Operating model design

Redesigning the organisational structures, processes, accountabilities and governance needed to support and sustain strategic change so that strategy becomes something the organisation can actually do.

Why it matters

Strategy fails when the operating model is not designed to support it.

An operating model is the way an organisation actually works — its structures, processes, accountabilities and governance. Most strategies are designed in the absence of an honest reckoning with whether the operating model can deliver them.

The result is predictable. The strategy is sound in theory. The delivery is frustrating in practice. The gap between the two is almost always an operating model problem.

Medasi brings practitioner experience to operating model design — people who have led organisations through structural change and understand the difference between a model that looks right on paper and one that works under pressure.

Signs of operating model misalignment

1. Decisions are slow or contested. Accountability is unclear and escalation is the default rather than the exception.
2. Strategy and operations pull in different directions. What the organisation says it is doing and what it actually does are different things.
3. Cross-functional work breaks down. Collaboration across organisational boundaries is consistently harder than it should be.
4. New ways of working don't stick. Transformation initiatives produce change that is not sustained once the programme exits.
5. Governance is theatre. Oversight bodies meet and produce papers but do not meaningfully change outcomes.

What we assess

Six dimensions of an operating model that works.

Organisational structure

How the organisation is configured — reporting lines, spans of control, team design and the logic connecting structure to strategy.

Process design

How work flows through the organisation — the core processes that must operate reliably for strategy to be delivered.

Accountability framework

Clear decision rights, ownership of outcomes and the authority structures that enable the organisation to act decisively.

Capability design

The skills, roles and capacity the organisation needs — and a plan for how to acquire, develop or partner for what is missing.

Governance design

The oversight structures, decision forums and reporting cadences that keep the organisation aligned and on course.

Change management

The approach to taking people through operating model change — communication, engagement, training and sustained adoption.

How we work

A design process grounded in strategic intent and operational reality.

1. Current-state assessment
   Understanding how the organisation actually works today — not how the organisation chart says it works. Including the informal structures and workarounds that matter in practice.

2. Design principles
   Agreeing the principles that will govern design decisions — the criteria against which options will be evaluated. Done with leadership before options are generated.

3. Target model design
   Developing and testing the target operating model across all six dimensions — with options where trade-offs exist, and recommendations with clear rationale.

4. Transition planning
   A practical plan for moving from current state to target model — phased, sequenced and realistic about the pace at which change can be absorbed.

What you get

A complete operating model design, ready to implement.

Current state assessment

An honest picture of how the organisation currently operates — structures, processes, accountabilities and the gaps between them.

Target operating model

A fully articulated target model across all six dimensions — structure, process, accountability, capability, governance and change.

RACI framework

Accountability mapped across the key decisions and processes — who is responsible, accountable, consulted and informed for each.

Transition roadmap

A phased implementation plan — sequencing the move from current to target model in a way the organisation can realistically absorb.

Who this is for

Leaders who know their organisation needs to work differently.

Operating model design engagements are most valuable when the organisation is facing a significant change in strategic direction, scale or context — and when leadership recognises that the existing model was designed for a different set of requirements. They are also valuable in the aftermath of a period of rapid growth, where structure has not kept pace with scale.

• Chief Executive Officer
  Accountable for organisational performance and strategic delivery.
• Chief Operating Officer
  Responsible for operational design and cross-functional performance.
• Chief People Officer
  Leading organisational design and workforce capability.
• Transformation Director
  Delivering a programme that requires operating model change to succeed.

When organisations engage us

• Strategic Change
  A new strategy requires the organisation to work in fundamentally different ways — and the existing model was not designed for it.
• Post-growth redesign
  Rapid growth has outpaced the operating model. Structure, process and governance need to catch up with scale.
• Integration
  A merger or acquisition requires two operating models to be rationalised into one — with clarity on what the combined organisation looks like.
• Transformation enablement
  A major transformation programme requires an operating model that can sustain the change once the programme exits.
• Design for Delivery
  Build an operating model your strategy can actually run on.

A conversation about how your organisation is working today and what it needs to look like to deliver your strategy.