Operations Audit
You know something isn't working. You can't quite name it.
An operations audit names it, and tells you what to fix first.
What an operations audit is
An operations audit is a structured review of how your business actually runs — not how the org chart says it runs. Over a few weeks we look at your structure, your leadership team, your meeting rhythm, your processes, and your data, and we tell you where the real constraints are.
Most owners already sense that something is off. The trouble is that operational problems disguise themselves. What looks like a sales problem is often a handoff problem. What looks like a people problem is often an accountability problem — two people quietly own the same outcome, so nobody does. What looks like a cash problem is often a process problem showing up sixty days later.
The output isn’t a slide deck of observations. It’s a prioritised list: here is what’s broken, here’s what it’s costing you, and here’s the order to fix it in. Sequence matters — fixing things in the wrong order wastes most of the effort.
Who this is for
An audit is a fit if you recognise most of these:
- The business grew and something stopped working, but you can't name what
- Everything still routes through you and you're the bottleneck
- Your leadership team is busy but you're not sure they're accountable for outcomes
- You're considering a big investment — a hire, a system, a raise — and want to know if it's the right one
- You're preparing to sell, hand over, or step back, and need the business to run without you
Not a fit if: You already know exactly what's wrong and just need it built. Skip the audit — go straight to the work.
What we examine
Leadership and the CEO's role
What the founder is actually spending time on versus what only they can do. Where decisions bottleneck, and how the leadership team functions — or doesn't.
Structure and accountability
The org chart against reality. Who owns which outcome, where ownership is duplicated or missing, and whether the right people are in the right seats.
Meeting rhythm and cadence
What meetings exist, who's in them, and whether they produce decisions. Most businesses have too many meetings and too little rhythm.
Projects and work management
How work is prioritised, tracked, and finished. Whether the team knows what matters this quarter, and whether anything reliably gets done.
Process and documentation
Which critical processes exist only in someone's head, where quality varies by who does the work, and what breaks when a key person is away.
Data and decision-making
What you measure, whether you trust it, and whether it arrives in time to act on. Most small businesses have plenty of data and few real indicators.
Strategy and direction
Whether there's a clear direction the team can actually name — and whether day-to-day work connects to it.
Tools and systems
What you pay for, what's used, what overlaps, and where information falls between systems.
How it works
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01
Kickoff and document review
We start with what already exists — org chart, financials, current tools, any documented process. Cheap context before we take up anyone's time.
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02
Interviews across the team
Not just leadership. The people doing the work know exactly where it breaks, and they'll usually tell you if asked properly and in confidence.
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03
Observe the real rhythm
We sit in on your actual meetings and follow real work through the system, rather than relying on how it's described.
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04
Findings and prioritisation
Everything found, sized by impact and effort, sequenced into an order that makes sense — dependencies first.
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05
Walk through the plan together
A working session, not a presentation. You'll leave knowing what to do first, what to leave alone for now, and why.
Common questions
How long does an audit take?
Typically 2–4 weeks depending on team size, most of which is interviews and observation. It's designed to take very little of your time.
Will my team be honest in the interviews?
More than you'd expect, when they're confidential and the findings are reported as themes rather than attributed. People generally want the business to work — most just haven't been asked.
What do I actually get at the end?
A written findings document and a prioritised action plan, walked through with you in a working session. Specific and sequenced, not a list of generic recommendations.
Do I have to hire you to do the fixes?
No. The audit stands alone and plenty of clients implement it themselves. If you want help, that's a separate conversation after you've seen the findings.
Is this the same as the Free to Build cohort?
No. The audit is us diagnosing your business for you. Free to Build is a 12-week programme where you install the operating system yourself with guidance. An audit is a good way to decide which you need.
Find out what's actually holding the business back
A short call to talk through what you're seeing and whether an audit is the right starting point.
Book a call