How Independent Retirement Improved Its Operations With Effective Process Documentation for Growth

Last Updated on February 25, 2022 by Owen McGab Enaohwo

Eric Burnside is the vice president and director of business development at Independent Retirement, a family-owned and operated third-party administration firm in Portland, Oregon.  

As a small business, one of the goals of the team at Independent Retirement was to double their client base over the next five years. Streamlining their business operations was a prerequisite to driving that growth. But the absence of well-documented business procedures was a hindrance to accomplishing that goal.  

Eric and his team understood that they had to systematize their operations to scale the business. Determined to get it right, they engaged the services of Adi Klevit, a business process consultant. Adi introduced the team to SweetProcess, and guided them in documenting their business processes effectively toward achieving their goals.  

In this case study, Eric and Adi talk about how SweetProcess has taken the organization closer to accomplishing its five-year growth plans.

Eric Burnside – VP, Dir. of Business Development of Independent Retirement

Adi Klevit – Business Process Consultant at Business Success Consulting Group

About Independent Retirement 

Independent Retirement is a family-owned and operated third-party administration firm based in Portland, Oregon. It provides comprehensive, white-glove administration, consulting, and plan design services for tax-qualified retirement plans. 

Established in 2006, the organization helps its clients save money and achieve retirement readiness. Consisting of doers, thinkers, and helpers, the team is committed to giving its clients an active resource in retirement plan administration and provides extensive support to employer plan sponsors and participants. 

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The Biggest Pain Points of Tribal Knowledge and Acquisition  

The ability to transfer knowledge from one person to another is key for business longevity. Realizing that your business is built on tribal knowledge is a wake-up call that something is amiss. 

What’s going to happen when the people with the knowledge are no longer in the organization? 

“My mom grew up in this business. She’s been a practitioner for 35 years. She has a wealth of technical knowledge and I have nothing. I have the ability, energy, and drive to sell and connect with folks. But technically I don’t know how to do the work. So. . .  I felt it was important for the firm to invest in documenting processes,” Eric says.