30% fewer decisions on the owner’s desk in five months

Yunik is a brand activation agency founded in 2008. They design brands and websites, then build those brands into the physical world: illuminated signs, signage, branded structures, stickers, canvas and vehicle wraps. Everything is produced in their own workshop, with CNC, laser cutting, metalwork and large-format print, and installed and maintained on site by their own teams.

The situation

The agency had grown into a full design-to-installation business, but it was still run the way it was when it was small: through the owner.

• No standard processesEvery project ran differently. Client requirements weren’t captured up front, so gaps surfaced during design and cost extra rounds of work.
• No defined structureWithout clear roles and responsibilities, decisions defaulted to the owner, and delegation stalled.
• Vision and goals stayed with the ownerThe team didn’t have a shared direction or a clear standard to work to.
• No visibility of errorsMistakes in production and installation weren’t recorded, so the business couldn’t learn from them and the same problems came back.

What we installed

1. A clear structureAn organisation chart with defined roles, responsibilities and escalation paths across commercial, design, workshop and maintenance, so decisions have an owner other than the director.
2. A client briefing standardA briefing every new client completes before design starts, so requirements are captured once instead of discovered in revisions.
3. One view of every projectThe same stages for every job, from client request to installation, with an owner at each stage and exceptions documented where everyone can see them.
4. Standard operating proceduresFor the sales pipeline, client files and design quality checks before anything goes to production, plus a lessons-learned review after projects.
5. A shared standardMission, vision and a quality standard in a new employee handbook, making it everyone’s job to catch errors before they reach the client.

The results

• 30% fewer decisions made by the ownerWithin five months, the team owned decisions that used to wait for the director.
• 10% fewer hours a week for the ownerTime that went into approvals and firefighting came back.
• Capacity is visible before work is acceptedThe owner can now see how much the team can take on, and accepts new work accordingly.