Client engagement case study
Strategy & organisation design for a healthcare client
Background
A mid-sized occupational health provider was experiencing flat top- and bottom-line business performance.
With the consolidation of industry players and the emergence of disruptive lower cost competitors, the CEO was unable to win sufficient new accounts without deep discounts.
Profit margins were being squeezed and the CEO recognised that he needed to invest in business development to return to growth. The client felt that the culture was stale, with staff lacking motivation and unwilling to embrace change.
Challenge
The CEO believed he needed a new strategy, but had many unanswered questions:
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What is a "vision", "goal" and "strategy"?
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Do we need all three and what should they be? Is an "aspiration" more useful?
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Where should we start?
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How do we grapple with all the data available?
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What insights can we obtain?
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Who should be involved in the process?
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What prioritisation decisions do we need to make?
Approach & Outcome
We advised the board of directors, creating a strategy which returned the business to double-digit annual percentage growth and above-average industry margins.
Insights from comprehensive competitor, customer and operational analysis showed:
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a more rapid adoption of lower cost service models by competitors than the client had realised,
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a lack of client commercial capability and limited effectiveness of sales incentives,
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and higher levels of client direct and overhead cost being incurred than was necessary to provide high quality service
Over five working sessions, the directors set out a new strategy to 2022:
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cementing key account relationships, and recruiting a new commercial leader and creating a new COO role
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expanding into new sectors, targeting new customers that value high service quality
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adopting a new business model that included resource partnerships
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developing a new field-based operating model to fight larger competitors
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restructuring the organisation to increase skill levels and people engagement
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driving out operational efficiencies to bolster operating margins
The board agreed to implement the strategy through a series of sprints. Sprints enabled the client to focus the collective efforts of leaders and employees on only the most important changes.
"Thank you for all the focus, expertise and enthusiasm that you have brought - we have a roadmap to success! Each of us involved in the project has evolved thanks to you" - Client CEO