Five ways to take management off the owner's shoulders

Fractional operations manager

Choose this when the business needs someone to run the week and you can't yet justify a full-time salary. A senior manager joins your business for a fixed number of hours, runs the weekly meeting, keeps the list of open problems moving and holds people to the dates they gave.

It suits businesses of roughly 6 to 40 people where the owner is the only manager. A Coquitlam renovation firm juggling three job sites, or a two-location clinic with front-desk turnover, are typical. The engagement usually runs as a monthly retainer and is meant to end: the goal is a manager you hire or promote, with routines already in place. Details are on the fractional operations manager page.

Roles, hiring and first managers

Choose this when the problem is people rather than process: unclear responsibilities, a new hire who isn't working out, or a first supervisor about to be promoted. We write a one-page scorecard for each role, map who reports to whom, and plan the hiring or promotion step by step.

The most common mistake we see is promoting the strongest worker into a supervisor job with no training and no change in their day. Our roles, hiring and first managers service is built to prevent that, and our guide to promoting your first manager walks through the decision on your own.

Systems and written procedures

Choose this when tasks are done differently depending on who does them, or when a sick day causes chaos. We find the ten or so procedures your business repeats every week, such as quoting, booking, opening, closing, ordering and invoicing, and write each one with the person who actually does it.

We also check that each procedure fits the software you already pay for, so you don't end up with a binder that contradicts your booking system. See systems and written procedures for what's included.

Owner time and delegation

Choose this when you work long hours and can't say what they bought. For two weeks you log your time in short blocks; then we sort every task into keep, delegate, automate or drop, and agree the order in which the delegated work moves.

The key step is deciding in advance what you'll do with the freed hours. Without that, delegation simply adds a wage. The owner time and delegation page has the full method.

Scorecard and meeting rhythm

Choose this when you find out about problems too late. We build a single page of 8 to 12 weekly numbers, each with one named owner, and a short, fixed set of meetings that look at them.

It's often the first piece of work in a larger engagement, because it gives everyone the same picture of the business every Monday. Read more on the scorecard and meeting rhythm page, or try the method yourself with our weekly scorecard guide.

How to decide in five minutes

If you're still unsure, answer these questions honestly. The first "yes" tells you where to start.

1. Do more than five people bring you decisions every day? Start with a fractional operations manager.
2. Are you about to hire or promote someone into a role nobody has held before? Start with roles and hiring.
3. Would a two-week absence by one employee stop a routine task? Start with written procedures.
4. Do you work more than 55 hours a week and still feel behind? Start with owner time.
5. Do you find out about late jobs, unpaid invoices or empty schedules after the fact? Start with the scorecard.

Prices for each format are on the pricing page, and the FAQ covers contracts, timelines and ownership of the documents we write.