Our opportunity
Right-sized. Real change. Ready to use.
Our client needed an organisational plan and planning process grounded in reality – something that matched the resourcing and capabilities of their kaimahi today, but could also scale over time.
Previous attempts hadn’t stuck. Some of the challenges included:
A legacy of rapid-fire change – shifts in legislation, functions, and key roles meant the organisation lacked a clear foundational understanding of roles and responsibilities.
Siloed teams – working to their own priorities, plans and timelines, often surprising colleagues with last-minute requests for input or collaboration.
A reactive environment – requiring flexibility to address the most pressing issues of the day.
Taking this context into account, we knew success wouldn’t just come from designing a process. It meant walking alongside kaimahi – building clarity on what mattered most for the organisation, growing confidence in collaborative ways of working, and creating space to anticipate and manage reactive work.
Our approach
So, what made the difference this time?
We didn’t just lift a planning process off the shelf. We began by understanding our clients context - the barriers kaimahi were facing, the dynamics at play and what success would look like for them. We drew on our expertise, particularly in agile practices and ways of working, and designed the process to fit.
What we did
Together, we:
🔹 Co-designed a planning process with a supporting narrative that brought people together around a shared vision, with clarity buy-in for what this process unlocks.
“People can actually see themselves in the process”
🔹 Tested, refined and iterated the process through implementation creating space for kaimahi to build skills, confidence and ownership.
“We didn’t just get a bunch of slides - we got something that actually works. The change feels real.”
🔹 Developed a Playbook capturing both the process and the learnings from implementation - supporting continuous improvement and embedding people practices that make planning stick.
“The tools and resources were right-sized for us - practical, easy to use, and designed with where we’re at in mind.”
The result?
A clear plan. A confident team. A process that’s been picked up, gripped, and owned. Not because it lives in polished slides, but because it makes sense, feels doable, and belongs to them.
More broadly, investing the time and resource to get this right has delivered real impact: greater clarity on organisational goals, smoother strategic decision-making and stronger employee engagement.
We recently went back to facilitate the client’s quarterly retro – giving them the space to fully participate in the process and focus on surfacing people and process changes. What we heard was heartening:
Stronger visibility and connection across leadership – with greater transparency around expectations, more honest conversations about challenges, and a real sense of alignment within the leadership team who champion this process.
Success of cross-team working groups – enabling deeper collaboration, greater mobility, and regular scanning for change, with the ability to respond in stride.
Improved quality of advice and outputs – with clearer prioritisation and sharper deliverables that leaders could confidently stand behind.
What a win – and a clear signal that the process has not only stuck but is actively strengthening how the organisation works together. Ka mau te wehi!
📩 If this sounds like a challenge you’re facing, let’s have a kōrero – we’d be happy to walk you through how we can help. Reach out here!
#RightSizedChange #OrganisationalPlanning #PublicSectorInnovation #CoDesignInAction #MadeNimbl #ImpactThatSticks