Scaling Partner Operations

Role: Growth Specialist (Drive Specialist) | Timeline: 4 months | Platform: Airtable

At a glance

America's Thrift Stores needed to scale their Bags for Bucks donation drive program across schools, businesses, and nonprofits in multiple states—but their customer success operations had no centralized system. Partners were falling through the cracks, email outreach was inconsistent, and the team was drowning in manual work.

I designed and implemented a complete Airtable operations system that automated partner onboarding, standardized communication workflows, and gave leadership real-time visibility into the entire pipeline.

The Challenge

America's Thrift Stores runs donation drives with partner organizations—schools, businesses, nonprofits—who collect clothing donations to raise funds. Each drive requires careful coordination: confirming dates, sending welcome packets, collecting W-9s, scheduling bin placements, assigning Area Donation Logistics Managers (ADLMs), and maintaining communication throughout the drive lifecycle.

The problems I inherited:

• No single source of truth. Partner information lived in email threads, spreadsheets, and people's memories

• Inconsistent communication. Intro emails, welcome kits, and check-ins were sent manually—or not at all—depending on bandwidth

• Zero pipeline visibility. Leadership couldn't see active drives, upcoming deadlines, or where partners were stuck

• Manual onboarding for every partner. Setting up a new drive meant copying the same checklist from scratch each time

• Data quality issues. Missing contact info, unclear statuses, and duplicate records made it impossible to trust the system

The stakes: The team was managing 50+ active partners across multiple states, with plans to scale further. Without operational infrastructure, growth would break the business.

My Approach

I came from hands-on operations work, so I didn't start with tools or layouts. I started by mapping how work actually flowed through the business—where decisions happened, where handoffs broke down, and where things fell apart under pressure.

Discovery & Workflow Mapping

I spent the first two weeks shadowing the team and documenting every step of the partner lifecycle:

I identified five core operational phases:

• Discovery/Prospecting – Initial outreach to potential partners

• Scheduling – Confirming dates, logistics, and requirements

• Onboarding – Welcome packets, W-9 collection, ADLM assignment

• Drive Execution – Active support during the drive

• Post-Drive & Renewal – Results reporting, thank-you, and rebooking

Each phase had specific triggers, required information, and communication touchpoints. The system needed to support the workflow, not replace human judgment.

System Design Principles

• Clarity over complexity. Every page had a clear purpose and audience. No "kitchen sink" views.

• Ownership built in. Status logic, assignment rules, and handoff points were visible at every level.

• Designed for real use. The team needed to move fast—so I built shortcuts, one-click actions, and exception dashboards that surfaced what needed attention today.

What I Built

System Architecture

I designed a complete Airtable base with 4 core tables and 16 custom interface pages, each purpose-built for specific workflows:

Core Tables:

• Organizations – Partner records with contacts, history, and relationship data

• Drives – Individual donation drive records with dates, logistics, and status

• Partner Tasks – Automatically generated checklists cloned from master templates

• Communication Log – Timestamped record of all partner interactions

Interface Pages (16 Total)

I built role-specific interfaces so each user could see exactly what they needed:

Command & Control:

• Dashboard – Bird's-eye metrics: active drives, upcoming deadlines, completion rates

• Organizations Command Center (Priority) – Cockpit view for high-priority partners with embedded tasks, email buttons, and comm log

Daily Work Views:

• Priority – Urgent tasks across all partner types, filtered to "what needs you today"

• Priority: Schools – School-specific urgent queue (different requirements, W-9 workflows)

• Most Recently Contacted – Prevents partners from being neglected

• Drive Calendar and Dates – Timeline view for scheduling conflicts and capacity planning

Deep Work:

• Organization Record Review – Single-partner magnifying glass showing all related tasks, contacts, notes, and comms

• Onboarding Steps – Partner-specific checklists with progress tracking

• Master Partner Checklist – Template library that clones into new partner tasks

Reference & Maintenance:

• All Partners & Drives – Master phonebook for searching and data cleanup

• Files & Template Viewing – Centralized library for PDFs, promo materials, and email templates

• SOPs (Read-Only) – Clean process documentation for the team

• SOPs – Editing – Working space for updating procedures

• Email Editing – Template workshop for maintaining merge fields and copy

• ADLM Hub – Who-does-what-where directory for routing and assignment

• Kanban by Category – Drag-and-drop board for visual status management

• Table of Contents and Page Descriptions – System map so users never feel lost

Automations: Making the System Run Itself

I built 15 automations that standardized communication and eliminated repetitive setup work.

Email Automations (15)

• Send Intro Email – First outreach to new partners when record is created

• Follow-Up: No Response – Automated nudge when no reply is received after intro

• Follow-Up: Confirm Dates – Prompt for date confirmation X days after intro

• Date Confirmation Request – Triggered when partner is interested but dates are missing

• Date Confirmation – Official drive confirmation once all logistics are locked

• Send Welcome Kit – Onboarding packet with PDFs and promo materials

• W-9 Request (Initial) – Triggered when drive is confirmed and W-9 is missing

• W-9 Reminder (Escalation) – Time-based nudge when paperwork is still missing close to drive start

• Weekly Pre-Drive Check-Ins – Rolling check-ins during the lead-up period to confirm readiness and surface issues (automation-assisted with manual override)

• Support Check-In – Final pre-drive reminder 7 days before start date

• Schools Check-In (W-9 on file) – Tailored school communication when paperwork is complete

• Schools Check-In (W-9 missing) – Separate nudge for missing tax forms

• Pickup Reminder – Confirmation of access, bins, and contact details prior to pickup

• Post-Drive Thank You – Immediate closeout message after drive completion

• Results Email (Pounds Collected) – Automated impact and payout communication triggered when pound totals are entered

Key design decision: I used task-based triggers (Done = ✅ + Actions = [Email Type]) instead of pure time-based logic. This gave the team control over when automations fired while still removing the manual send work and preventing premature or incorrect sends.

