Onboarding and processes for a small team that runs without you
Write down what each role does and how the work really gets done, and a new person can start properly in week one. We help you capture it without a six month project.
Who this is for
For owners and managers of teams of three to ten, where everything works because one or two people remember how. You have watched a new starter ask a simple question nobody could answer, or seen a job stop dead because someone went on holiday. That is where we come in.
What happens when the know how is only in people's heads
Everything lives in one head
Pricing quirks, which client wants what, where the files go: it is all in the owner's memory, so every question lands back on you and holidays turn into fire drills.
Day one is a shambles
The laptop is not ready, logins arrive in week two, and the new person shadows someone too busy to explain. Good people form a poor first impression and it is hard to undo.
Handbooks nobody opens
You wrote a forty page document once. It is out of date, sits in a folder no one can find, and nobody trusts it, so people just ask.
Roles that overlap or gap
Two people both think they own the invoices and nobody owns the chasing. Job titles drifted away from the real work years ago and nobody noticed.
From tribal knowledge to a first week that works
Scope &
Strategy
We watch how the work really happens, then list the five or six jobs that must never fail and write each role as outcomes, not tasks. You see overlaps, gaps and which processes deserve writing down first.
About Scope & StrategySystems &
Solutions
We build short, searchable process guides in tools you already use, plus a day one and first month checklist and shared templates. A new person can then answer their own questions instead of interrupting you.
About Systems & SolutionsSecurity &
Support
We keep the guides current as the business changes, review access whenever roles change, and make sure leavers lose their logins the same day. Regular check ins stop the documents going stale.
About Security & SupportQuestions people ask
What should a new employee onboarding checklist include for a small business?
Before day one: signed contract, equipment, accounts and logins. On day one: introductions, how you work, one clear first task. In the first month: weekly check ins, who to ask for what, and a review of how it is going. Adapt it to the role, and keep it to one page.
How do I document processes when I am too busy?
Skip the manual. Record the task as someone does it, with a short screen recording or phone voice note, then tidy it into numbered steps. Begin with the jobs that cause the most pain when they go wrong. Ten pages people use beat a hundred they ignore.
How long does it take for a new hire to become useful?
It depends on the role, the person and how well you set things up, so there is no honest fixed answer. Clear outcomes for the first thirty, sixty and ninety days help a lot. Someone dropped in with no guide usually takes noticeably longer to find their feet.
Where do we start if nothing is written down?
Start with a conversation. We will ask how a typical week really runs, spot the two or three jobs that would hurt most if the person doing them vanished, and suggest what to capture first. You will leave with a short list, not a project plan.
Talk to us about roles, processes and onboarding.
You tell us what is going on. We tell you honestly whether we can help, and if we cannot, we will say so.