This project started with a loose affiliation of regional legacy companies and ended with a single £600M category-leading UK Engineering Services group with 3800 staff. Described here is Imtech UK’s journey to this position, and the role Curzon played in helping the leadership and management teams get there.
Project Shape delivered a unifying strategy built on broad engagement across management, and the comprehensive operating model redesign and organisational restructure needed for execution. It completed in November 2013, and in its eighteen month duration Imtech’s UK turnover grew by 25%. In Project Shape and ensuing Curzon assignments, our client valued being “worked together with” rather than “consulted to”, and an approach which blended cultural sensitivity with challenge, change expertise, and pragmatism.
Imtech’s UK interests had grown rapidly by acquisition, registering 2011 turnover of £420m with 3.7% EBIT. Their Dutch parent, Imtech NV, was determined to build a strong position within Engineering Services. The acquired companies provided mechanical and electrical design, installation and maintenance services to the construction industry. Imtech had also diversified around core Engineering Services, adding Waste, Water and Energy sectors and specialist units delivering control systems for nuclear plants, airport lighting and technical facilities management outsourcing.
Paul was determined this must change.
As in any operating model change, clear communication is crucial. There had been a programme of senior management briefings to staff through 2012 and 2013, culminating in the ‘Moving On’ day in December 2013 – a mobilisation event that engaged ninety managers. A “blue book” was prepared in the months before to summarise the strategy Imtech had embarked on, and connect it to the objectives of the business streams and functions.
Curzon worked with Imtech MDs to develop the communications content, the event flow, and to rehearse their participation. Weeks of preparation resulted in a highly successful mobilisation event. Operational managers were engaged and coached in how to articulate Imtech’s strategy and objectives. In a company with c4000 staff spread around the UK this event proved very effective in anchoring the operating model changes and equipping managers to plan and communicate the required transformation.
The CEO worked directly on Project Shape’s design with Nigel Waterson. Nigel was joined by Ava Butler, an Organisational Development consultant. Ava’s forte is working with Boards on operating model design and implementation; she has authored books on Board dynamics and facilitation.
Both Imtech and Curzon added staff to the project as required. At peak, five consultants and twenty Imtech staff were involved full time. The small Curzon team acted as trusted advisors to leadership and guided a large joint team comprising the Imtech MDs, central function managers and their direct reports. This meant a lot of the transformation workload was shouldered by Imtech staff, which drove the ownership and buy-in necessary for the project’s success.
When difficulties arose they were dealt with inside individual work streams. Stream meetings would close with a review of benefits and concerns, with point actions agreed in forum to directly address concerns. Sometimes difficulties triggered the need for broader involvement and a workshop specifically targeted at the problem. In other cases escalation to the Board or CEO was required. Forward planning and clear expectation setting kept the number of unforeseen problems to a minimum.
Nigel’s formative years at Gemini Consulting taught him how large transformation projects should be managed. Having worked with Professor Chan Kim of Insead on post- merger integration in Philips, he knew how a fair process and large-scale engagement in workshops could accelerate understanding and change adoption.
The initial process to derive the UK strategy drew together all existing strategy perspectives from Imtech’s top forty senior managers, and injected them into a two day strategy formulation and alignment workshop. This explored value chains for the businesses and fed insights into a “Venkat” competitive matrix for service capabilities. The process was designed by Professor N Venkatramen and is an excellent way to facilitate strategy discussion and agreement.
This work led directly into more analysis of high potential areas, with a joint team approach.
Ava Butler closely managed the third phase. This involved a substantial restructure to create three regional Engineering Services business streams and the consolidation of the technical maintenance functions under one business stream. Ava’s prior experience of corporate restructuring programmes at Board level in many sectors inspired confidence in Paul and his managers.
To evaluate the Shared Services opportunity we brought in Will Beck, a consultant with long experience in engineering companies including a project that saved £200m+ from ICI’s procurement. He found that, although there were substantial back offices in a number of the businesses, the scale of benefit was not large enough to justify the effort. Avoiding nugatory work on shared services was seen as a positive outcome by Imtech.
Likewise the Sales Approach work drew on James Black’s experience to rationalise approach between the businesses. James has a long track record in sales and marketing optimisation, including senior roles in Gemini Consulting and PA Consulting. His forthright style was a good match for the task of drawing senior sales people and MDs together.
High impact mobilisation – the Moving On day was an innovative event designed and facilitated by Curzon. It drew on Nigel’s previous experience of running action-orientated mobilisation events, using a ‘trade show’ structure to focus attention on how each business area would execute strategy. Plenary opening and closing sessions, where Paul and others spoke with conviction on Imtech’s future, were impactful.
When Project Shape concluded, the ninety managers at the Moving On session were in no doubt the business had changed. The legacy businesses had been rebranded, there was a small Group Board with a clear role and agenda, and the Engineering and Technical Facilities Management teams had new governance structures. There was also regular collaborative sales planning and a structure for Key Account management. Sales teams were targeting new markets as defined by the strategy. Underpinning this was a comprehensive People plan to target recruitment and appointments to key senior roles were underway.
The business leader showing integrity at every step is catalytic in the changeMeasurable resultsAt the Moving On meeting Paul showed an independent rankings table published in September 2013 (below). It ranked Imtech as the top performing Mechanical/Electrical contractor, up from second to first spot versus the previous year and growing 25% in revenue terms year on year.
Achieving these results whilst undergoing fundamental restructure was a testament to the Imtech team and, for our part, Curzon.
Curzon helped Imtech brand itself and operate in the market as a cohesive company, not a loose affiliation of legacy businesses. Imtech is now well positioned to win and retain larger projects, and be a company of choice for talented graduates. Today you will find it holding a strong place in existing markets and confidently building presence in new markets.