Programme Management Frameworks - Case Study

Establishing a complex programme of change for a support services company

Our client, a major support services company, had successfully won a PPP contract with a local authority. The contract included the transfer from the local authority to our client of services and associated staff covering customer contact (e.g. call centres), finance, HR, procurement, IT and property management services.

Part of the contract involved a commitment by our client to implement a wide-ranging programme of investment in new systems and processes, and enhancements to service delivery. Their challenge was how to establish their 'Change Programme' in the most effective and efficient way, and to develop the programme management skills of their staff, given the company’s lack of experience in implementing change of this magnitude.

The Change Programme was faced with the challenges of needing swift implementation of specific service improvements and the implementation of some relatively discrete new systems, in parallel with the implementation of new channels of access to local authority services and major changes to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) processes and systems.

The support we provided was focused initially on structuring the Change Programme in such a way that the major programmes of work could be progressed in parallel with addressing specific service improvement 'hotspots', and the implementation of several associated process and systems enhancement projects. This support meant our client could quickly demonstrate service improvements, properly shape and plan the implementation of the major programmes of work, and deliver projects successfully within an overall coordinating framework which ensured the coherence of the programme as a whole.

Our second area of focus was on developing the programme management skills of the client’s staff. Many had project experience but very little expertise in implementing programmes. The staff initially had difficult understanding the significant differences in approach that programme management requires. Through on-the-job coaching and specific training we advanced their programme management skills, developing them into effective programme managers