As the lead initiative in an overall global effectiveness
program, a Fortune 100 client of Booz Allen Hamilton
launched a “spans and layers” program designed to
reduce high G&A costs driven by organizational complexity.
Recognizing that the existing multi-matrix structure
was costly, sluggish, uncoordinated, and inwardly
focused, management was convinced that a flatter
and more streamlined organization model was critical
to effecting its strategy and competing in a global
marketplace. The team charged with leading this effort
followed a four-step process over a period of 12 weeks,
first baselining the existing spans and layers, then sizing
the prize from a top-down perspective, then designing
and implementing solutions to reduce layers and
optimize the organization model. In the end, the company
realized approximately $200 million in savings,
which constituted 25% of the total cost savings generated
by the entire global effectiveness program