The Situation
When this family construction business called, they were in crisis mode. A key manager had left suddenly, revealing just how dependent the entire operation had been on one person's knowledge. Jobs were slipping through cracks. Customer complaints were spiking. Crew schedules were chaos. The owner was working 70+ hour weeks just keeping things from falling apart.
“We had grown without building any real systems. Everything was in people's heads. When he left, we realized we didn't actually have processes—we had a person.”
The Problem
The business had grown to 25+ employees across multiple crews. But growth had outpaced infrastructure. There were no documented processes. No formal training. No management systems. Just one person who kept everything in his head—and now he was gone.
What we did
Weeks 1-2: Stabilization
- Identified most critical failing processes
- Implemented emergency fixes
- Created interim coverage plan
Weeks 3-8: System Building
- Documented all core operational processes
- Built job tracking system
- Created customer communication protocols
- Established daily/weekly management rhythms
Weeks 9-12: Training & Transition
- Trained existing team on new systems
- Supported hiring of replacement manager
- Established metrics dashboard
The Results
| Metric | Before | After 90 Days |
|---|---|---|
| Customer complaints | Spiking | Down 65% |
| Owner hours/week | 70+ | Under 50 |
| Critical job delays | Multiple | Zero |
| Systems documentation | None | Complete |
The Aftermath
The business successfully hired a new operations manager—who walked into documented systems rather than chaos.
“I never want to go through that again—but because of what we built together, I don't have to.”
Facing your own operational challenge?
One conversation. No pitch, no pressure. If we can help, we'll tell you how. If we can't, we'll tell you that too.
Schedule a conversationOr email directly: dominic@cssolutions.services