no one asked for this (but they NEEDED it!)... aka my time in Saint Mary's PA

Aug 12

📣 Personal news first, and then the Systems Insight:

𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿'𝘀 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺, a unique initiative that brings remote workers to the breathtaking Pennsylvania Wilds. 🏞️

Me in front of what was once the Kinzua Bridge.

I am spending August in Saint Mary's, PA: making friends, exploring the town, and living out my Lorelei Gilmore Girl fantasies.

For the past few months, I’ve been preparing for this adventure and thinking about how to share my experience.

My systems strategist brain couldn't help but notice some opportunities for improving the program's onboarding process 🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓

𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝗳𝗮𝘂𝘅 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀.

Now, let me say upfront that everyone I’ve interacted with from the Wilds Are Working team has been nothing short of lovely, accommodating, and just plain fantastic. They have gone above and beyond to put this program together for myself, the three other participants, and our families.

aaannnddd, they also did all this amazing work WHILE working their regular, full time jobs.

So there’s a lot of disorganized manual work happening behind the scenes because they don't have a Systems Strategist like me on their team! (yet....)

me trying to fit into this very small town after living in big cities for so long.

With all that juggling, it's easy for little details to slip through the cracks.

I have definitely received a lot of emails, text, and calls that start with ... "oh on more thing!"

and have sent a few that start with ... "where is my...?"

If 👆this exchange👆 sounds similar to emails between you and your clients, you should keep reading.

(Or you can skip straight to scheduling a call with me)

The Current Situation

The current onboarding process involves a lot of

manual back and forth
me reaching out asking "uuuhhhhhhhh?!?!?"
and "oh one more thing!" from the welcome committee

I can tell that folks from the WiW team are completing a lot of tasks as it pops into their head or only after I remind them I need something 😅

As a participant in an exciting small-town experiment, I'm down for the cat-and-mouse game that seems to be the norm of this small town in the forest. It means I must befriend everyone I meet to get what I need, basically my catnip. (I am Lorelei Gilmore)

Want the yoga class schedule? You need to ask around until you find the Yoga teacher's name. Then you have to look her up on Facebook and wait until she posts a graphic with this week's schedule.
Want to get your nails done? You need to compliment the barista's nails until she calls the nail-gal from her cellphone, and then she will hand you the phone so you can schedule your nail appointment that way.
Need to sell a bike you impulsively bought your first day to get around? You better learn how to put an ad in the physical newspaper. (I'm not even joking)

Me n Rob having a blast at the Elk County Fair

As fun as this is for my social life, this would never work for an online service provider.

If I were a client of a company that worked this way, I would request a refund ASAP.

OKAY - let's dig into how I would redesign EVERYTHING for the Wilds are Working team:

REDESIGNING THE JOURNEY

Here’s a quick and dirty process map I whipped up, outlining the high-level overview of what could be automated and the tools we’d use:

Step 1: Application Submission

Airtable Form: Participants complete an online form, capturing all necessary details. This adds the participants to a database that is easy to track and review.
Automation: Zapier automatically transfers the data to an Airtable database and creates a review task in ClickUp.

Step 2: Application Review

ClickUp Task Management: Review tasks are automatically assigned, with status updates synced back to Airtable.
Email Notifications: Automated emails will be sent to applicants via Airtable forms based on application status.

Step 3: Onboarding

ClickUp Participant Database: This is where participant information, including interview call dates, flight information, and family members, is stored.
ClickUp Sub-tasks for Each Participant: To prepare each participant, so much needed to happen: scheduling a welcome interview, finding housing, planning our transportation, creating our welcome gifts, getting us our Chamber Buck vouchers to spend in the town, etc.

Step 4: Ongoing Support

Google Doc Resource Hub: A "view-only" document with real-time updates from the team for participants. There is SO MUCH information for the participants. We received a PDF with many errors and several follow-up emails whenever a thought popped into someone's head. I've spent hours collecting and organizing this information (something I know the average participants doesn't do)
Google Calendar: Shared calendar for events and activities. Again, we have been emailed this information in bits and pieces.
Participant-facing Database: An ongoing list of the businesses in town that take the CHAMBER BUCKS we have been gifted when they're open and what kind of business they are.

WHY-COME THE REDESIGN?

Efficiency: More automation and an organized workflow mean less manual work for the team and more time to connect with the participants.
Accuracy: Automated processes reduce errors and ensure no detail gets overlooked. This avoids participant confusion and frustration from the WiW team, and it saves less time emailing back and forth to get answers.
Participant Experience: A seamless onboarding process makes for happy participants, which means more glowing testimonials and potential relocations!

So, yes, this is a bit of a cheeky sales email to convince you to work with me. 😉 But it’s also a low-key love letter to the Wilds Are Working team—because, hey, I’d love to help them redesign this process for next year!

Let's chat if you’re curious about how this could work for your team and client experience.

And if you happen to be from the Wilds Are Working crew—well, you know where to find me! 😄 (A block away from the community pool and down the street from the only coffee shop)

hop on a call with me

Devin Lee https://devinlee.com