transforming from the inside out: reimagining the operating model for efficiency and impact
Winner of Consultancy of the Year with Personnel Today
the challenge
Our client, a major water utility, sought to fundamentally redesign their operating model and organisational structure to achieve their ambitious vision. They aimed to create a more streamlined organisation – but really, at the heart was a need to create a more efficient, better place to work – all at a reduced cost to serve.
Key priorities included:
Rebalancing the organisation to align capabilities with new strategic goals.
Clarifying departmental priorities and aligning roles for improved collaboration and focus.
Enhancing relationships with regulators through better role clarity and operational alignment.
Also: tight budgetary pressures demanded a nimble approach. We developed and facilitated a budget review process to uncover and align cost-saving opportunities across functions – thereby increasing organisational agility.
the results
Financial benefits expected to deliver in excess of a 25:1 return on investment over 12 months.
Clearer roles and accountabilities, fostering improved cross-department collaboration.
Accelerated decision-making through streamlined governance mechanisms.
Improved leadership focus on mission-critical priorities.
the process
We began with a comprehensive review of the current enterprise operating model, assessing strengths, opportunities, and gaps across people, processes, systems, and locations. Our diagnostic analysis included:
Mapping the economic model and profitability drivers within the industry.
Reviewing costs by function, industry positioning, and financial governance mechanisms.
Identifying opportunities for double-digit percentage reductions in operating model costs.
Designing the target operating model & developing the mechanisms to land change
Adopting a value-creation, process-led approach, we mapped core operational and supporting activities across the business's end-to-end value chain. From long-term strategy to daily operations, we ensured the design addressed customer outcomes and regulatory requirements.
We developed governance mechanisms to drive leadership focus on business priorities, including:
Refocused meeting cadences to improve communication and decision-making.
Implementing plan-do-review continuous improvement principles.
Aligning conversations at the right level to enhance strategic focus.
Through rigorous analysis and collaborative design, we empowered the client to create clarity from complexity, align their organisational structure with their strategic goals, and position themselves for long-term success.