“Transforming spaces, transforming lives” was more than a tagline for the facilities management company; the CEO was committed to making it part of their operations. However, in a sector where services were delivered at minimum wages and competition demanded high service quality, balancing customer experience and employee satisfaction was a challenge.

The company’s performance management system was still in its infancy. Their Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were primarily financial and operational, lacking the nuance needed to build a performance culture. It wasn’t helping teams balance the competing demands of delivering great customer service while ensuring employee satisfaction.

With KPI rationalisation on the agenda, the CEO suggested embracing OKRs. After several discussions, however, the team realised that it would be too big a change, and they needed something that fits their purpose.

Our goal was to create a system that aligns with the company’s mission, promoting a growth mindset like OKRs but maintaining focus on execution as KPIs do. Adopting a #semcostyle approach, we co-created a hybrid system that blended the strengths of both OKRs and KPIs.

To tie the aspirational tagline to their day-to-day work, we started with three core pillars: Cash, Convenience, and Compliance. For each pillar, we identified the function-specific drivers and the roles that had the most influence. From there, we defined measurable Key Results (KRs) for each role, ensuring they cascaded down and connected to the broader organisational objectives.

For the initial roll-out, we agreed that the initial focus would be on driving performance culture rather than pushing a growth mindset. As the teams matured, there would be room to shift that balance.

Ultimately, the solution wasn’t about choosing between OKRs or KPIs—it was about finding a system that measured what truly mattered, fitting the company’s needs, stage of growth, and where they are in their journey of building a performance culture.

The air at our client, a leading distributor of engineering and project management software solutions, was thick with frustration. Legacy processes were dragging the company down, forcing employees to jump through hoops just to get simple tasks done. That’s when we introduced #RuleSafari—a methodology designed to help teams track practices, wrapped in bureaucratic red tape, that are likely stifling innovation and killing morale and then work to eliminate it.

In an eye-opening workshop, cross-functional teams embarked on this safari with one mission: identify and challenge the rules that no longer served them. The team was encouraged to list existing rules, policies, and practices, including unwritten norms & habits within the organization that they believe are outdated, unnecessary, or counterproductive. Complex approval processes that turned simple policy updates into month-long sagas were exposed. Inefficiencies that were crippling lead generation and delaying critical software installations were also brought to light. The group then evaluated these rules based on their impact on the business and the work environment.

But here’s where the real magic happened— The Rule Safari didn’t stop at just exposing the wild animals in the corporate jungle. They were acted upon and simplified by slashing layers and cutting decision times drastically.

The employees realized they weren’t just tweaking processes—they were revolutionizing the way things worked. The Rule Safari didn’t just fix problems; it unleashed a wave of empowerment. Employees felt a renewed sense of ownership, and collaboration improved.

The company now strides forward with its teams aligned, energized, and ready to conquer new challenges.