Client Context
Our client was at a pivotal stage in its growth, with a strong delivery-led consulting team and pressure to scale the business sustainably. While client delivery performance was high, the existing operating model placed limited emphasis on shared responsibility for business development, leadership, and firm-building activities.
At the point of engagement, business development activity sat primarily with the CEO, and role expectations and reward structures were not explicitly linked to broader contributions beyond delivery.
KRS was engaged as a strategic talent partner to design and deliver a clear operating model that aligned structure, roles, and rewards with the value each role contributes to the business.
Challenges Identified
Our diagnostic identified several structural and talent challenges:
- The organisation was heavily weighted toward client delivery, with consultants operating on an hours-worked model and no defined responsibility for commercial or leadership activities.
- Compensation structures were not linked to non-delivery contributions such as revenue generation, team development, or capability building.
- Roles, responsibilities, and performance expectations were not clearly defined across delivery and business development activities.
- It was unclear which team members had the potential to step into strategic leadership or firm-building roles versus remaining in specialist or delivery-focused positions.
Our Approach
The engagement was delivered across three structured phases, combining diagnostic insight with practical organisation design and workforce planning.
Phase 1: Discovery and Capability Assessment
We conducted a detailed capability mapping exercise, reviewing current service offerings and how work was delivered across the organisation. This was supported by a talent SWOT analysis to assess individual and collective strengths, development opportunities, and areas of risk within the existing structure.
This phase established a clear baseline of current capability and delivery capacity.
Phase 2: Organisation Design, Competencies, and Reward
Building on the discovery findings, we designed a future-state operating model that balanced delivery excellence with firm growth.
This included:
- Creating clear role distinctions across consulting role types, alongside a specialist SME track, and mapping progression against competency development.
- Designing a competency framework covering all consulting levels, supported by measurable indicators aligned to industry standards and validated through competency assessment.
- Defining clear role profiles and success criteria for each level, outlining expectations across delivery, leadership, and business development.
- Developing a new compensation framework that linked reward to value-added contributions such as project leadership, team development, and revenue generation.
Phase 3: Gap Analysis and Workforce Planning
We assessed how the existing team aligned with the proposed operating model and identified capability gaps relative to future growth requirements.
This informed a strategic workforce plan outlining:
- Near-term (0–6 months) actions across hiring and internal development
- Mid-term (6–12 months) actions focused on succession planning and capability building
Outcome
The engagement delivered a clear organisational blueprint that aligned structure, roles, and rewards with the client’s growth ambitions. Leadership gained clarity on how to develop internal capability, incentivise broader contribution beyond delivery, and scale the organisation without compromising client outcomes to meet 5-year strategic plan.
