Find the right problem before you invest in the solution.
More people. New technology. Another training programme. Sometimes these are the right answers. Sometimes they are expensive ways of avoiding the real issue.
Discuss an operational assessmentA real conversation with Dave. You don’t need a perfectly formed brief.
The numbers say one thing. The operation says another.
Your reporting may be perfectly respectable. The targets may even be green. Yet customers keep coming back about the same problem, people are working harder and the business is not getting the result it needs.
When you are close to an operation every day, it is easy to accept things as normal that someone from outside might immediately question. Processes acquire extra steps. Reporting becomes an exercise in producing numbers rather than understanding them. Technology gets used in ways nobody originally intended.
I listen, observe, challenge and work with the people who understand the operation best. The aim is to establish what is happening, why it is happening and what can realistically be done about it. Improvement does not always mean changing everything.
“We need more people.”
What is consuming the capacity you already have?
Repeated contact, avoidable administration, unclear ownership and workarounds can all create demand. I want to understand the work before assuming another recruitment round is the answer.
“We need new technology.”
What is the existing technology failing to do?
The starting point is the problem and the intended outcome. A change in process, information or management may matter more than another platform.
“Our costs are too high.”
Which costs are symptoms of something else?
A lower cost per interaction is not much help if customers need several interactions to get something resolved. I look at the operation and its effect on the wider business.
“Dave brings a rare combination of sector expertise, operational discipline, and an ability to quickly understand how an organisation truly functions.”
Before you spend money fixing the problem, make sure you’ve found the right problem.
That is not an argument against investment. It is an argument for knowing what you are investing in, why it matters and what a useful result would look like.
I look underneath the symptoms.
There is no fixed checklist that every business must fit. Depending on the challenge, an operational assessment can examine:
Performance and customer journeys
What the reporting says, what customers actually experience, why they make contact and where the operation creates repeat work.
People, capacity and leadership
Workforce planning, quality, role clarity, management practice and whether people have the information and authority to do the job.
Processes and technology
The handovers, workarounds and unnecessary steps, alongside the way contact centre technology, automation and AI are being used.
Commercial arrangements and decisions
How contracts, measures and incentives affect behaviour, and where management assumptions differ from operational reality.
A few days can change your perspective.
Understand the business
We agree the challenge, the purpose of the assessment and the people and information that will help. You do not need a perfectly formed diagnosis before we speak.
Examine the operation
I spend time with your people, examine how the work actually gets done and challenge the explanations that deserve a closer look. Most initial assessments take three to five days, depending on size and complexity.
Agree what is worth doing
I bring the findings back to the business, explain the reasoning and identify practical priorities. We discuss what your team can take forward and where additional support might be useful.
Something you can use after I leave.
The assessment is intended to support decisions, rather than produce a presentation that quietly retires to a shared drive.
- A clear findings report
- Understand the issues, the evidence behind them and what is already working.
- Practical recommendations
- Consider realistic changes across people, process, technology and management.
- A prioritised action plan
- Decide what deserves attention first and what can wait.
- A discussion about implementation
- Choose what your team will deliver and whether further involvement would help.
I’m rather more interested in Monday morning.
I have been the person making the decisions and the person responsible for delivering them. That tends to change the questions you ask. A recommendation has to survive the realities of the operation, not just look sensible in a meeting.
I will tell you what I find, including the things you might not particularly want to hear. I will also recognise what is already working. The objective is to make the business stronger, not to prove that everything needs replacing.
And if you want help putting the recommendations into practice, we can discuss that. Process redesign, performance management, technology, leadership and transformation delivery may all have a part to play. They are not automatically another project on the invoice.
A bit more about the person you’ll be working withDoes this sound like the right conversation?
- You need an independent view before a significant investment or change.
- Performance has stalled and the reporting is not explaining why.
- Growth is exposing weaknesses in processes, people or technology.
Scope and commercial arrangements are agreed before paid work begins.
A few things you might want to know.
If there’s something else you’d like to know, ask me. You’ll be talking to Dave.
Ask Dave a questionWhat does an operational assessment cover?
We agree the focus around your challenge. It can include customer journeys, performance, workforce planning, quality, leadership, processes, technology and commercial arrangements. The point is to understand the operation rather than force it through a standard template.
How long does an assessment take?
Most initial assessments take between three and five days, depending on the size and complexity of the business. Scope, access to information and the appropriate level of involvement are discussed before work begins.
Will you recommend new technology or AI?
Only if it addresses a properly understood need. I want to know what outcome you need, what the current technology is doing and whether there is a simpler way to make the improvement.
What will we receive?
A clear findings report, practical recommendations and a prioritised action plan. We also discuss how the recommendations could be put into practice and whether your team needs further support.
Can you help implement the recommendations?
Yes. Further work can involve process redesign, performance management, technology, leadership or transformation delivery. Any implementation engagement has its own agreed scope and commercial arrangements.
Do we need to prepare a detailed brief?
No. Tell me what is happening, what you have already tried and what a good outcome would look like. We can identify the useful questions and any information needed from there.
How are fees agreed?
We discuss the scope, responsibilities and commercial arrangements before any paid work begins. There is no published fixed price that assumes every business needs the same assessment.
A problem to solve? An opportunity to explore?
You don’t need a formal brief.
Tell me what’s on your mind.