Our operating model method has been refined over more than sixty engagements across the service sector. We start with what customers need from you, then design the structures, roles, processes and systems to deliver it, and test the design before anyone moves desk.
An operating model is easy to draw and hard to build. Organisation charts and capability maps look tidy on a slide, but the real model is found in how work flows between teams, who can make which decisions, and which systems people actually use. We design for that reality.
Our method follows the customer. We identify the handful of things customers most need from you and trace how each one is delivered today, team by team and system by system. That shows where the current model adds cost without adding value: duplicated teams, unclear ownership, specialists doing routine work, or a central function that every request must pass through twice.
We then design the future model in layers. First the services and the value streams that deliver them; then the organisation, roles and decision rights; then the processes, locations, technology and data that support them. At each layer we test the design against real cases with the people who will work in it. This is where most of the hidden problems appear, and it costs far less to find them on paper than after a restructure.
A typical design phase takes ten to fourteen weeks, followed by a phased transition. Clients usually see 15 to 30 per cent less effort spent on internal handoffs and rework, and clearer accountability for every customer outcome. Because the design is tested before it is built, transition is quicker and calmer than people expect.
“The design work was the first time our finance, operations and technology teams had looked at the same picture. That alone saved us months.”
Chief Customer Officer, a regional water company
We name the few outcomes that matter most to your customers and follow each one through the organisation. The current model, and every option for the new one, is judged by how well it delivers them.
Services and value streams come first, then roles and decision rights, then processes, sites, systems and data. Each layer is agreed with your leadership team before the next one is built on it.
We walk real cases through the new design with the people who will run it, from the simple to the awkward. Problems found in a workshop cost a fraction of those found after go-live.
The transition is planned in phases that protect service levels. We track the benefits of each phase and adjust the next one in the light of what we and your teams learn.
White paper
Most service firms treat regulation as a cost to contain. This paper argues that outcome-based rules give operations leaders a strong case for simpler processes and less rework.
Download white paper: How to make regulation work for you
Case study
A regional bank's back office was carrying an eleven-day backlog and heavy overtime. Better planning, standard work and daily team routines cleared it within four months.
Find out how we did it: Driving back-office productivity at a regional bank
In brief
Most operations plan for the staff they have. Plan instead for the demand that arrives, and you will often find you need less capacity than you thought.
Read full article: Start with demand, not capacity