Workflow Automations (6)

• Priority → Auto Task List – When a partner is marked "Priority," the system clones the Master Partner Checklist into their record, sets due dates, and enables email buttons. This eliminated 15 minutes of setup per partner.

• New Drive → Task Scaffold – Automatically generates baseline tasks when a drive is created or imported

• Sync New Drives – Maps status, links ADLMs by coverage area, and creates initial tasks

• ADLM Assignment Notification – Automatically notifies the correct ADLM when a drive is assigned

• Status-Driven Enablement – Enables or disables actions and email buttons based on lifecycle stage

• Pickup Logged → Closeout Workflow – Locks the drive, prepares reporting, and advances post-drive steps

Data Architecture & Status Logic

I redesigned the status taxonomy to match how work actually flows:

Old statuses: Vague, inconsistent (e.g., "Pending," "Follow-up," "Active?")

New statuses: Clear pipeline stages with defined entry/exit criteria

• Discovery – Identified; initial outreach

• Scheduling – Discussing dates; intro/plan meeting set

• Needs ADLM / Logistics – Waiting on bin/pickup plan

• Confirmed – Partner + ATS agreed on dates/details

• Active (In Progress) – Drive dates underway; bins placed

• Complete – Awaiting Weights/Payout – Drive ended; waiting on reporting

• Closed – Paid – Pounds entered; payout issued

• Deferred / Cancelled / Lost – Paused or not moving forward

Priority categories were separate from status, allowing for cross-cutting urgency:

• Upcoming – Drive starting soon

• Support – Active drive needing attention

• Discovery – New partner in outreach phase

• Pending – Waiting on external action

This two-axis system (Status × Priority) gave leadership visibility into both where partners are and what needs attention now.

Results & Impact

Quantitative Outcomes

✅ 16 custom interface pages designed and deployed
✅ 15 automated workflows eliminated repetitive communication and setup work
✅ 50+ active partners managed in a single base with full visibility
✅ 100% of partner onboarding checklists auto-generated (vs. manual setup previously)
✅ Zero missed follow-ups after system implementation
✅ Clean data – Standardized fields, duplicate removal, consistent comm logging

Qualitative Impact

For the customer success team:

"I don't have to remember what to send when anymore—the system tells me."

Morning routine went from "what am I forgetting?" to opening Priority view and working the list.

For leadership:

• Real-time dashboard visibility into pipeline health

• Confidence in scaling operations without adding headcount

• Data-backed decisions on ADLM capacity and market expansion

For partners:

• Consistent, professional communication at every stage

• Faster onboarding and clearer expectations

• Improved experience = higher renewal rates

Technical Highlights

Smart Interface Design

Every interface page had a clear "what/why/when" description:

Priority – what: the all-types urgent pile. why: hides the noise; shows only what needs you today. open when: you want the short to-do view.

This wasn't just user documentation—it was cognitive scaffolding that helped the team understand the system's logic and use it independently.

Exception-Driven Dashboards

I designed views that surfaced red flags automatically:

• No dates yet (older than X days after intro)

• Missing W-9 and drive < 14 days out

• No ADLM assigned

• No reply in 5 business days

• Date changed in last 48 hours

This "Uh-Oh Board" concept meant problems got attention before they became crises.

Button-Triggered Workflows

Instead of hunting through menus, users could trigger emails, update statuses, and log communication with one-click buttons embedded in the Organization Record Review page.

• Send Intro

• Send Welcome Kit

• Log Call

• Mark Complete

Renewal Pipeline

I built a 6-month renewal cadence into the system:

• Post-drive thank-you auto-sets Renewal Target = Drive End Date + 6 months

• 30 days before renewal target, system creates "Renewal Outreach" task

• Keeps the relationship active without manual tracking

Lessons & Iteration

What Worked

• Starting with workflow, not tools

• Giving users control over automation timing

• Building for exceptions, not just happy paths

What I'd Do Differently

• Earlier training and documentation

• More aggressive data cleanup upfront

• Rollback safeguards on automations

Why This Project Matters for Your Business

This project demonstrates my ability to:

✅ Diagnose operational bottlenecks by observing how work really happens

✅ Design systems that scale (ready for 3× growth)

✅ Balance automation with human judgment

✅ Build for adoption

✅ Deliver measurable operational impact

Tools & Skills Demonstrated

Platform: Airtable (interfaces, automations, relational database design)

Skills:

• Workflow analysis and process mapping

• Database schema design and normalization

• Automation logic and trigger design

• Interface/UX design for operations teams

• Status taxonomy and data governance

• Change management and user adoption

• SOP documentation and system training