A Fortune 20 client needed to consolidate the IT departments of 40+ business units (BUs) and functions into one enterprise IT organization and enable business capabilities across 13 new digital platforms.
The rationale for this transformation was compelling because the decentralized IT model resulted in negative consequences:
· Robust data analytics and innovation were difficult
· Critical IT and business decisions were made in silos
· Industry benchmarks showed IT spend to be in the 4th quartile.
This transformation affected over 40,000 employees globally and was expected to reduce operating costs by $450M in the first year, making this one of the client’s highest priorities and largest transformation attempts.
The client wanted to implement the first iteration or minimum viable product (MVP) of the new operating model within five months of Expressworks’ involvement. The immense effort would require getting buy-in from the 40+ business units and functions, onboarding 3,000 IT employees, and transitioning a significant amount of operational support to managed service providers. In addition, the transformation needed to occur seamlessly with minimal business disruption (business as usual).
Expressworks was asked to design the transformation approach and implement the initial MVP.
The enterprise needed to adopt the new model immediately to achieve the cost savings within the first year and to begin unlocking data and innovation. Compounding the challenge, top IT and business leaders were unaware of the planned changes, and significant details of the model were still being defined. Also, because of country-specific labor laws, the transformation had to “go live” in waves with parts of the enterprise working in different operating models simultaneously.
Working conditions were extremely difficult. In addition to the challenging timeline and enormity of the transformation, the effort coincided with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic which scattered and disconnected the workforce. During the effort, the client also initiated two acquisitions, endured volatile commodity markets, and battled numerous cyberattacks related to the escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian war. These further added to the turbulent environment and exacerbated enterprise-wide tension and change resistance/fatigue.
Given the time constraints, the Expressworks team took an agile approach to implement the MVP. The team developed a multifaceted, phased approach to prepare the enterprise and accommodate business complexities and evolving scope/timelines. Expressworks prioritized and focused on two critical human success factors: leadership and employee engagement.
BUSINESS OUTCOMES
Active sponsorship from the CEO and CIO, plus Expressworks’ emphasis on leadership and employee engagement, helped overcome resistance to change and garner enterprise-wide participation. Despite significant resource changes, ongoing system deployments, and turbulent work conditions, our team helped the client transform on schedule, with no major incidents and minimal disruption. The organization completed the initial transformation, and the client was in a better place to refine the MVP and realize their long-term vision.
