A large professional services organization engaged thco to address margin pressure, delivery inconsistency, and growing dependence on senior talent to keep execution on track. Despite strong demand, reputable brand positioning, and experienced leadership, profitability was under strain. Projects required excessive oversight, delivery quality varied across teams, and execution relied heavily on a small group of senior individuals. The objective was to restore margin, improve delivery consistency, and redesign execution so the firm could scale without burning out its leadership or talent.
Project challenges
The organization operated across multiple service lines and client segments, delivering complex, high-value work.
Key challenges included:
Margin erosion despite strong demand
Low and inconsistent utilization across teams
Heavy reliance on senior leaders for delivery quality
Manual delivery management, reporting, and coordination
Inconsistent execution standards across projects
Difficulty scaling delivery without increasing cost
While the firm excelled at winning work, execution inefficiency was quietly eroding value.
The solution
Thco was engaged to redesign execution across the delivery lifecycle aligning operating models, systems, and workforce capability around scalable performance.
1. Delivery & Operating Model Diagnostic (Advisory)
Thco conducted a rapid diagnostic across sales-to-delivery workflows, utilization patterns, and execution governance to identify:
Margin leakage points
Delivery bottlenecks and rework drivers
Over-reliance on senior personnel
Manual coordination and reporting overhead
Capability gaps impacting consistency
This produced a prioritized roadmap focused on margin recovery and scalable delivery.
2. Delivery Redesign & Automation (Technology)
Thco redesigned delivery workflows and introduced automation to reduce overhead and improve consistency.
Key interventions included:
Standardized delivery and quality-control workflows
Automated project tracking, reporting, and performance insights
Integrated systems replacing manual coordination
Clear execution dashboards for delivery leaders
This reduced friction and improved visibility across engagements.
3. Workforce Capability & Utilization Optimization (Academy)
To reduce dependency on senior talent and improve utilization, thco delivered targeted capability programs focused on:
Role clarity and execution ownership
Standardized delivery practices
Decision-making authority at the right levels
Coaching teams to execute without escalation
This improved consistency while freeing senior leaders from day-to-day delivery management.
4. Embedded Delivery & Operations Support (Operate)
Thco assumed responsibility for selected delivery support and back-office functions, applying disciplined execution and continuous optimization.
This stabilized operations and reduced cost variability as delivery volume scaled.
The result
Within six months, the organization achieved measurable improvements across financial performance, delivery quality, and leadership capacity.
Margin & Financial Performance
21% improvement in operating margin
Reduced rework and delivery overhead
Utilization & Productivity
17% increase in billable utilization across priority teams
Improved workload balance and planning
Cost Reduction
8% reduction in delivery and support costs
Significant reduction in manual coordination and reporting
Execution & Leadership Capacity
35% faster delivery cycles
Reduced escalation dependency
Senior leaders freed to focus on growth, clients, and strategy
Impact at a Glance
+21% improvement in operating margin
+17% increase in billable utilization across priority teams
–28% reduction in delivery and support costs
35% faster project delivery cycles
Reduced dependency on senior leaders for daily execution
Why This Worked
This engagement succeeded because thco treated professional services performance as an execution system problem, not a talent or demand problem.
Strategy and delivery were redesigned together
Automation reduced overhead without reducing quality
Capability was embedded into roles and workflows
Operations were stabilized through disciplined execution
The result was higher margin, more consistent delivery, and scalable growth.
