Setting up an Ops Department

Background

Testing4Finance was an independent software testing consultancy providing testing solutions to the banking industry. It was established in 2010 and sold at the end of 2012.

The issue

The three original founders had vast experience in delivery and business development but no operational experience. Too much time was being spent in trying to set up all the back office functions when they needed to be getting new business.

The solution - setting up an ops department from scratch

I was brought on board as the Operations and Marketing director. Having worked with me before at a large international testing consultancy, the other directors were familiar with my experience. I had been instrumental in helping the larger business grow from a 10-consultant business to one that grew to 150 consultants before being sold. My role was to set up all the elements needed to deliver all the operational activities of the company. I delivered the following:

• Took over all the operational aspects of the business

• Organised three office moves

• Set up all the back office systems to:• Find, recruit and onboard new associates• Manage project onboarding of associates

• Implemented a timesheet system to track associates’ time on projects

• Implemented a recruitment system to manage and track associates

• Managed the month-end client invoicing process

• Supported the delivery team with client bids

• Created all the marketing collateral, including the build of a new website

• Recruited back office support as the business grew

  
  

The outcome

Having set up the ops department to support the team, we were able to grow the business from 0 consultants to having 30 billable consultants within 18 months.