Designing a new IT operating model for biotech

A large biotechnology company was growing, and its Chief Information Officer (CIO) wanted the Information Technology (IT) group to lead an organizational transformation that would make technology a key enabler of the business. A major piece of the transformation was the design and deployment of a new Target Operating Model (TOM) for the IT organization.

KPMG LLP (KPMG) led a process to develop the organization’s operating model, including facilitating workshops to build consensus among IT leaders about how the group manages its work flow. They then developed a playbook based on the results of those workshops that outlined the new organizational structure, accountabilities, processes, and governance.

In addition, they developed use cases that covered more than 80 percent of the organization’s newly defined capabilities and trained more than 350 employees in the United States, Europe, and Asia Pacific in person and in online sessions.

The CIO turned to KPMG LLP to help refine the company’s operating model and communicate subsequent changes effectively to the organization. The engagement included:

• assisting the client in performing a current-state analysis by collecting an extensive amount of data and conducting interviews to identify opportunities for operational improvements and issues affecting changes to the organization
• leading workshops with IT executives to define an operating model aligned with the group’s long-term strategy of innovation and operational excellence
• conducting stakeholder and change-impact analyses
• identifying the core capabilities necessary to manage the operating model
• developing a set of use cases that outlined processes needed to make decisions and drive adoption of the new model throughout the organization
• creating a thorough plan for organizational change management
• training employees and contractors about the new operating model.

Target operating model is a tie that binds

A TOM ties an organization’s strategy, mission, and vision together and provides process details about how work is accomplished. A new employee should be able to readily understand the organization, its capabilities, what steps are required to implement and manage projects, and who the key people are.

There is more to a target operating model than just an org chart

In addition to defining the traditional org structure, an operating model must define necessary capabilities and the roles and responsibilities of its people, and then communicate effectively so that the group’s strategy is understood well by all employees.