Orchestrating a Strategy Renaissance for The Scout Guide
Behind the scenes of The Scout Guide’s digital transformation, I found myself in a pivotal role, closely collaborating with Holly Negley, the website strategist and SEO manager at The Scout Guide. Tasked with the vision to revolutionize digital operations across this enterprise, I faced notable challenges. The Scout Guide, known for its local influence and aesthetic finesse in advertising, with its network of 86 thriving franchises, was constrained by inefficient operational processes. Despite its community-driven success, these shortcomings impeded the growth of this rapidly expanding, women-led business.
The Project
My engagement as a digital operations consultant began when The Scout Guide hired my business, Digital Renegades, to develop their new website. However, it quickly became evident that before embarking on creating a new website, it was crucial to address the flawed operational processes that would compromise any new digital development, just as they had the current website.
Consequently, I put the website project on hold and shifted my focus. Donning my digital ops hat, I dove into cleaning up some of the most vital operations that were pivotal for the success of the upcoming website. This became a crucial step in ensuring the new digital presence would be built on a solid and efficient operational foundation.
Our before-state was antiquated, and it felt very pieced together, and I think that the after-state is a graduation from that startup mentality to a more elegant and established brand.”
Holly Negley
The Scout Guide
The Challenge: Beyond Digital
I quickly realized that The Scout Guide’s challenges extended well beyond the need for a new website. The root of the issue was a jumble of processes hastily put together in the startup’s early days. With the company on the verge of expanding to 100 franchises, it was clear that these processes needed a significant overhaul.
Our task was to completely rethink The Scout Guide’s digital operations and processes, making them as sophisticated and polished as their product. Holly, my client at The Scout Guide, reflected on this challenge, saying, “To have the ability to shape the business processes was a huge undertaking and responsibility. It was an amazing opportunity to be impactful in every part of the business.”
A Strategic Blueprint
My team and I tackled redefining The Scout Guide’s information architecture, focusing on prioritizing and streamlining their digital objectives and strategies. We also took charge of managing data analytics.
Together, we delved into the inner workings of The Scout Guide’s operations, identifying critical areas for restructuring. By converting cumbersome tasks into more streamlined operations, we collectively brought a new level of clarity and efficiency to previously time-consuming and overly complex processes. Our joint strategic insights were crucial in transforming these operational processes, enabling a more effective and agile operational framework.
Empowerment Through Knowledge
Our impact went beyond restructuring processes. I became a coach, guiding The Scout Guide’s team through the maze of digital transformation. I coached them in strategic thinking, understanding the nuances of digital operations, and the communications required to manage stakeholder expectations.
Holly had this to say about her experience of Kevin’s coaching, “Kevin was very good at coaching me in how better to manage all of the cooks in the kitchen and manage the expectations of my stakeholders and decision makers. He used to work at Apple, so he brought a lot of great tactics used by tech giants that could be applied to our business. Things like getting people excited about a new feature, managing expectations around how much time something will take, and buying more time with my stakeholders.”
The Legacy: A Strategic Masterstroke
Our consultation resulted in a transformed business, where the digital processes were made efficient and strategically aligned with the company’s vision and future. This alignment ensured that The Scout Guide’s operations were not just streamlined for the present but also poised for continued growth and success.