Reduce Key Person Dependence with Better Systems

It’s all too common for the team and I at THC to see hospitality businesses that rely on a few “go-to” team members to keep operations running smoothly. While these individuals may be competent and loyal, this approach creates a dangerous dependency. If they leave, get sick, or take a holiday for a few weeks, your business grinds to a halt—or worse, quality and consistency suffer.

David Jenyns’ book SYSTEMology and Michael E Gerber’s book The E-Myth outline a proven framework for breaking this cycle. The core idea is simple but powerful: build a business that runs on systems, not people. In hospitality, this means developing transparent, documented processes for everything from opening the café/restaurant to handling customer complaints, managing rosters, paying wages, managing food safety and even preparing the perfect flat white!

We teach our clients that strong systems reduce the reliance on memory or individual experience. They allow new team members to step in confidently, ensure consistent customer service, and protect your business from disruption. A strong ‘systems approach’ encourages owners to extract knowledge from key staff and turn it into step-by-step procedures that anyone can follow.

By shifting from a key-person model to a systems-based operation, hospitality owners and managers gain greater freedom. You're no longer the bottleneck or the backup plan—you’re the leader of a business that can scale, grow, and perform whether you're on-site or not.

Start small. Identify a high-impact process and document it this week. Involve your team and build a culture where following and improving systems is the norm.

The goal? A hospitality business that runs smoothly, consistently, and profitably—without depending on a handful of heroes. A strong systems approach should be grounded in theory; it should provide a practical path to more freedom, control, and less stress in your hospitality journey.