The clients executive team recognised that cross-cutting inefficiencies were impacting performance and success in achieving the Corporate Strategy.

The organisation were going through a transformation, introducing a Target Operating Model (TOM) and Organisational Design (OD). They requested help identifying the inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement in the areas of Corporate Strategy and Governance & Assurance.

• To conduct a review of current Corporate Strategy and Organisational Governance & Assurance, from development and business planning through to delivery and monitoring.
• To assess risks, issues and challenges in these focus areas.
• To map high-level end-to-end processes in Corporate Strategy and Organisational Assurance (regulatory, risk, audit and Quality Assurance (QA)) and highlight any gaps or pain points.
• To make recommendations and provide options for improvement to the executive team.

Conducted analysis on the current as-is state, working with senior stakeholders and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), to understand the process and highlight any pain points, areas of overlap or inefficiency and gaps compared to industry best practice:

• Conducted desktop analysis to determine industry best practice in developing, planning, delivering and monitoring
  • Corporate Strategy and
  • Organisational Governance and Assurance
• Reviewed internal documentation, policies and procedures, audits and performance reports
• Established a common understanding of Corporate Strategy and Governance & Assurance that leveraged best practice, and highlighted where there were differences in opinion.
• Spoke with SMEs to understand current process, roles and responsibilities; what worked well and where there were pain points.
• Mapped the end-to-end process from development, planning, delivery and monitoring performance. Defining process steps.
• Conducted GAP analysis on best practice vs current process.
• Highlighted problem areas that needed focus, targeting opportunities for improvement and priorities.
• Provided recommendations and findings to the executive team.

This approach helped reduce confusion and ensure buy-in, removing blockers and obstructive behaviour. It provided clarity on process, development goals and path to achievement. Reducing the disconnect in approach, effort and bias that can result in increased risk, time taken and costs.

Analysis demonstrated that the client organisation did not have an overarching Corporate Strategy as defined by industry best practice and that this was reflected in corporate performance, reporting, governance and assurance, and employee understanding. Findings highlighted:

• Lack of clear strategic direction and golden thread alignment.
• Key funding and financial drivers had not been agreed, impacting business planning.
• Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) were not Specific, Measurable or Timebound (SMART), making performance and delivery monitoring difficult
• Lack of ownership and therefore accountability, in both areas, across the organisation, necessitating cultural change.
• There was no as-is process for Governance and Assurance, scoring between 1-2 (out of 5) on a best practice scale of organisational assurance maturity.
• Lack of standard processes, definitions of and key terminology, leading to a misrepresentation in policies and procedures. Also, inconsistent Ways of Working (WoW).

Recommendations made, in line with the developing TOM were:

• Development of an overarching corporate strategy, with aligned strategic viewpoints for each core part of the organisation, with their own strategy, SMART OKRs, roadmap and plans.
• Creation of a strategic oversight committee, represented by cross functional owners, accountable for development, delivery and performance monitoring.
• Creation of the necessary roles and responsibilities for the broader strategy, Legal & Compliance, and Governance, Assurance & Performance.
  • Resource and define required capabilities, scope, boundaries and accountability. Also, position in OD and service landscape.
• Development of performance, quality & risk, and governance & assurance frameworks. Setting targets for future process maturity over the next 5yrs.
• Process, policy and procedure review. Including planning for maintenance, training and compliance.
  • Incorporate into WoW and business as usual (BAU), ensuring consideration in change impact analysis.

As a result change has been planned as part of OD and BAU reforms, with recruitment underway for new, clearly defined roles. Frameworks are in development and collaborative business capability mapping (BCM) underway to roadmap the future direction of business, turning strategy into aligned programs/projects that are assessed, prioritised, resourced and funded to optimise service efficiency and effectiveness.

• Workshop facilitation
• Business Capability Modelling
• organisational transformation
• business analysis
• process mapping
• Gap Analysis
• TOM (Target Operating Model)
• Enterprise and Business Architecture
• stakeholder management

• Organisational Agility & Effectiveness
• Process Effectiveness & Automation

• Government and Public Services