Client
- BNI Sydney Central and Inner West
- Business Networking Industry
- 450+ members, 17 chapters
Action
Implemented Way We Do to centralize, customize, and convert the existing Chapter Operations Manual into easily searchable, step-by-step checklists and workflows, ensuring controlled access and systematic clarity across the chapters.
Result
Way We Do successfully transformed BNI Sydney Central and Inner West’s compliance and training from a static, interpreted manual into a dynamic, consistent, and easily accessible operational blueprint.
“It’s not just about steps, it’s about the why, and it makes it really transparent. And that’s my favorite feature is being able to create a checklist for anything that you need to create a checklist for.”
— Lisa Garrido, Executive Director for BNI Sydney Central and Inner West.
The Challenge: Inconsistent Communication and Training
As a large and growing network of business networking chapters, BNI Sydney Central and Inner West faced a critical challenge in ensuring consistency across its numerous member groups and leadership teams.
Prior to Way We Do, their primary resources for compliance and training were:
- A Digital Operations Manual: This hefty document was often subject to varied interpretations by different regional teams.
- Decentralized Training: Franchise owners were responsible for rolling out the system, resulting in regional differences in training, implementation, and compliance guidance.
The lack of a centralized, easily digestible source of truth created inefficiency. Members and leadership teams often had to contact the regional office with administrative inquiries about simple next steps, leading to time management challenges for the core administration staff.
The Solution: Centralized, Customized, and Checklist Driven Processes
Executive Director Lisa Garrido, drawing on her background as an HR consultant, sought a system that would streamline business processes and ensure team member engagement through clear procedures. Way We Do was implemented to provide:
- Systematic Clarity: The system transformed the voluminous operations manual into meaningful, structured, and easily searchable information.
- Step-by-Step Guidance: Policies and procedures were converted into actionable, step-by-step checklists, making it transparent for leadership teams (like Membership Committees and Mentor Teams) exactly what support they needed to undertake and when.
- Controlled Intellectual Property (IP): The platform offered security measures and authority levels, allowing BNI to protect its proprietary processes while controlling which information was rolled out to specific individuals.
Seamless Onboarding and Implementation
The implementation process was noted for its thoroughness and dedicated support from the Way We Do team (specifically Jackie Jones and Andrew Sutton).
- Administration Training: An initial education campaign trained the BNI administrators on how to use, customize, and manage the system.
- Dedicated Customization: Consistent meetings were held to implement BNI’s specific recommendations, followed by trials before the final rollout to members.
“It took time, but I think anything worth doing and implementing properly will take time. And that’s really the important thing that needs to be considered. Take time in doing it so that you can customize it and then it becomes meaningful for everybody.”
– Lisa Garrido
The Results: Significant improvements in operational quality
The adoption of Way We Do yielded significant improvements in operational quality, transparency, and time management across the BNI franchise.
Operational Quality
Ensured the region operates at a consistent, set standard, strictly following the BNI blueprint.
Administrative Efficiency
Significantly reduced inquiries to the regional office regarding “next steps.” This has positively impacted the management of time and workflow at the administrative level.
Leadership Transparency
Provided full transparency for leadership teams on the support they need and the sequential steps other committee members must undertake.
Member Adoption
Leadership teams quickly adopted the system because it provided step-by-step guidance and enabled them to easily assign and allocate tasks.
Protection of IP
Functions as a central, secure repository of BNI’s intellectual property, processes, and systems, with authority controls in place.
