Pivote

The lights came back on, the curtains came back up, and the audience entered to take their seats once again. But the audiences look different. They spend differently.

There has been a shift in what is required to reach audience demand.

Most of what is out on the market is speculation on how to win current audiences. It will be a while before there is any real data to base decisions soundly on. And likely it will look very different for each region and demographic.

This level of change is terrifying.

But it doesn’t have to be.

A time-tested business can pivot any amount with ease. This degree of flexibility is required to keep the arts alive.

And that is where I come in. I have seen the effects of documenting procedures across several different industries. Once a process is documented it becomes infinitely more able to be adjusted than before - the game of telephone is eliminated. There is printed words describing the change. Communication improves. Training speeds up. Everyone can be on the same page.

I have also seen what happens when someone untrained in creating business processes has to document what they are doing alongside actually trying to do their job. Technical writing is a very specialized skill. If you have just any employee document processes, it may have mild success, but it is also much more likely to become that hated extra task.

That is why my service focuses on documenting them for you. Everyone is more productive when they can specialize. Let the creatives create, I will handle the documentation, and together we will save the arts.

If you’re ready to take the leap to make the changes necessary to craft a flexible and thriving performing arts business schedule a free call!

Phase 1: Sketching the Big Picture

We’ll take a step back and look at the big picture together. You will define your own personal why and revisit past successes to build confidence. I will review with you where you see the company now and how you would like the company to be. From that information, we will create a clear path forward to your ideally optimized company.

Result: By the end of this, each day will feel more peaceful and confident than the last. While your mindset exercises will continue with the program you’ll have eliminated the overwhelm - personal and operational - and be in the correct space to move forward.

Phase 2: Shadowing & Documenting

Next, I will request contacts from you so I can begin shadowing and recording tasks. Once a task has been shadowed, I will determine the best format for documenting it based on who needs access to it, what tools they have access to while completing it, and where it will eventually be stored. Since you have called in an expert at this step - you can save the time it takes to learn technical writing and process documentation formatting - leave that all to Pivote!

Result: You will regain your time and avoid having to deep dive into learning skills that have little impact on your life.

Phase 3: Reviewing and Revising

After documenting the task, I will review it for recommendations. It is likely in this stage to discover something takes longer than expected or there’s an issue with how a program works so a workaround is being used, etc. This is great because we will be able to fix any issues that are found. After feedback is received, we will make approved edits and determine documentation storage recommendations.

Results: You will uncover any issues - such as work overlap and system workarounds - and fix them which creates company efficiency and gains you trust with your employees.

Phase 4: Workflow Mapping

Once a process is finalized, I will map where it falls in the workflow. This way you can see the big picture of how all of the tasks documented currently work together. Workflows are crucial for several reasons: training so everyone can understand how they are contributing to the outcome, making decisions for changes - for example, if there are a lot of workaround tasks for certain systems it would be worth it to evaluate the cost of in-depth training or a new system, and making it easy to see which tasks affect each other, so as small changes are made there is a map to show what else will need to be adjusted.

Results: You will have confidence in evaluating how larger-scale changes (external or internal) will affect each step in the process leading to smooth pivots. Communication will improve between teams as employees see how their work affects others.

Phase 5: Finalizing

Once everything has been shadowed, documented, revised, and mapped, we will review it as a whole for any additional recommendations or relevant findings. You will receive a full recap of the project, all documents with storage recommendations, and the process map. With all of these, you and your team should be well-equipped to handle changes as they occur. At Pivote, we understand that deciding to make changes and updating the documentation to reflect the change are two different tasks - we will be more than happy to adjust your procedures alongside any large-scale changes you make!

Results: A company workflow so optimized and clear that you can adjust it with ease. Future changes are minor setbacks at most and you can relax knowing that you’ll have support in updating the workflow when changes do happen.

Company Type: Vehicle Salvage

Issue: Minimal procedures for non-insurance vehicles - just a small department that most of the salvage yards did not know exited. Lots of push back on requests to do things the non-insurance way. Non-insurance sellers were constantly seeing their vehicles handled and listed incorrectly resulting in frustration and comping of fees to keep them as sellers. Vehicles often took much longer to go to auction due to confusions on non-insurance title procedures - which varied greatly from insurance title procedures in most states.

