Client Success Case Study – Commercial HVAC/R Contractor
Scaling Without the Chaos: How a Commercial Contractor Turned Growth Pains into Growth Gains 🚀
How we transformed a 100-employee HVAC contractor’s scattered tribal knowledge into a documented system that cut onboarding time in half and saved 30 minutes per day per employee.
Client Profile:
Company: Northstar HVAC/R
Location: Plymouth, MA
Employees: 100+
Revenue: $30M (and quickly growing)
Transformation
With DocuLaunch, Northstar now has the platform to scale from.
Financial Impact
Northstar’s Story
Revenue doubling, headcount expanding, new opportunities flooding in. But behind the success, operations are held together with duct tape and hope.
Northstar HVAC was living this reality. 100 employees, projecting another $20-30 million in sales, planning to add 20-30 more team members. The growth was there, but so was the chaos. Matthew Gray, VP of Sales, Marketing, and Engineering, described it best: "We're having so much growth, and we keep falling down on the back end. We're really making opportunities with customers much more convoluted and complicated."
That's exactly what Northstar was experiencing when they came to us - rapid growth but operational chaos behind the scenes.
Before DocuLaunch: Growing Fast, Falling Behind
Northstar was experiencing the classic symptoms of a company outgrowing its operational foundations. Every new success created new complications, and what should have been smooth customer experiences were becoming drawn-out, frustrating processes.
They knew something needed to change, but they didn't know where to start. Like many growing companies, they'd recognized the problem and invested in what seemed like the solution - a Learning Management System with an annual subscription. This was going to be their answer to process documentation and training challenges. But the platform sat largely unused because nobody knew how to extract the knowledge from their heads and get it into the system. Kyle, their integrator, was trying to make it work while managing his own department - an impossible task that led to frustration and zero results.
The Real Struggles:
Everyone doing things their own way with no standardization
New hires taking 45 days to get up to speed through endless job shadowing
No documented processes to reference or train from
Managers unable to hold people accountable without clear standards
Daily interruptions and questions eating up 30+ minutes per employee
Hidden resentment building as operational frustrations mounted
When we had Northstar complete our Process Culture Assessment, they scored a concerning 33 out of 100
This baseline revealed significant gaps across process & knowledge documentation, training protocol, access and accountability issues.
Want to know your Process Culture Score?
During DocuLaunch: Getting Outside the Box
Matthew was initially skeptical about bringing in an outside team. His concern was valid: "How could an outside group come in and understand the nuances of our business?"
Our approach was minimally invasive but strategically intensive. We implemented focused working sessions - just one hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The goal: get in, extract critical knowledge, document processes, and get out without disrupting daily operations.
The Breakthrough Moment: We facilitated the tough conversations that never happen in day-to-day operations. These time-blocked sessions forced Northstar to step outside their routine and examine their processes objectively. As we like to say, you can't read the label from inside the box.
When we mapped out their customer journey and core processes, Matthew experienced what he called a "game changer" moment. Suddenly, he could see all the unnecessary complications they'd been taking for granted. Processes that seemed normal were revealed as time-consuming detours that frustrated both employees and customers.
Our 90-Day Process:
Mapped and documented 10 core business processes
Extracted tribal knowledge from key team members
Created a centralized knowledge base with one source of truth
Trained managers on accountability frameworks
Established clear standards everyone agreed upon during documentation
After DocuLaunch: Measurable Transformation
After completing our 90-day DocuLaunch program, Northstar's Process Culture Score jumped from 33 to 82 - a 49-point increase that reflected dramatic operational improvements.
Operational Impact:
Training time reduced: From 45 days to 21 days for new hires
Process standardization: 10 core processes clarified, mapped, and agreed upon
Daily efficiency gains: 30 minutes per day per employee saved through reduced questions and searching
Accountability framework: Clear standards that enable performance management without conflict
The Financial Impact:
Training Cost Savings: Reducing onboarding from 45 to 21 (Saved 17 business days) saves $595 per new hire by assuming a manager spends an hour a day with a new hire ($35/hr for a manager’s time) With 30 planned hires this equals: $17,850 annual savings.
Operational Efficiency: 30 minutes of daily productivity returned to each of 100 employees at an average rate of $29/hour equals $1,450 per day. Across 260 business days: $377,000 annual time savings.
Total Annual Impact: $394,850 in captured value
Matthew's verdict:
"I was a little skeptical at first, but I'd tell you, if you've been thinking about doing it, don't even think. Just jump in. Do it. The ROI is there. I'm telling you from a company that's basically doubled in the last year that this is a game changer."
The Foundation for Future Growth
Beyond immediate savings, Northstar now has the infrastructure to scale effectively. They have documented standards for bringing new hires up to speed, clear accountability frameworks for managers, and a knowledge base that reduces daily friction across the organization.
Most importantly, they've broken the cycle of growth creating chaos. Instead of adding complexity with each new employee, they now have systems that create clarity and consistency.
Ready to Transform Your Growth Story?
Take the Process Culture Assessment
If Northstar's challenges sound familiar, start with understanding where you stand.
Take our Process Culture Assessment to get your baseline score across process documentation, knowledge management, training systems, and accountability structures. You'll receive your results instantly and gain clarity on exactly where your operational gaps are costing you time and money.
Don't let rapid growth become your operational nightmare. Get your Process Culture Assessment score and discover how to turn growth pains into growth gains.
