Client: Large State Agency

The context

The office of information technology that serves agencies across a state government system set a goal of becoming a high-performing and customer-centric service provider. The CIO sought to build a self-sustaining cultural dynamic that would enable the organization to become a preferred provider of IT services to its agency partners, one of the top IT employers in the state, and a recognized expert in the field. Working with technology organization leadership, ZRG designed a comprehensive, integrated approach to create context-specific solutions for the organization. The solutions were tailored to incorporate Agile principles, methods, and tools. Because Agile takes different forms in different organizations, ZRG worked with the client to ensure the solutions reflected their unique application of Agile.

Case study

Step 1: assess current operating model and build change roadmap

• Understand the company's market and organizational realities, the CIO's vision, the organizations business strategy, and obstacles.
• Develop and refine a change roadmap and tailor solutions for accelerating the transformation.

Step 2: operationalize and align around future operating model

• Work with CIO and technology leadership team to operationalize the business strategy and desired organizational culture that would accelerate the company's transition.
• Senior team alignment process (STAP) kept leadership team aligned around the strategy and goals and created an improved operating discipline, increased trust, and communication.
• Facilitated organizational alignment workshops to ensure key stakeholders were informed and aligned.

Step 3: accelerate progress on critical change initiatives

• Accelerated progress on critical change initiatives developed during the first two phases of work.
• Business acceleration teams (BAT) helped the organization accelerate dialogue, alignment, and leader development
• Cross-functional project teams were tasked with delivering recommendations and implementation plans for making progress on critical issues

Services provided

• Executive coaching and stakeholder management. We built deep relationships with the CIO and other key leaders across the organization, aligning leadership goals with organizational needs. We anticipated challenges throughout the change process and proactively brought in key stakeholders. By engaging broadly across the system, we created a collaborative environment that empowered the change teams and facilitated active change.
• Change leadership consulting. Partnered with the CIO to devise and adjust the change strategy, enabling him and his leadership team to lead the change.
• Change management consulting. Partnered with the CIO to manage the change, which entailed designing and delivering interventions and processes; providing and customizing tools and models; and creating operating mechanisms that established structure and consistency.
• Transfer of learning. To build a self-sustaining cultural dynamic as desired by the CIO, transferring the knowledge, processes, methods, and tools ZRG used to drive change was critical. By partnering closely with the client, ZRG transferred its skills and knowledge along the way so that leaders at all levels learned to drive change on their own.

Outcomes

• Technology leadership team is aligned on the need for transformation and the case for change
• Technology leadership team has aligned around a Strategic Business Framework and has cascaded it through the organization
• The business acceleration team's process has driven rapid progress on four critical initiatives
• The CIO has reorganized the leadership team and built a leadership council that includes members from the agencies served
• The customer agencies are experiencing the technology organization in new ways, more as true business partners, much more proactive, and much more forward thinking

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