Strategy and support services

In practical terms, companies make choices on both an annual and tactical level about where to allocate time and resources. They need to ensure that allocation is optimised. WINC HR consultants work with clients to make sure they are investing in priority areas, geographies and services that will foster growth and expansion.

We know that strategy in isolation does not work. In addition to looking outwards to the market environment, we know that any strategic recommendation needs to recognise a company’s organisational capabilities and be executable within the required time frame. WINC HR consultants bring a practical perspective and a commercial maturity to strategic questions. We stay involved with the companies we work with to ensure strategy becomes reality – and is truly embedded in the day-to-day operations of the business. Our approach consists of the critical elements below:

Rigorous external and internal research and analysis

A robust strategy is grounded in facts and reality, so we work with our clients to build a view of the macro external factors that affect their business – for example, market growth, competitor positions, pricing and geographic issues. We will often involve industry and subject-matter experts to build the most comprehensive view of the external forces that affect the business. Complementing this approach, we build our understanding of a client’s internal operations and in-house capabilities. We collect information, interview and observe staff and survey the organisation to build a view of what is possible with the existing company resources.

read more on our audit, reseach and analysis services

Work with the line management to deliver the strategic objectives

We believe that it is not only important to have an outward focused strategy, but also equally critical to develop creative tactics and plans to deliver the strategic goals as rapidly as possible. We believe in getting out of the boardroom and working with the line management to identify the best approach for success. This also ensures line management’s engagement and ownership to help with accelerating implementation.

read more on our senior leadership facilitation services

Wire the organisation to support the delivery of the strategy

To deliver a strategy, all elements of a business need to be aligned. A significant part of our value comes from our experience embedding strategic goals in an organisation. We work with managers to ensure incentives are aligned, progress against goals is monitored weekly or monthly, and the leadership walks the talk. We ensure that the appropriate, sustaining disciplines are in place so that strategy becomes more than just a document in the boardroom.

read more on our work on organisational wiring

Strategy formulation

The core of our work is helping companies create value. Our strategy practice helps companies develop a clear perspective on how they create and maintain value in a competitive environment. We do this by helping companies objectively assess their competitive advantage along every lever that creates value – whether through superior cost positions, better customer relationships and customer retention, or perhaps though advantaged price realisation. In short, we help companies understand how they compete and maintain leadership positions in their industries. This ‘winning perspective’ comes from a synthesis of multiple assessments – customer needs, technology developments, competitive position and competitor strategies, political and policy direction, and company capabilities. We help companies develop strategies that will allow them to build and defend competitive advantage. And, most importantly, we ensure that the strategies are truly implementable by the company. Good strategies only become great strategies when the organisation is fully aligned on implementation. We work with companies to ensure that the strategy is understood throughout the organisation, and that the strategic vision is translated into day-to-day actions that are implemented by front-line employees.

read more about our work on strategy formualation

Customer loyalty

We work with companies to help ensure that their sales and service operations are aligned to deliver to customer needs. The first element is to focus on what the customer wants. What is important to them? How do their needs differ across different segments and geographies? The second element relates to positioning. How is our offering different to that of our competitors? How can we best explain and distinguish the value proposition to the customer? Answering these core questions is essential when developing a highly focused sales or customer service strategy.

read more about our work on customer loyalty

Organisational design

Often the most complex strategic question in business is not what to deliver to the customer, but how to deliver it in the best way possible. When a business has developed a new offering, or is rolling out in a new geography, it is critical that the operating model of the business be well designed. We work with clients to design operating models for the delivery of strategic goals. Linked to our organisational work, we seek to answer questions such as: how should the delivery unit be structured? How should responsibilities be divided? How will key processes run? We are very experienced at designing the best and most efficient operation to ensure success is delivered and our deep operations experience means these solutions are grounded in the reality of ‘what will work’.

read more about our work on organisational design

In-/outsourcing

Most strategic reviews turn outward – focusing on the needs of the customer and the positioning required to grow the top-line revenue of the business. But it is just as critical to think strategically about the cost base of the company. Which functions should remain in-house and be managed as core to the business? Which functions can safely be outsourced in order to achieve the cost advantages of scale? Outsourcing key elements of the business should not be committed to lightly, and we have extensive experience of reviewing internal operations and identifying the right strategic options for sourcing the inputs to the business differently.

read more about our work on in-/ outsourcing