transforming work in a virtual world to reduce costs and improve customer service
the challenge
Our client needed to increase operational efficiency and reduce friction between teams in order to reduce costs, contribute to Net Zero carbon targets, improve service to end customers and support the replacement of its legacy IT systems.
To deliver their ambitious vision, they sought our help to re-design their Operating Model and to implement Operational Excellence ways of working across all teams involved in planned & scheduled work.
The entire project was designed and delivered remotely.
our results
The primary focus was on reducing unnecessary demand that creates costs, adds carbon and negatively impacts employee wellbeing.
Our work is on track to deliver multi-million pound annual cost reduction, driven by improvements in operational ways of working. For example the work to date across E&M pilot areas has delivered:
50% reduction in the number of 2+ appointments
20% increase in first time fix
how we got there
At the heart of the project was a need to create an easier, more efficient, better place to work, at a reduced cost to serve. To achieve this, we undertook 2 parallel and interdependent pieces of work: operating model, and operational excellence. Both started with a two-month discovery phase, followed by a 15-month Design and Implementation Phase
operating model
In the Discovery phase, we applied a broad range of diagnostics and targeted engagement with stakeholders to build a picture of the existing operating model from a people, process, system and location perspective. In the Design & Enable Phase, we designed the future state Operating Model, mapping end to end core operational processes and evaluating outcomes and capabilities needed, testing options and trade-offs with the leadership team. In parallel, we designed future state organisation structures for functions with Directors and their teams.
To better enable a new operating model and drive continuous improvement, we introduced new governance mechanisms. To demonstrate the benefits, we piloted new ways of working. This was all underpinned by robust benefits tracking, programme dashboards and a leadership development programme to prevent a return to habitual, silo-based, old ways of working.
operational excellence
We set out to engage teams to improve the customer experience and increase resilience in the asset base by getting things right-first-time via a focus on fault resolution and effective prioritisation. In the Discovery phase, we conducted a detailed review of all planned and scheduled work to find £2-3 million per year, using big data and geo-analytics to develop a deeper understanding of operational challenges and network weak spots.
The Design & Enable phase launched 3 pilots in an agile fashion through a series of sprints which involved all planned & scheduled work across the organisation. The pilot design used big data and geo-analysis to effectively identify and triage complex, expensive work in order to manage demand and reduce costs. We worked in the pilots to introduce new ways of working, reducing friction between teams and delivery partners and enabling action to be taken from the data-driven insights. We used
problem-solving tools to tackle complex legacy issues both internally and with delivery partners; we developed new visual management tools using live operational data feeds within Power BI and Dynamics 365 environments, allowing us to adjust the rollout approach when necessary, and we introduced new effective meeting management skills to help keep the work on track through a Plan-Do-Review cycle.
