The Client:
Our client, a large local organisation with a long history and many long-serving employees, had recently appointed a new CEO.
The Challenge:
The organisation, though profitable, was experiencing a steady erosion of profit margins due to competition from cheaper products from low-cost locations. The CEO wanted to redesign the organisation to enhance profitability and expand geographically.
Our Premise
We felt a big change was not going to be possible with a piece meal approach and small tweaks across the organisation.
The organisation had to be 'different by design'. We proposed to build a scalable organisation with highly empowered teams, driven by a new model of management. The scalable model will help the organisation become more agile and customer-focused. This meant a big shift from their traditional, functional structures and leadership model.
The Solution:
What we did:
Tier 1: Mapping transformation roadmap
Helped the CEO and his direct reports articulate the desired future in terms of:
o operating targets
o target customer profiles, geographic markets, employee experiences
o centralised vis a vis decentralised structure
o agilility and flexibility requirements, etc
Tier 2: Developing the new organisation design
Conducted a transformation workshop (using Appreciative Inquiry) to craft a clear and emotionally compelling narrative about the desired future
Created the blue print for an Agile organisation. It was important to steer away from a complicated design
We organised the business operations into customer facing front office, middle office and back office. The middle offices were based across the regions and supported the front offices. The middle office worked closely with the back office for all support and governance functions
The blue print included:
o Functions/ business units to be categorised as front, middle and back
o Scope of work and performance measures for front, middle and back offices
o Optimal hierarchy and reporting structure
o Job redesign for front, middle and back offices
o Technology to enhance workplace productivity
o Work processes that needed to be centralised or standardised
Tier 3: Engaging employees
The leadership spearheaded organisation-wide staff engagement through extensive communication and cascade workshops
They communicated the need for change and encouraged employees to build on past successes. Communication included storytelling and sharing of the roadmap with tangible milestones
The CEO highlighted behaviours and actions required to drive the desired change
Employees recognised existing strengths of the organisation and regained confidence to invest in the future
Tier 4: Staying on course
The CEO held his direct reports accountable for performance targets
Senior management continued clear communication and clarity of strategy and goals. Any mismatched responsibilities, unclear processes, or ambiguous performance measures were sorted at the earliest
Senior personnel who did not model the desired behaviours were encouraged to get off the bus as early as possible.
The Result:
A highly visible leadership team, along with intensive employee engagement paved the way for accelerated growth.
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