Transformation PMO Support & Customer Fulfilment Transformation Partner

The Assignment

Kingston embarked on a comprehensive transformation programme called “Seizing the Moment, Shaping the Future.” As their trusted delivery partner, our role was to provide support and expertise to their Corporate Programme Management Office, enabling the successful mobilisation and implementation of the program. This case study focuses on two key elements of the overall programme: Kingston Transformation Support and Customer Fulfilment Transformation.

Transformation Support:

Kingston sought a partner to work alongside their Corporate Programme Management Office, fulfilling two critical requirements. Firstly, they needed support in establishing an Enterprise PMO capacity to ensure appropriate programme management governance and benefits tracking. This would provide the Senior Leadership Team with assurance on progress while facilitating innovation. Secondly, they required a flexible programme and project management capacity to enable the rapid mobilisation and delivery of key projects within the overall Transformation programme. The focus was on projects with significant financial benefits and strategic importance.

Customer Fulfilment Transformation:

Kingston aimed to enhance the way residents accessed their services, both in terms of digitisation and fulfilment. They engaged us to conduct a strategic review of the Customer Excellence, Business Support, and Revenues and Benefits teams. The goal was to transition towards a customer fulfilment model, which involved assessing the level of digitisation and fulfilment for all customer journeys, identifying challenges to improvement, and analysing the largest dependencies and demands within service areas. Our approach also encompassed staff engagement, change management, and identifying opportunities for savings through service integration. Following the review, we were extended to deliver the work and executed a nine-month implementation programme.

The Role

We were entrusted with several responsibilities across the course of our engagement. We collaborated closely with RB Kingston’s Corporate Programme Management Office, providing expertise and capacity in programme management, governance, and project delivery. Our work led us to work closely with teams across the Council, including finance, ICT, procurement, and legal. We led the transformation governance review and implemented the new structure, set up a blended team with the PMO and ran community of practice sessions, delivered several critical projects in corporate, social care and environment, led savings proposals development, worked with finance to agree savings, and led on channel shift data gathering and analysis. The scope of our work meant we engaged with every member of SLT regularly over the long term and established strong working relationships across the Council. Our experience in contributing positively to local communities allowed us to align our efforts with Kingston’s social value goals and we set up a ‘Social Value Tracker’ that Kingston were able to deploy across all procurements, ensuring that the projects had a meaningful impact on residents’ lives.

Key Outcomes

Our work with Kingston led to significant outcomes in terms of financial and non-financial benefits, positively impacting Kingston and its residents. Our project analysis and insights provide valuable information for evaluating the success of these initiatives. We successfully established effective programme management governance which continues to operate, as well as setting up a benefits tracking approach for the PMO. Through the successful delivery of priority projects, we leveraged our ability to manage complex programmes with strategic importance to deliver significant outcomes:

Developing the HM Treasury business case for Kingston’s move out of its Guildhall office as part of the Future Workplace project;
Delivering high-risk Adult Social Care (ASC) projects including the closure of a day centre and assuring the delivery of £2m savings;
Agreeing a joint business case with Achieving for Children (LA children’s services) for a new post-16 campus;
Working across the library service to develop a new model of delivery post-pandemic under the Future Culture Project; and
Delivering a review of low-value procurement to recommend a series of improvements and efficiencies to the processes and systems underpinning all contracts <£100k.

Within the Customer Fulfilment Transformation Project, our strategic review led to the development of a comprehensive strategy focused on improving resident experience and fulfillment. By addressing challenges and dependencies and engaging staff in change management, we created buy-in and developed a clear roadmap for the future model. We were then asked to lead the implementation of a cross-council programme of change and bring staff along on the journey towards a new model of delivering services to residents and customers.

Cashable and non-cashable savings achieved: