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Company Profile
This company delivers full fibre and fixed wireless internet solutions together with an OSS/BSS platform to enable direct customers and retail service providers, from large enterprises to innovative SMEs, along with consumers; to take advantage of the best connectivity solutions possible in some of the most difficult to reach areas in Northern England and Scotland.
CEO’s Mission
The CEO identified that the company could not grow sufficiently in its present state as purely a fixed wireless operator. It needed fresh thinking, a new direction, and funding if it was to grow market share and survive in the long term. The management team was inexperienced; most had been with the company from the beginning.
Appointing an experienced CITO would add senior experience and support to the management team to help define what they needed to do, and execute difficult decisions, whilst continuing to drive the business forward in a new direction.
Of note was the opportunity that a full fibre strategy represented with government subsidy available per premise connected to this technology, along with market interventions being planned for England and Scotland under DCMS (Department of Culture, Media and Sport) within central governments Project Gigabit initiative.
COO’s Objectives
- Take responsibility for the day-to-day management of the business as CITO
- Redesign operations, IT and Technology, along with business processes to enable the company to scale and prepare for investment
- Work with the CEO on several key business areas to enable the company to pivot to full-fibre, including the formation of business cases, financial models, and investment proposition/presentation Create a culture of delivery and operational excellence, including necessary accreditations and statutory body onboarding to ensure appropriate governance and legislation was adhered to
What the Operations Leader / COO Did
Provided leadership and strategic insights
The Associate took on the role of CITO. They did a 360-degree review of the client’s business and worked with various department heads to identify issues holding the company back and areas which could be accelerated and matured swiftly. They implemented several changes in key areas of the business that were required for them to grow and undertook extensive operational readiness activities to ensure the business was adequately equipped to become a Tier 1/2, carrier-grade internet service provider. In addition, a full technology review of systems, tools, processes and products was conducted with skills matrices and competency forecasts produced in order to develop a technology maturity roadmap for the business.
Designed and delivered a transformational change roadmap
After reviewing the organisation, the Associate realised that a pivotal change was required in many areas as the current set-up would not enable scale-up or scale-out. A transformational roadmap of change was devised in consultation with key stakeholders and considered the employees, product, operational and customer requirements. The Associate delivered a clear plan to leverage the strengths of the company its people, products, and technology with a focused outcome without disruption to the existing business. The plan was also accompanied by an investment case which underpinned the company mission statement and forecast trajectory, ensuring due diligence workstreams were conducted successfully.
Day-to-day management of the business
The Associate played an integral role in creating a culture that manages and identifies day-to-day issues, successes, and opportunities. They created a team that has the talent, resources, mandate, and infrastructure to support the agreed direction, technology and operations teams; introduced performance and workflow management using the Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) framework; and standardised management tools and IT infrastructure. Introduced Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to all business functions which could be tracked systematically and regularly, along with Personal Development Plan (PDP) frameworks to encourage career progression and staff incentive schemes in order to maximise performance.
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The Results
The IT Leader created an environment for growth, change and success:
- Partnered with a consortium of UK internet service providers, establishing market share and presence within the industry
- Developed a revised brand, voice and mission statement which encouraged a customer-focused approach and a recognisable and reputable business
- Delivered new CRM, workforce management, collaborative tools, accounting systems and in-house developed platforms in order to scale and improve delivery efficiencies
- Successfully developed additional pipeline valued at £100m Successfully secured £175m investment to support new business plan Increased operational efficiencies by 20%
- Lowered initial costs by 25%
- Maintained customer satisfaction during the transformation
