Structure should follow strategy, not habit.
Operating model design, role design, span of control, headcount planning and workforce strategy aligned to your business plan. Particularly relevant for PE-backed portfolio companies executing value creation plans and businesses restructuring post-M&A or pre-exit.
The right structure unlocks performance
Most organisation structures are accidents of history. They grow organically as the business scales, accumulating layers, overlaps and bottlenecks along the way. The result is unclear accountability, slow decision-making, and headcount costs that are higher than they need to be.
Organisation design is the deliberate process of aligning your operating model, reporting lines, role design and headcount with your business strategy. It is not about drawing charts. It is about making sure the right people are in the right roles, with the right accountabilities, doing the right work, at the right cost.
For PE-backed businesses, this is the work that directly enables value creation. For scale-ups, it is what allows you to grow without breaking. For businesses preparing for sale, it is what makes the organisation look clean, lean and investible in due diligence.
The components of organisation design
Operating Model Design
How work gets done in your business: processes, decision rights, governance, and the interface between functions. We design operating models that are efficient, accountable and scalable, not just reorganised reporting lines.
Role Design and Job Architecture
Clear role definitions, accountabilities, and job levels that eliminate overlap and confusion. We build job architectures that support career pathways, pay equity and performance management, not just job descriptions.
Span of Control and Layer Analysis
Are your management spans too wide or too narrow? Are there unnecessary layers between the CEO and the front line? We analyse and optimise your structure for speed, accountability and cost efficiency.
Headcount Planning and Workforce Strategy
Future-focused workforce planning aligned to your business plan: the capabilities, roles and headcount you will need in 12, 24 and 36 months, and the plan to get there through hiring, development and restructuring.
Post-M&A Integration Design
Bringing two organisations together is where most deals lose value. We design the integration operating model, resolve role overlaps, manage the restructuring process, and build the combined organisation with clarity and speed.
PE Value Creation Support
For portfolio companies executing 100-day plans and value creation roadmaps, we provide the organisation design capability that ensures the structure can deliver the plan. Aligned to the investment thesis and the exit timeline.
How we approach organisation design
Understand the strategy
We start with the business plan, not the org chart. What are you trying to achieve in the next 2-3 years? What capabilities do you need? What is the investment thesis or growth plan driving the design?
Diagnose the current state
We assess your current structure, spans and layers, role clarity, decision-making speed, and cost. We identify the overlaps, gaps, bottlenecks and accountability issues that are holding the business back.
Design the future state
We design the target operating model and structure, with clear role definitions, accountabilities, reporting lines and headcount. We model the cost impact and identify the transition path from current to future.
Implement and embed
We do not hand over a chart and walk away. We manage the consultation process, the role mapping, the appointments, the communication, and the first 90 days of the new structure to make sure it actually lands.
Is your structure holding you back?
Book a free 30-minute discovery call to explore how organisation design can unlock performance.
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