Function design.
We work with functional leaders to architect an integrated service delivery ecosystem, structuring how shared services, centers of expertise, and embedded partners work together to support the broader business.
Functions hold a complex organization together.
Functions are often the source of the capabilities that help a business compete, innovate, and deliver complex solutions to customers. HR builds talent pathways across businesses through common approaches to selecting people, aligned reward systems, and leadership talent stewarded as a company-wide resource. Supply chain aligns processes across businesses, balancing capacity and buying strategic commodities at scale. Function design decides how each function is organized to do that work: how it serves its internal customers, which work sits in the center and which is embedded in the business, and at what layer.
A function’s shape should follow the enterprise. A closely related portfolio usually calls for a strong center with shared expertise and services; a loosely related one calls for functions embedded in the businesses and a thin center focused on efficient services and compliance. We design from the work and the internal customers outward, so the structure is the last decision rather than the first, and we apply one logic across functions so the business doesn’t pay for inconsistency.
When functional leaders bring us in
- One size fits none. A large central team builds solutions that don’t fit very different businesses, and the businesses pay allocated costs for work that doesn’t help them.
- Duplicate capabilities across business units. Every division rebuilding the same analytics or services in parallel, with no shared standard.
- The service model isn’t delivering. Shared services, centers of expertise, and business partners overlap or leave gaps, and the business can’t tell who to call.
- AI is changing how the function delivers. Agents are taking on routine work, and the operating model and roles need to change with them.
- The enterprise has changed around the function. A new strategy, structure, or acquisition means the function has to be repositioned to fit.
Principles for designing functions that add value.
1Strategy-Capability Alignment
Every function’s strategy and capabilities must directly enable the broader business strategy and capabilities. Design choices should visibly enable competitive advantage for the business.
2Work-Centered Design
Start with the work rather than roles or hierarchy. Map activities to where they create the most value (corporate, function, or business unit), then design teams around that placement.
3Context-Driven Excellence
Optimize for strategic context rather than chasing every “best practice.” Be intentional about where world-class capabilities drive value and where standard approaches suffice.
4Business Partnership
Design functional roles that actively shape and enable business objectives rather than just supporting them. Build deep business knowledge and contribute directly to business outcomes.
5Sequencing & Pacing
Sequence changes based on strategic impact and interdependencies. Balance quick wins against foundational changes while maintaining operational momentum.
Function design frameworks.
Frequently asked questions.
Should our function be centralized or decentralized?
Usually neither, across the board. Integration and control are two different things that are often confused, and the center-led model removes the either-or: high integration across business and functional units, with only the controls that are truly needed. In a center-led function, people in the center and in the business share decision power to accomplish shared objectives, enabled by a shared strategy, a common agenda, harmonized processes, and collaborative norms. Some work should simply be centralized, and some can be decentralized with no expectation of collaboration. Center-led gets the benefits of both, but it depends on shared norms and behaviors.
How do you decide which work AI should do?
We decide which work should be AI-led, which should be AI-augmented with human judgment retained, and which should remain fully human by walking leaders through a core workflow task by task against six criteria: the consequence of an error, the context-related judgment required, who must be accountable, how ambiguous the situation is, whether the relationship and trust are the point, and whether the work develops someone. The goal isn’t to score every task precisely; it’s to force an explicit conversation rather than let the designation happen by default. Fully automatable work tends to be high-volume, rule-based, and low-consequence. Most management decisions are AI-assisted, with a person deciding.
Which functions do you work with?
Corporate functions such as HR, finance, and technology, and operating functions such as supply chain, marketing, engineering, and customer support, both as standalone function designs and as part of a broader enterprise redesign.