The agency had reorganised three times in six years and still struggled to respond quickly. Rather than another structure, the engagement built standing accountability for recurring decisions, and a small surge model for the exceptions.

The situation

Each reorganisation had been a reasonable response to the last failure, and each had left behind reporting lines nobody removed. Fourteen functions were reporting the same information twice. Under pressure, the agency reverted to improvisation, which worked and then exhausted the people doing it.

The brief asked for a new structure. The engagement argued against one.

How the work ran

Eighteen months, mostly spent on the ordinary rather than the exceptional. Recurring decisions were given standing owners and standing forums. Only then was a surge protocol designed, on the assumption that exceptional response is only as fast as the routine underneath it. Duplicated reporting was retired function by function. Companion material sits in the insights archive.

What changed

Standing up a response team went from eleven days to three, duplicated reporting lines were eliminated across fourteen functions, and staff clarity on accountability rose from 52% to 84%. No boxes were moved on the organisation chart. Enquire about this work.