Background

A major international retailer wanted to create significant new income streams away from its core business but without making any additional investment.

The retailer had set up a cross-functional team to pursue this goal but was facing a number of tricky issues, such as a lack of clarity around objectives, poor communication and low morale. As a result, staff turnover was high and little progress was being made towards achieving the store's demanding financial targets.

Atmaana's brief was to get the project back on track.

Atmaana's role

The project required an inventive approach so Atmaana devised a reward structure where the consultancy was only paid when project-related KPIs were achieved, thereby demonstrating its commitment to the project while fostering a close working relationship with the client.

At the start, Atmaana used structured interviews to gather information and engage with key stakeholders. This led to a series of process workshops, in which the consultants mapped current and desired-state processes and integrated them into the business. They also developed the team structure and a shared understanding of roles and objectives. Finally, Atmaana used prioritisation tools to focus resources on areas of maximum potential for the business.

At the end of the initial three-month assignment, Atmaana was asked to stay on and continue its work, building on improvements made so far and leading the team towards achieving the challenging budgets - a phase that lasted for a further 18 months.

Deliverables

By the end of the project, Atmaana had created a stable, high-performing team that was exceeding its financial targets and was well regarded within the company.

Specific deliverables included:

- An organisational structure that provided clear responsibilities and accountabilities.

- Revised processes to deliver new projects rapidly and to provide clarity around reporting and governance.

- A culture of continuous improvement.

- Seventeen new projects, of which several were first-to-market.

- A robust long term plan which was supported and understood by the business and which resulted in budgets being exceeded, delivering a year-on-year profit growth of more than 30%.

Client benefits

The client now has a high-performing and entrepreneurial team whose role is understood and embraced by the rest of the organisation.

New projects, which are being delivered at an ever-increasing rate, are delivering clear financial and operational benefits. As a direct result, the product responsibilities of the department have recently been extended.

To find out more about this project or Atmaana's extensive range of services contact Harish Natali