In Their Words
The OSCR team enabled us to see and understand our potential and the key factors that contribute to our performance.
The Strategy Alignment approach supported our Exec team to enhance our capabilities for enhancing collective ownership, to develop and embrace our purpose and strategy. Supporting us to build and enhance the performance of a new global Division”
COO
Financial Services Organisation
Financial Services (undisclosed by agreement)
Deliverables
- Strategy & operating models
- Infrastructure & systems
An asset management organisation integrated a 200-person operations model spanning the UK, Europe and the US within nine months, reducing problems, operating costs and reliance on external resources.
The Challenge
An asset management organisation had moved parts of its operations function to a delivery centre in a nearby European country as part of a wider change programme.
The delivery model combined internal teams with an external provider and connected operations across the UK, Europe and the US. Approximately 200 people worked across the different locations.
However, processes and systems were no longer working as effectively as they had when the teams operated as one function. Challenges took too long to resolve, affecting service delivery, operating costs, decision-making and relationships between teams.
The organisation was not realising the strategic or operational benefits expected from the new model. Unless the transition moved beyond relocating activities to integrating capabilities, processes, structures and information flows, fragmentation and inefficiency would become embedded within the operation.
What We Found
The presenting issue appeared to be the location and transfer of work. The diagnostic work showed that the underlying challenge was the fragmentation of the wider operating system.
The new delivery model did not yet contain the strategic knowledge, skills and capabilities required to operate effectively across multiple locations. The organisation had not established the right balance of capabilities between its existing and nearshore teams.
Processes, systems and information flows were also disconnected across regional and operational boundaries. Without collective accountability for the complete service, problems moved between teams and locations rather than being resolved at source.
This increased the time and resources required to address issues and reinforced the organisation’s reliance on contractors, travel and intervention from other parts of the business.
Our Approach
We conducted transition diagnostics across the existing and nearshore teams, examining their mindsets, capabilities, resources and operating practices.
Working with the leadership and operational teams, we identified the core capabilities required to deliver the organisation’s strategic intent and mapped them against the resources available within the European delivery centre. This enabled the organisation to rebalance its capabilities and align them more closely with its operational and functional strategies.
We redesigned key processes and structures and introduced more effective ways of sharing and integrating information across the UK, Europe and the US.
The work created a clearer operating model supported by new processes, systems and collective accountability. We also worked with the people affected by the transition, enabling them to move into the new operations function or into other roles that better matched their capabilities.
Measurable Impact
Within nine months, the organisation had created a newly skilled workforce and integrated its operational processes across the new delivery model.
Fewer problems resolved closer to source
Operational problems reduced as processes, capabilities and responsibilities became better aligned. When issues did arise, teams were increasingly able to resolve them locally using internal knowledge and resources.
This reduced delays, improved decision-making and strengthened working relationships between teams and locations.
Lower operating costs and reliance on external resources
The organisation achieved substantial savings through reduced reliance on contractors and lower travel and expense costs.
Building the required capabilities within the delivery model meant that fewer issues required specialist external intervention or travel between locations to resolve them.
A repeatable approach for future services
The organisation developed the internal knowledge and practices required to assess its resources and capabilities against future strategic and operational needs.
It subsequently applied this experience to further outsourcing initiatives and new services, giving the organisation a more consistent and sustainable approach to integrating work across internal teams and external providers.