Multicultural Arts Victoria (MAV)
Opening snapshot
At Multicultural Arts Victoria, the work is deeply human. Supporting artists, communities, and cultural expression across Victoria. Behind the scenes, however, the systems telling that story were fragmented, manual, and under strain. GroundWork was brought in to create something more easeful and transformative. Clarity, structure, and a sense of ease across the organisation.
The starting point
MAV was in a period of transition. Leadership was shifting, internal processes were largely undocumented, and new team members were navigating systems without clear onboarding.
Much of the organisation’s core work, artist onboarding, contracts, payments, and membership management, relied on manual processes. Systems didn’t speak to each other. Payments were delayed. Artists, understandably, felt the friction.
There was no clear owner of their CRM, Zoho CRM, and limited visibility across teams about who was doing what. The result was a growing administrative burden, and a team spending more time managing work than moving it forward.
The approach
We began with listening.
Through team and board interviews, alongside a full systems and process audit, we mapped how work was actually happening across the organisation. From there, we identified the highest-impact bottlenecks, these are the points where small changes would unlock meaningful time, clarity, and capacity.
Key workflows were mapped, simplified, and redesigned. Redundant tools were removed. Opportunities for automation were introduced where they would reduce manual load without losing the human touch.
We implemented Asana as a central project and task management system, creating shared visibility across programs and teams. Simultaneously, I stepped into the role MAV didn’t have, which was a dedicated CRM lead optimising Zoho, structuring data, and training the team to use it with confidence.
This work was deeply collaborative, with a strong focus on embedding change through training, documentation, and ongoing support.
The transformation
What emerged was not just a set of new systems, but a different way of working.
Processes that once lived in people’s heads became shared, documented, and accessible. Artist onboarding and payments were streamlined through automated forms and workflows, significantly reducing delays and administrative strain.
The team gained clarity on their roles, their workflows, and the bigger picture of the organisation’s impact. With a well-structured CRM, MAV could now see and report on the artists they serve, strengthening both internal decision-making and external reporting to funders.
Communication improved. Work became more visible. And the experience for artists, so central to MAV’s mission, became more consistent, transparent, and supportive.
The outcome
Significant time savings across administrative and finance workflows (estimated 8–12+ hours per week)
Reduced payment delays through automated artist onboarding and payment systems
Clear, documented processes enabling smoother team onboarding
Increased transparency and collaboration through Asana implementation
A structured, usable CRM unlocking insights and reporting capabilities
Automated membership and communications flows, reducing manual handling
A quieter system, doing its job well, so the real work can shine.
