A major life insurer asked: How can we ensure strategic initiatives are aligned with the future operating model?
Milliman's guidance helped decision-makers understand how the operating model needed to evolve to ensure business transformation initiatives are focused on the priorities that matter most.

THE ASK
How can we ensure our change portfolio is aligned to our strategy and understand what the organisation will need to look like as our priorities evolve?
Our client was running several strategic initiatives simultaneously, but had no clear picture of how they collectively supported the firm’s strategic priorities or how the operating model would need to evolve as they progressed. We worked with executive leadership to assess the strategic value of each initiative, identify where resources should be focussed and map out the operating model changes required over time.
THE APPROACH
Connecting strategic priorities, initiatives and the future operating model
We began by interviewing executive leaders to establish a shared understanding of the firm’s strategy and strategic priorities.
We then assessed each key initiative against the firm’s strategic pillars, giving leadership an objective view of where activity was, and wasn’t, contributing to the strategy. We reviewed initiatives with weak strategic alignment, whilst prioritising those with stronger strategic alignment.
Building on this analysis, we created a series of interim operating model states alongside a defined end-state model. This provided leadership with a forward view of how the organisation would need to evolve throughout the transformation journey.
THE OUTCOME
A clearer strategic portfolio and a roadmap for organisational change
The organisation gained greater clarity over how its initiatives contributed to the firm’s strategy, enabling leadership to focus resources and attention on the activity with the greatest value.
The interim and end-state operating models gave leadership a holistic view of the organisational changes required over time, providing a stronger basis for planning workforce, structure and operational changes.

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