How we avoided a major setback and found a smarter way to cope with staff changes
The following text was provided by one of our customers.
Sophie was a cornerstone of our business. She nurtured relationships with a large portion of our clients and led many of our most critical projects. So while we were proud to see her grow into a more senior role elsewhere, her departure left a significant gap.
We thought we were prepared. Handover meetings were held, and Sophie created excellent documentation for each project. But what we hadn’t accounted for was email.
Like many professionals, Sophie’s key communications with clients were buried in her inbox. Although we exported her account to a PST file for senior management to access, the reality was stark: we lacked the time, tools, and know-how to quickly find what we needed. In some cases, we didn’t even know who the main contacts were within client organisations. It was frustrating, time-consuming, and frankly embarrassing. Worse still, it exposed us to risks we couldn’t afford.
On the recommendation of another business, we implemented CloudFiler. It allows us to file emails related to projects, legal matters, HR, and more into structured folders with controlled access. Now, if someone leaves the company, we don’t scramble to find their correspondence. Everything is instantly accessible, whether we’re on a phone, Mac, or browser and logically organised by project name or topic, making retrieval fast and intuitive.
Recently, a contractor claimed they hadn’t been informed about a change. The staff member responsible had already left, but thanks to CloudFiler, we quickly retrieved the email confirming the notification. The issue was resolved on the spot. It’s hard to quantify what that saved us financially and emotionally but it more than justified the modest cost of the system.
While CloudFiler has safeguarded us from another “Sophie scenario,” it’s also transformed our daily operations. Everyone in the office agrees: we can’t imagine working without it.
Note: Customer details withheld at their request.
