Before the whole team runs it: a checklist
Someone on the team built a workflow in Claude, and it works. Seven things to settle before the rest of the team uses it on client work, with a one-page checklist to download.
Someone on the team has built a workflow in Claude, and it works. It drafts the monthly report, or checks a deck against the firm's house standards. Building it was the right call: the team's way of doing the work is finally written down.
The next step is the rest of the team using it on client work. These are the seven things to settle first. Answer each one for the last real piece of work the workflow produced, not for how it's meant to work, and tick only what's true today.
Download the one-page checklist (PDF)
1. The steps are written down
The workflow follows the same steps whoever runs it, and those steps are written somewhere other than one person's head or one chat history.
Check: could a colleague run it on a new job tomorrow, without asking the builder anything?
2. One named person signs off
Nothing goes to a client until a named person approves it, and the approval is recorded, not a reply saying "looks good".
Check: who signed off the last piece that went out, and which version did they see?
3. The review has one home
Drafts, edits and comments are kept together in one place the team can see, so a correction is made once and reaches the next draft.
Check: where did the reviewer's comments on the last draft end up?
4. The sources sit beside the draft
The reviewer can see which files each draft was built from, without asking whoever ran it. Otherwise the senior person re-checks every figure.
Check: pick one figure in the last draft. How long does it take to find where it came from?
5. Every run leaves a record
Which version of the workflow ran, on which files, when, and what the reviewer saw. Workflows get improved, so the version matters.
Check: if a client queried a report from three months ago, could the firm say exactly what produced it?
6. The cost of one run is known
Building happens once and running happens every week. Routine steps rarely need the strongest model, but someone has to decide that on purpose.
Check: what did the last run cost, and which model ran each step?
7. It survives the builder
It doesn't run on one personal account or one laptop, and someone other than the builder can fix it when it breaks.
Check: what happens to it if the builder leaves next month?
Scoring it
- 0 to 3: still one person's tool. Useful, and worth keeping. Not yet ready to put in front of a client under the firm's name.
- 4 to 6: nearly there. Close the gaps before it touches client work. Start with 2 and 5.
- 7: ready for the team. Roll it out, then pick the next piece of weekly work. The method carries over.
What this costs
Writing the steps down and agreeing who signs off takes a senior person a few hours. The first month is slower while the team gets used to reviewing in one place, and some people will resent the extra step.
When to stop
If the workflow only ever helps one person think or draft for themselves, none of this is needed. Keep it as a personal skill. This list matters once the work goes to a client.
If someone on the team has built something in Claude that the team now shares, see how Chaidojo runs it for the whole team, or message Christian on LinkedIn.
