National Transport Operation Function. Strategy development and organisational design to improve operational resilience and decentralisation.
Challenge
The operations function is responsible for managing and maintaining the safe, efficient, and reliable running of the transport network, including scheduling, maintenance, and coordination of services. A new Director of Operations was appointed to address the critical failures within the function.
The organisation was under a warning from regulators due to severe performance, safety, and assurance breaches.
There were no contingency plans in place, and staff were experiencing high levels of burnout due to being overwhelmed by the operational demands.
Approach
1. Strategic Development: Co-created a new strategy to enhance performance and address immediate issues.
2. Organisational Design: Assessed the current structure and introduced new functions for training, assurance, and auditing.
3. Decentralisation: Decentralised operations to improve resilience and responsiveness.
4. Leadership Development: Implemented leadership programmes focused on complexity management and mission command.
5. Support and Implementation: Phased implementation of changes for smooth adoption.Provided ongoing support to embed changes effectively.
Results
The function became more coherent and engaged, with improved confidence and understanding of their direction. Resilience, ownership, and accountability increased.
Leaders gained tools and self-awareness for effective strategic execution, leading to a cohesive leadership team and enabling a more adaptable and resilient operational function.