Service 01 — Back-Office Task Review
Most organisations considering automation receive projections shaped by what vendors want to sell. This service starts somewhere different: with observation of your specific work, task by task, before any conclusions are drawn.
What this delivers
After four weeks working alongside one or two of your departments, you will have a task register with actual time figures — not estimates drawn from industry benchmarks that may have little relation to how your teams work.
You will know which tasks are genuinely suited to automated handling, which ones carry conditions that make automation complicated, and which ones are better left with a person because the judgment they require is the point of doing them.
That picture belongs to you. It is not a prelude to a sales conversation — it is a basis for whatever decision your organisation wants to make, including the decision to do nothing.
What you can expect
A task register with time figures
Every recurring task recorded with frequency, average duration, variability, and the kind of judgment it requires — not in abstract terms, but as observed in your department.
Honest proportion of automatable work
A straightforward breakdown of what share of the department's recurring work falls into each category — suited, partly suited, and not suited — without rounding upward.
Notes on risk, not just opportunity
A clear account of which tasks would introduce more risk than benefit through automation — and why, so you can evaluate that judgment for yourself.
The situation many organisations find themselves in
01
Automation tools are marketed with efficiency figures drawn from cases that may not resemble yours. The numbers are real; the context behind them is rarely shared. It is difficult to evaluate a proposal when you do not yet have a clear picture of your own work.
02
Most organisations have a general sense of which tasks consume time — but not exact figures. Frequency, duration, and variability tend to sit in individual memories and habits rather than in any document. That makes comparison difficult and decisions harder to defend.
03
An automation system built around incorrect assumptions about task variability or judgment requirements does not quietly underperform — it generates exceptions, workarounds, and team friction. Understanding your work first is not a luxury; it is the condition for any sensible decision.
Our approach
The Back-Office Task Review begins with interviews across one or two departments, then moves into observation — working alongside your teams as they carry out the tasks under review. We record what we see, not what we expect to find.
Each task is assessed against three criteria: how often it recurs, how long it takes on average and at its extremes, and how much variable judgment it requires. Tasks that look similar from a distance often differ considerably on that third dimension, and it is that dimension which most determines whether automation would be a sensible fit.
We have no commercial interest in any particular outcome. A finding that automation would not help is not a failure of the engagement — it is the engagement delivering exactly what it should.
The census method, illustrated
Each square below represents one recurring task in a typical department. Colour reflects suitability for automated handling. The proportions vary by organisation — this is why observation comes first.
What the four weeks look like
Week 1
We meet with department leads to understand the scope of recurring work, identify which teams to observe, and agree on what a useful output would look like for your situation. Your team's time at this stage: two to four hours.
Weeks 2–3
We work alongside staff carrying out the tasks under review — logging what each task involves, how long it takes, how it varies, and what decisions it requires. We ask questions, but we do not disrupt normal work.
Week 4
We compile the task register and produce the proportionate breakdown. We draft the notes on tasks where automation would introduce more risk than it removes, with explanations your team can evaluate.
Delivery
We present findings in a session with whoever needs to see them — department leads, senior management, or both. We walk through each part and answer questions. The document is yours to use as you see fit.
Effort panel — your team's time
Investment
A fixed fee for the full four-week engagement covering one or two departments. There are no additional charges for the findings presentation or follow-up questions in the two weeks after delivery.
The value of this service is not in the report itself — it is in having a factual basis for whatever decision comes next, rather than relying on projections from parties with a commercial interest in a particular answer.
If your organisation is evaluating vendors or considering implementation, the task register produced here gives you a document against which to assess any proposal you receive.
What is included
Scoping interviews with department leads and relevant staff
Two weeks of direct observation across one or two departments
Full task register with frequency, duration, variability, and judgment figures
Proportionate breakdown: suited, partly suited, and not suited for automation
Written notes on tasks where automation would introduce more risk than benefit
Findings presentation session and two weeks of follow-up questions at no additional charge
How findings are structured
What each task entry contains
Task name and department
Described in plain language that your team would recognise — not in the vocabulary of any particular automation tool.
Frequency and volume
How often the task occurs and at what scale — daily, weekly, or triggered by events. Includes seasonal or cyclical variation where observed.
Duration — typical and outliers
Average time to complete the task and the range observed. Outlier cases are documented separately because they often determine whether automation is practical.
Judgment requirement
The nature and extent of decision-making involved — whether the task follows a fixed rule, requires situational reading, or depends on relationship context.
Suitability assessment
A rating and brief explanation. Where suitability is conditional, the conditions are stated explicitly.
Timeline and expectations
Four weeks is a realistic timeframe for one or two departments with standard administrative functions. Organisations with unusually complex task structures or more than two departments should discuss scope in the initial conversation.
The findings are specific to your organisation
They will not match industry benchmarks, because your work does not match an industry average. That is precisely their value.
The output is a document, not a recommendation
We present what we found. What you do with the findings is your decision. We can discuss implications, but we do not push conclusions.
Some tasks will surprise you
Tasks that seemed simple often turn out to carry more variability than expected. Tasks that seemed complex are sometimes more rule-based than they appear. Observation tends to surface both kinds.
Our commitment
If the observation period reveals that your department's tasks are not well suited to automation, we will say so clearly — including in cases where a different finding would have led to a larger engagement for us.
We do not hold commercial relationships with software vendors or automation platforms. That is a structural choice, not a policy statement — it means we have no financial incentive to find more automatable work than is actually there.
The initial conversation about whether this engagement is right for your organisation carries no commitment. If it becomes clear in that conversation that the review would not give you useful information — because your departments are too small, or already well-documented, or facing a different question — we will say that too.
Start with a conversationHow to proceed
Step 1
Use the contact form or write directly to info@domain.com. Tell us which departments you are thinking about, and roughly what question is driving the interest. We respond within two business days.
Step 2
We speak for around thirty minutes — no formal agenda, just a conversation about your situation and whether a task review would give you something useful. If it does not seem like the right fit, we will say so and suggest what might be more appropriate.
Step 3
If both sides want to proceed, we confirm the departments in scope, the start date, and how access to staff and processes will work. The four-week engagement then begins. Payment is arranged before the observation phase starts.
Back-Office Task Review
The review produces a document your organisation can use however it chooses — to evaluate vendor proposals, to inform an implementation decision, or simply to have an accurate record of what your departments do.
Get in touchOther services
Service 02
If task review findings support scheduling automation, this service handles deployment built around your actual constraints — staffing, contractual hours, skill coverage. Ten weeks with a parallel period and manual override throughout.
Service 03
If your task review identifies work suited to automation and you are now evaluating tool providers, this service gives you independent support — requirement definition, comparable evaluation criteria, structured trials, and contract review. Five weeks. No vendor relationships.