Clear roles and a careful first manager, before you hire again

What a role scorecard is

A role scorecard is one page that says why a job exists, the three to five results it's responsible for, and how you'll know it's going well. It isn't a job ad and it isn't a contract.

A scorecard for a clinic front-desk coordinator might read:

• Purpose: every patient is booked, reminded, checked in and billed correctly.
• Results: schedule gaps filled within 24 hours; recall list worked weekly; no unbilled visits at month-end.
• Measures: open schedule hours each Friday; recalls contacted; unbilled visits.
• Decisions this role makes alone: rescheduling, waiving a late fee once, ordering front-desk supplies up to an agreed amount.

That last line matters most. Owners in Coquitlam often tell us their staff "won't take initiative", when nobody ever told them which decisions were theirs to make.

What's included

The work usually takes four to eight weeks as a project, or runs inside a retainer.

1. Role inventory. Every person, what they actually do each week, and who they really take direction from.
2. Scorecards for each role, written with the person in it where possible.
3. A simple org chart showing reporting lines and the decisions each level owns.
4. A hiring sequence. Which role to fill next, why, and what the business must have in place before that person starts.
5. Interview and trial plans. Practical questions and a short paid work sample tied to the scorecard.
6. A first-90-days plan for any new hire or promotion.

Promoting your first manager

The first supervisor or lead hand is the riskiest promotion a small business makes. Done badly, you lose a strong worker and gain a weak manager.

We plan it in stages. First, the candidate takes over one management task, such as running the morning dispatch or the weekly ordering, while keeping their existing job. Next, their direct work is reduced on purpose, so the management tasks aren't squeezed into overtime. Then there's a review at an agreed date, with an honest way back if it isn't working. Our guide to promoting your first manager sets out the full decision.

Who it suits

It suits owners with five or more staff who are planning a hire in the next six months, or who already feel the team is tripping over itself. Common Coquitlam examples are a landscaping firm adding a second crew lead before spring, a restaurant hiring a kitchen manager, and a tutoring centre bringing on its first non-teaching coordinator.

Timeline and measures

Answer first: scorecards and the org chart take two to four weeks; a hire or promotion plan adds two to four more.

We track a short list of measures with you: the number of decisions that still reach the owner each day, time to fill an open role, how many new hires are still in place after 90 days, and whether each scorecard is reviewed when it's due. We report the numbers as they are and don't promise particular outcomes.

Mistakes to avoid

• Hiring for the job you used to do. Write the scorecard for the job the business needs next year.
• Titles before scorecards. "Operations manager" means nothing until you say what results the person owns.
• Promoting without subtracting. If a new supervisor keeps a full workload, the management part never happens.
• Skipping the trial. A paid work sample tells you more than an interview.
• Guessing at the rules. Hours, overtime and pay have legal minimums; check the province's pages and get proper advice.

Roles work best alongside written procedures and a weekly scorecard. See the services overview for how they fit together, then call, text or email.