Solution: Recorded a procedure document solely for the non-insurance department that included why things were done the way they were and common responses.. Provided document to management and operations team. The operations team created procedures for non-insurance vehicles to provide the yards. Management reviewed why and how with sales to ensure non-insurance team was on the same page and made adjustments as needed. Management was approved to move all non-insurance title signing to corporate and keep one set of POAs.

Results: The non-insurance team was able to get control of their team inbox - moving from being at least 300 emails behind at the end of every day to being able to respond to issues in less than a business hour. Feedback from vendors improved greatly. Fees were able to be enforced and collected. And vehicles went to auction much sooner - freeing up yard space for more vehicles.

Company Type: Fashion

Issue: Unable to get line sheets out on time and only showed in stock goods. No procedures for any team. Vast interdepartmental confusion, miscommunication, and conflict. Frequently had too much or too little stock. Onboarding was minimal and left new employees to figure out what access they needed and how to obtain it. No contingencies for falling behind so all effort was put into data entry and day-to-day tasks - management and leadership did not have time to step back and look at the big picture or where to go. Previous employees did not understand how the fields in the ERP and PLM systems worked together so reports for older shipments were unreliable. Buyers conflicting requirements were not easily documented which led to confusion and incorrect sample numbers, often creating large buyer frustrations. Several buyers threatened to go elsewhere.

Solution: Created procedures for the production team, inter-departmental tasks, and use of common systems. Trained and tracked off-shore data entry personnel. Complied list of buyer requirements for various types of orders. Updated standards to be on file with the manufacturers. Implemented bi-weekly improvement meetings to determine which interdepartmental issues needed addressing next.

Results: Able to send line sheets out weekly with all goods shipped. More time was spent on onboarding leading to less time being spent trying to rush log-in creations later and allowing new employees to jump right in. Freed up time to look at the bigger issues and fix entries in the ERP/PLM systems. Reports became more accurate and reliable so strategy could be discussed with conviction. Buyer feedback improved greatly and sales increased an average of 500K/mo.

Company Type: Performing Arts (Circus)

Expectation: Confusion due to multiple languages. Little support -expected to be handed tasks and have to figure out how to complete them.

Reality: The least amount of confusion I have ever seen at any company. A master-class in operations. Full-time staff understood that local staff would need training and shadowing before being cleared to complete tasks on their own.

Learned: Procedures printed on cheat sheets or memorized can be just as effective as procedures saved digitally. Having a process for training (ie: you will shadow your wardrobe track for two shows and then be shadowed for the next two shows) helps set clear expectations on both sides and allows for extremely effective training.

Company Type: Mortgage Brokerage

Expectation: Confusion due to vast number of rules and multiple lenders.

Reality: A well-oiled machine of a team. Emphasis was placed on personal wellness and happiness. There was a public training tree with expected raises for learning and mastering different tasks which eliminated worry about learning too much without getting an increase in pay.

Learned: Time spent up front often saves headaches, time, and sometimes even costs later. Procedures were documented for day-to-day use as opposed to just for training. Became fluent in technical writing and saw how this skill is required to create procedures that are useful for the full team. Employees who are taken care of will ensure the client or customer is taken care of.

Jessica dropped everything and founded Pivote after seeing article after article discussing the change in audience and donor spending post-pandemic. The arts are her home - she's been involved in productions since 2004 - and she cares deeply for the large community of artists, actors, and creatives they bring together.

Her mission is to help performing arts groups craft companies that are so flexible it won't matter what external changes occur. The key to this level of flexibility and resilience is operational expertise and she's bringing her decade+ of operations experience back to the arts to achieve just that.

She looks forward to helping solve the large operational problems that come with required changes so you can have your time back to focus on the fun part - the production!

Helping performing arts managers & producers skip the operations overwhelm, create company efficiency, and get their time back with my Business Documentation & Mapping Service

OUR PROCESS

My Documentation & Mapping is an ongoing, done-for-you service to remove operational overwhelm, improve efficiency, and give you your time back so you can focus on what you do best -- successfully running the show like a business.

Phase 1: Sketching the Big Picture

Phase 2: Shadowing & Documenting

Phase 3: Reviewing and Revising

Phase 4: Workflow Mapping

Phase 5: Finalizing

Case Studies - Direct Involvement

Case Studies - Educational Experiences

Founder - Jessica Pehrson-Preciat

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