expect day to day from the new system. Issues were flagged and fixed before go-live.
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Messy Bit: The owner was pulled into constant decisions and approvals, becoming the default for everything. Progress slowed whenever they were unavailable.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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No clarity on which decisions could be made without the owner
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Assumed approvals needed “just in case”
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No agreed decision boundaries
What We Fixed: Defined clear decision ownership across the team and agreed which decisions could be made independently, with simple escalation rules only when needed.
Outcome: Decisions moved without bottlenecks, interruptions dropped significantly and the owner could focus on higher-value work instead of constant approvals.
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Messy Bit: New starters struggled to get up to speed, relying on colleagues for basic questions and slowing everyone else down.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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Knowledge lived in people’s heads
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No clear “this is how we do things here” reference
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Inconsistent handovers
What We Fixed: Captured core processes and expectations in simple, usable formats and clarified who owned onboarding support in the first few weeks.
Outcome: New starters became productive faster, asked fewer basic questions and settled into their roles with far less disruption to the wider team.
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Messy Bit: Suppliers and partners chased for updates, unclear on timelines and next steps, creating unnecessary noise and frustration.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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No shared view of progress
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Assumed updates were obvious
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Missing checkpoints for external communication
What We Fixed: Introduced clear milestones and simple update points so suppliers and partners knew what was happening and when.
Outcome: Chaser emails dropped, expectations were clear and external relationships became easier to manage without constant follow-up.
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Messy Bit: There was concern that introducing new systems would disrupt frontline services and day-to-day delivery.
Hidden + Missing Steps:
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No clear separation between change work and live delivery
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Fear of impact not openly addressed
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No agreed safeguards
What We Fixed: Planned changes around live service delivery, agreed protection points and communicated clearly how business-as-usual would continue throughout.
Outcome: Day-to-day work continued as normal, services were unaffected and changes were introduced quietly in the background.
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