Operating Model Redesign

Case Study

Author: Craig Keller | 6 minute read

Executive Summary

A fast-growing SaaS company was experiencing friction between sales, product, and customer success teams as they scaled beyond $50M ARR. Unclear roles, duplicated efforts, and competing incentives were slowing decision-making and frustrating employees. New Wave Associates worked with the executive team to redesign their operating model, clarifying accountabilities, streamlining handoffs, and aligning metrics to drive collaboration rather than conflict.

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The Opportunity

As the company scaled rapidly, the operating model that worked with 100 employees was breaking down at 400. Cross-functional projects were taking twice as long as expected, and employee engagement scores were declining.

Specific pain points included:

  • Ambiguous ownership between product management and product marketing
  • Customer success and sales competing for account ownership post-sale
  • Engineering teams pulled in multiple directions without clear prioritization
  • Metrics that incentivized local optimization rather than company-wide outcomes
  • Too many meetings with unclear decision rights

The Approach

New Wave Associates facilitated a collaborative redesign process:

  • Diagnosis (Weeks 1-2): Conducted interviews with 50+ employees across all levels, mapped current workflows and decision-making patterns, and identified the top 10 friction points causing delays and frustration.
  • Design (Weeks 3-6): Facilitated executive team workshops to redesign organizational structure, clarified RACI matrices for key processes, redesigned metrics and incentives to reward collaboration, and created new governance forums with clear decision rights.
  • Rollout (Weeks 7-10): Developed comprehensive communication plan, conducted town halls and team-level sessions, updated job descriptions and performance reviews, and launched pilot programs in highest-friction areas.
  • Refinement (Weeks 11-16): Collected feedback through pulse surveys, made adjustments based on real-world learnings, coached leaders through change management challenges, and documented the new operating model playbook.

The Outcome

The new operating model delivered measurable improvements in both efficiency and employee satisfaction:

  • Cross-functional project cycle time reduced by 40%
  • Meeting hours per week decreased by 25% through clearer decision protocols
  • Employee engagement scores improved by 18 points in 6 months
  • Customer satisfaction scores increased as handoffs became smoother
  • Leadership team reported significantly higher confidence in execution capability

The company now has a scalable operating model that can support their growth to $100M ARR and beyond, with built-in mechanisms for continuous improvement.

Meet The Team

Craig Keller

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