In Their Words
“We realised that what had made us successful in the past as a smaller business, was not working in the present.
Having guided support to restructure our operating model helped us to uncover inefficiencies, see and mitigate risks for growing our business that we were completely unaware of.”
CEO
Real Estate
Real Estate (undisclosed by agreement)
Deliverables
- Strategy & operating models
- Infrastructure & systems
A global real estate organisation needed to turn a stalled post-acquisition restructure into an integrated way of working while delivering major technology change and reducing costs.
The Challenge
The organisation was integrating its 3,000-person IT function following an acquisition. At the same time, the division was implementing major technology and cost-saving initiatives and introducing a new target operating model.
The new model redefined structures, processes, policies and operational practices. However, six months into the integration, the different teams were still not working as one function.
The organisation needed to build an efficient and effective operating model that brought the acquired functions together successfully. Unless it addressed the established leadership and operating patterns beneath the structure, it risked carrying the same fragmentation into the new model.
This would limit the consistency of IT support, reduce the commercial value of the function and make it harder to achieve the intended cost efficiencies without weakening important capabilities.
What We Found
The presenting problem was that the new operating model was not integrating as expected.
Our operational functioning survey revealed that the underlying challenge was not a lack of restructuring activity. The division lacked an integrated purpose, aligned strategic intent and collective ownership of how the new function needed to operate.
Different cultures and ways of working continued to influence relationships, decisions and service delivery. Gaps across roles, leadership practices, working relationships and information flows were also contributing to recurring operational problems and political responses.
The diagnostic work helped leaders see how their own thinking, behaviour and decision-making were unintentionally stalling progress. Concerns they had previously interpreted as resistance to change were often signals that important operational conditions had not yet been addressed.
Our Approach
We mapped the operating patterns enabling and obstructing performance across the division. Working with the executive team, we defined an integrated organisational purpose, aligned its strategic intent and connected the target operating model with the roles, relationships, leadership practices and information flows required to make it work.
We involved the wider workforce in shaping and implementing the transition, giving employees an active role in building the new function. We also worked alongside leaders on live operational challenges, helping them interrupt established patterns and introduce more empowering and mutually supportive practices.
Throughout the engagement, we strengthened the division’s internal capability to recognise and address similar issues during future organisational change.
Measurable Impact
During the three-month engagement, the division moved towards a more integrated operating model built around clearer purpose, stronger relationships and greater collective responsibility.
Earlier and more commercially informed IT involvement:
Revenue-generating business teams began involving their IT partners earlier, seeking their expertise before launching new products or progressing new business opportunities. This shifted IT from being treated primarily as a downstream service provider towards becoming a more valued operational and commercial partner.
Shared information and organisational insight:
Teams began using CRM systems more collectively to share information across the organisation. This created a more connected view of clients, industry developments and market trends, opening further opportunities to strengthen client relationships and identify potential sources of revenue.
Lower-risk cost reduction:
When the organisation later introduced firmwide cost reductions, leaders were better able to identify the capabilities and operating conditions contributing to performance. This helped them mitigate the risk of cutting costs in areas that were essential to the organisation’s continued success.