How Work Works: Work is an amplification system. When People, Prosperity, and Protection are aligned, structure directs energy toward growth. When they're not, that same energy leaks — as wasted time, lost revenue, and unmanaged risk. This audit identifies where the leak is, and what it's costing.

Prospect basics

Company name

Industry

Total employees (W2 + 1099)

Avg annual salary (rough)

Workforce type

Signal questions — check everything that applies

People Structure, roles, experience & engagement How work is designed for humans

Role clarity & structure

"Are there people who are great humans but maybe not quite right for the role they're in?"

Skills/position mismatch — underperformance dragProsperity impact

~6% payroll

"If I asked two of your employees to describe their job, would they describe it the same way?"

Role ambiguity — misaligned expectationsProsperity impact

~3% payroll

"Does everything kind of flow through you — like nothing gets done without your input?"

Delegation gap — no SOP infrastructureProsperity impact

~4% payroll

Onboarding & new hire experience

"When someone new starts, is the process pretty much the same every time — or does it kind of depend?"

Inconsistent onboarding — slow time to productivityProsperity cost

~4% payroll

"What do you collect from new hires on day one — is that process consistent every time?"

New-hire documentation gapsProtection risk

~3% payroll

Engagement & culture

"Do your people seem energized — or does it feel like some are just going through the motions?"

Low engagement / quiet quitting dragProsperity impact

~5% payroll

"When someone leaves, do you usually know why?"

No exit feedback loop — preventable attritionProsperity cost

~3% payroll

Prosperity Time, productivity & revenue protection How work converts to value

Time & ownership drag

"Who handles HR stuff when something comes up — is that you, or someone else who probably has other things to do?"

Owner/admin absorbing HR tasks — misdirected labor

~8% payroll

"Do decisions ever get stuck waiting on you — or waiting on information that isn't easy to find?"

Decision bottlenecks and approval drag

~5% payroll

"Are there things that get done more than once, or by more than one person?"

Duplication of duties — direct waste

~4% payroll

"How much of your week feels like it's about managing people problems vs. actually running the business?"

Leadership time tax on people issuesPeople root cause

~5% payroll

Hiring & turnover cost

"Have you hired for the same position more than once in the last year or two?"

Regrettable turnover — cost uses your industry rate + workforce typePeople root cause

industry rate

"Do you have any open roles right now? How long have they been open?"

Vacancy drag — lost productivity or overtime cost

~7% payroll

"When you do hire, how many hours does it take — and who gets pulled into that process?"

Hidden hiring admin cost — untracked labor

~4% payroll

Systems & process inefficiency

"Are there things your team does manually that feel like they should just... happen automatically?"

Manual tools, outdated tech — recurring waste

~3% payroll

"Is employee information in one place, or spread across emails, spreadsheets, and memory?"

Fragmented systems — admin drag and records riskProtection risk

~3% payroll

Protection Compliance, documentation & risk posture How the business is safeguarded

Policy & documentation

"When did you last look at your employee handbook — or do you even have one?"

Outdated / missing handbook — policy and legal exposure

Risk flag

"Do you have current job descriptions for each role — ones that reflect what people actually do?"

Missing / outdated job descriptions — ADA, FLSA, comp exposurePeople impact

Risk flag

"When a people problem comes up, is there a clear process — or does the response depend on who's involved?"

Reactive HR posture — inconsistent policy application

Risk flag

Classification & compliance

"Do you have contractors who work for you pretty regularly — like they're almost employees?"

Misclassification exposure — contractor vs. employee

Risk flag

"Are you confident your exempt and non-exempt classifications are current and accurate?"

Wage & hour misclassification — FLSA exposure

Risk flag

Claims & risk history

"Have you had any employee complaints or anything that felt like it could have become a bigger issue?"

Claims history — unresolved risk exposureProsperity cost

Risk flag

"Do you know what's being said about you as an employer — on Glassdoor or anywhere online?"

Employer brand / reputational riskPeople impact

Risk flag