035: Growth Exposes the Leaks

At this week’s Ops Meeting, we spotted a great problem to have: one of our leaders has officially outgrown her current communication setup.

As the gyms have grown, so have her responsibilities, and right now everything is flowing through the same pipes:

HR questions. Operational questions. Tasks. Pings. “Quick questions.”

All mixed together. 

Before we jump straight to “hire someone,” we’re taking the smart interim step: fixing the plumbing.

The Fix: Separate the Pipes

We realized a huge source of overload comes from context switching. Answering HR questions and operational questions at the same time, from different places, using different parts of the brain, is exhausting.

So here’s what we did:

• Created a dedicated HR email inbox

• Attached it to a dedicated HR Slack channel

• Kept operations communication in its own lane
  

Now, when it’s time to work on HR, everything HR is in one place.

No leaks. No surprise splashes. Just clean pipes.🚰✨

The Boundary (This Part Matters)

Going forward:

• All HR questions and tasks go to the HR inbox or HR Slack channel

• If an HR question shows up in an operational inbox, it will be rerouted, not answered
  

You may get a friendly reply that says:

“Please send all HR questions to the HR inbox so nothing gets missed.”

This isn’t about blocking people. It’s about building a clean system.

Bonus: this also creates a clear knowledge base for when and if we hand off parts of these roles in the future.

Why This Matters

Better systems = less overwhelm Clear channels = better answers Good plumbing = a house that actually works

Thanks for helping us keep things flowing smoothly, and for being flexible as we grow.

Now excuse us while we go check for any other leaks. 😉

- Casey 🎯Real talk - You know that feeling when you’re trying to cook dinner, but the counter is covered in literally everything?

A stack (or two) of unopened mail. Lunchboxes. A random screwdriver. 23 water bottles. 8 charging cords to who-knows-what. A Lego masterpiece that absolutely “cannot be moved.” Crumbs. More crumbs. An Amazon return you keep forgetting to drop off. And a sippy cup with milk in it that’s been sitting there for Lord knows how long.

And somehow you’re expected to prep dinner on about six square inches of usable counter space, balancing cutting boards and ingredients on top of whatever is flat enough to count.

That’s what happens when HR, ops, and tasks all land in the same place.This change is us clearing the counter so the work actually has room to happen.