AI has been on the radar for a while, but if we’re honest, it can feel a bit like a minefield. There’s a lot of noise around it, a lot of promise, and just as many ways to get it wrong. That uncertainty is exactly why we knew bringing in the right partner would matter. For us, that’s why we chose to work with Mike Garde from MGPC Specialist AI & Training consultancy. We didn’t want something off-the-shelf or overcomplicated; we wanted something that actually fits the way we work.
Starting with the Right Conversations
One of the most useful parts of the process came right at the beginning. Mike didn’t just ask for a wish list and disappear, he sat down with us and helped guide the conversations properly. Each team fed into it, and instead of skimming the surface, we got into the detail of what really slows us down.
Some of it was exactly what you’d expect, double-handling data between systems, chasing updates, manual reporting that never quite lines up the first time. Other bits were more specific to us.
Having someone in the room who could challenge and shape those conversations made a difference. It stopped us from drifting into “nice to have” ideas and kept the focus on where automation would genuinely help.
From a Long List to a Clear Direction
We ended up with a fairly chunky list. Not everything on it made sense to tackle straight away, and that’s where prioritising came in. With Mike’s input, we ranked each idea based on impact versus effort, cutting through anything that would be more trouble than it’s worth at this stage.
Mike then took that away and pulled it into a working plan. Not pages of theory, just a clear set of starting points that we could actually act on. It felt real, which is exactly what we needed.
Rather than trying to automate everything at once, we agreed to start with a small number of practical improvements that would have the biggest day-to-day impact. The focus wasn’t on choosing the most impressive projects, but the ones that would remove repetitive tasks, reduce manual effort and fit naturally into the way we already work. Starting with these changes gives us the chance to see the benefits early, learn as we go, and build on those successes over time.
What This Will Improve
The impact is already easy to picture because they’re tied so closely to day-to-day frustrations. Information becomes easier to locate, without needing to check multiple places or rely on someone else to point you in the right direction.
There’s also a knock-on effect across the team. Less time spent chasing and checking means more time spent actually moving work forward. Customers get quicker responses, internal queries don’t sit waiting, and there’s less pressure on individuals to keep everything ticking over manually.
None of these changes are revolutionary on their own, but together they’re making things run more smoothly and taking pressure off the team.
The Impact So Far
We’re still early into this, but we’ve already seen enough to know we’re on the right track. The first phase is proving its value, and it’s given us the confidence to keep building on it. Rather than trying to automate everything at once, we’re taking it step by step and focusing on changes that genuinely make day-to-day work easier.
What made the difference
Before working with Mike, we weren’t short of options, we were short of clarity. There are plenty of AI tools available, but knowing which ones would actually make a difference to our business was the hard part.
Mike understood how we work, including the quirks that don’t show up on a process map, and built around that. It’s made the whole thing feel practical rather than experimental.
Looking Ahead
We’re still learning, but we’ve already seen enough to know we’re on the right track. Rather than trying to automate everything at once, we’re building things gradually and focusing on changes that genuinely make day-to-day work easier.
