I’ve written up this case study to demonstrate the use of the Lamberhurst 4Sight process in conducting a business process review.  I used this very successfully during a recent overseas project.  It helped to provide focus for the stakeholders and qualitative evidence to back up the recommendations for change.

The Company

One of the largest specialist law firms in South Africa providing a global client base with legal services across the African continent.  The firm is managed by 30 professional partners with offices across the country.

The Business Problem

The firm had enjoyed significant business growth since 2000, but in recent years costs had started to overtake the growth in revenue; consequently profits were falling.  During the same time period business processes had been allowed to develop in an uncoordinated manner leading to many manual workarounds and process inefficiencies.  The firm needed to cut costs, streamline processes and make better use of technology, whilst continuing to meet client expectations.  Strategic issues including the commoditisation of legal services and increased competition also needed to be confronted.

The Solution

A Lamberhurst consultant was appointed to carry out a comprehensive review of all areas of the business and to provide recommendations for a programme of improvements.  Lamberhurst 4Sight was selected as the diagnostic tool to provide an objective view of where the business is today and where it needed to be in 3 years time.  Workshops were held with groups of partners, professional staff and managers from across the firm, with 4Sight being used to provide structure and focus for discussions.  The 4Sight results were combined with feedback from staff focus groups.  This highlighted three of the nine 4Sight dimensions with the most significant gap between current and desired performance.   The subsequent recommendations for improvement were indicated from the dimensions of people & leadership, process & delivery and technology.

The Benefits

The firm knew it needed change but without 4Sight it would have been much harder to identify and prioritise the areas that would have most impact.  However, the real benefit is in the experience that sits behind the tool and the ability to recommend realistic and achievable actions.  The client accepted all the recommendations of the consultant and embarked on a 2 year programme of change.  Lamberhurst were retained by the client to advice and mentor the internal team during the period of transition.  The client had used many consultants in the past 4 years, but this assignment was the first one that had given them confidence that the recommendations would enable them to achieve lasting change.

 The Lamberhurst Mission

Our ambition is simple – to be the preferred provider of consultancy services to the clients we serve. Lamberhurst consultants have a wide range of specialist skills and many decades of direct experience enabling Lamberhurst to provide a comprehensive consultancy service that delivers practical and measurable solutions for all types of business issues. Our business is our people.  

Click on the image below to see a video on 4Sight where I explain the process and benefits.