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Operating Model
The capabilities, functions, interfaces and operating methods required to deliver the customer experience strategy as a continuing operation rather than a programme.
Service · Customer Experience
Accountability for the customer must reside with a clearly designated owner
X-Shift designs the operating model that sustains customer experience as a permanent capability: the functions required, the manner in which they are organised, the accountabilities of each, and the parties that hold decision rights. Governance is designed as an operational mechanism with mandate and authority, rather than as a reporting calendar.
Decision-rights matrixAllocation of decision authority
Front lineService ownerForumExecutiveOperational issuesCustomer issuesCross-functional issuesImprovement investment
DecidesInputEscalation
Named service owner
Capabilities first, then structure
- Capabilities
- Operating model
- Accountability
- Governance
- Embed
Operating Model & Governance DesignConsult X-Shift
What we do
Structure, authority and accountability vested in the same function
X-Shift defines the capabilities the organisation requires to deliver its experience strategy, independently of its current organisation, and subsequently designs the structure that sustains them. Roles and responsibilities are specified at the level of operational decisions and outputs rather than titles, and decision rights are assigned so that authority is positioned close to the work and escalation is subject to defined conditions. Service ownership is assigned by service and by customer journey, with named owners accountable for both performance and improvement. Governance is designed as an operational mechanism: forums with clear mandates, defined inputs, thresholds and authority, linked directly to the manner in which performance is reviewed and escalation is resolved.
- 01Required capabilities
- 02Organisation structure
- 03Roles and responsibilities
- 04Decision rights
- 05Service ownership
- 06Governance forums
Capabilities
Positioning authority and accountability in the same function
Designed together, as structure without decision rights produces limited change.
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Organisation Structure
The manner in which teams and functions are organised, sized and interrelated, including the interfaces between front-line, back-office and supporting functions.
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Roles and Responsibilities
Role definitions specified at the level of operational decisions and outputs, with accountability boundaries that eliminate overlap and address gaps.
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Decision Rights
The party that decides each matter, at which threshold, with whose input, and what is escalated, defined so that authority is positioned close to where the work is performed.
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Governance Framework
The forums, mandates, membership, inputs and cadence that govern customer experience, and the authority each forum retains to direct change.
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Service Ownership
Named ownership of services and customer journeys, incorporating the performance, improvement and investment mandate that such ownership is intended to include.
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Performance Governance
The manner in which performance is reviewed against targets, the evidence required, and the process by which corrective action is assigned, tracked and closed.
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Escalation Governance
Escalation paths, thresholds and authority levels for operational, customer and cross-functional issues, with defined response obligations at each level.
Deliverables
Deliverables transferred on completion
Documentation that an executive team can adopt and an internal audit function can validate.
01
Capability model
The capabilities the organisation must possess to deliver its experience strategy, stated independently of the current structure.
02
Target operating model
Functions, interfaces, operating methods and indicative sizing across front-line, back-office and supporting functions.
03
Role definitions and accountability map
Roles specified by decision and output, with accountability boundaries that eliminate overlap and address the gaps between functions.
04
Decision-rights matrix
Every significant recurring decision mapped to a role or forum, with thresholds, required inputs and escalation conditions.
05
Governance charter
Forum mandates, membership, inputs, cadence and the authority each body retains to direct change.
06
Service ownership register
Named owners for each service and priority journey, with the performance, improvement and investment mandate assigned to each.
Approach
Capabilities first, then structure, then authority
Designing structure before capability typically reproduces the existing organisation under new labels.
BUILT TO OPERATE, NOT TO PRESENTThe design must withstand application within the live operation.
01 / 05
01
Define required capabilities
The capabilities the organisation must possess to deliver its experience strategy are established, independently of its current organisation.
OutputCapability model
02 / 05
02
Design the operating model
Functions, interfaces, operating methods and sizing are defined, together with the manner in which the model operates across front-line, back-office and supporting functions.
OutputTarget operating model
03 / 05
03
Assign accountability
Roles, responsibilities, service ownership and decision rights are specified so that authority and accountability reside together.
OutputRole definitions, accountability map and service ownership register
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04
Design governance
Forums, mandates, inputs, thresholds and escalation paths are defined and linked to the performance framework they are intended to govern.
OutputGovernance charter and decision-rights matrix
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05
Establish and embed
The transition to the new model is supported, including the transfer of accountability, and the reviews required to maintain the model are established.
OutputTransition plan and review cycle definition
When this is required
All functions contribute to the customer experience, yet no party is accountable for it
Strategy and design fail at the point where no party holds the authority to act upon them.
Customer experience spans every function and is formally owned by none. Without assigned ownership and explicit decision rights, cross-functional issues stall, improvement work lacks a sponsor, and decisions that should be made close to the work are escalated until they compete for executive attention.
Today and after
Where decisions are made, before and after
Structural changes are the visible element. Decision rights are what alter organisational behaviour.
Current stateFuture state
Client responsibilities
What the engagement requires from the client
Operating model work affects roles and reporting lines. It requires sponsorship that will be maintained when the implications become difficult.
- 01
An executive sponsor with authority over more than one of the functions under redesign
- 02
Full disclosure of the current structure, sizing and any reorganisation already planned
- 03
Allocated time from function leaders to negotiate decision rights, rather than to be informed of them
- 04
Early involvement of the human resources function, as role definitions carry consequences that it is required to administer
Outcomes
Decisions are made where the work is performed, and escalation ceases to be the default
What this changesEach service and priority customer journey is assigned a named owner with the mandate to act. Governance forums are equipped with evidence and authority rather than agendas alone, and interfaces between functions are designed rather than negotiated case by case.
- 01
Named accountability for every service and priority customer journey
- 02
Decision rights that enable front-line and middle management to resolve most issues
- 03
Governance forums with the mandate and the evidence to direct change
- 04
Clear interfaces between functions rather than informal negotiation
- 05
Escalation that follows defined thresholds instead of personal networks
Common questions
Questions commonly raised before commissioning this work
What is the typical duration of this work?
The design phase is shorter than the adoption phase. Producing the capability model, operating model and decision rights is a contained piece of work; obtaining acceptance from function leaders for a redistribution of authority is not, and it is the factor that determines the actual duration.
What is required from the client for this work to succeed?
A sponsor with authority across the functions involved, full disclosure of any reorganisation already in progress, and time from function leaders. Where a restructure has already been determined and this work is intended to justify it, this should be stated, as the design will change accordingly.
How is this contracted and priced?
Fixed scope against the named deliverables. Support through adoption is priced separately and is typically time-based, because the duration required for accountability to transfer depends on the client's organisation rather than on the design.
A restructure is already planned. Should this work be deferred?
Typically the opposite: capability and decision rights should inform the structure rather than follow it. However, where the structure has already been approved, X-Shift will operate within it and concentrate on decision rights and service ownership, which is where most of the value resides regardless.
Next
Recommended next steps
01
Commence with decision rights
A contained piece of work mapping recurring decisions to roles and forums, with thresholds and escalation conditions, within the structure already in place.
Applicable where all matters are escalated and none is concluded.
Consult X-Shift02
Define the strategy the model is required to carry
Where the target experience itself is undefined, designing the operating model first risks organising around an incorrect objective.
Applicable where leadership is not yet able to state the experience it intends to deliver.
CX Strategy and TransformationAn operating model without a sponsor able to enforce it is a diagram, and X-Shift will state this before commencing.
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Is this the work required?
A short conversation is typically sufficient to establish whether this is the appropriate engagement, a narrower one, or an alternative.