Case Study – Strategy & Organisation

Based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, Axon delivers business aligned end-to-end cloud computing and communications solutions that empower its clients to achieve more. The company is a recognised expert in Microsoft technologies and builds trusted and secure environments to mitigate risk, increase business performance and deliver a clear return on investment. In 2016 the company identified the need to undertake an overhaul of its organisational structure to improve the customer service experience.

The Challenge

  • The board identified that the strategy of the company was not supporting the growth vision of the business.
  • This was becoming evident as the company identified the need to change to avoid the risk of not delivering a first class service to its existing client base.
  • It was thought that the lack of clearly defined service offerings and roles within a complex organisational structure were contributing factors.
  • The desired outcome was to design and implement service offerings according to the competences of the technical managers and engineers and the sales and commercial leaders, in order to deliver the best possible customer experience and to support future growth.

The Solution

  • Strategic Growth Solutions was commissioned to work with the company and immediately undertook strategic audit meetings, including sessions to map the existing management structure.
  • It quickly became evident that service offerings, roles and responsibilities were complex and difficult to manage and were causing misunderstandings internally and if not addressed would create client confusion, thus requiring action to be taken.
  • A further key consideration was to improve a stronger communication culture with clear lines of accountability and reporting.
  • Re-mapping of the entire management structure and service offerings was undertaken to separate each department and redefine job roles and areas of responsibility, based on the key competences of the business and its people.

Delivering Positive Outcomes

  • A new organisational structure was implemented that clearly separated the strategic responsibilities of the board from tactical operations and saw the appointment of an operations manager.
  • Clear lines of reporting and responsibilities were implemented with six business unit leaders created below the operations manager, including sales, marketing, finance, cloud development, cloud services and cloud support.
  • The new structure now supports the key drivers in the business and provides a strong, motivated and empowered team unit.
  • The core objective to implement a structure that was both simple and uncomplicated, while creating a sustainable operation for the future, was achieved.