When Paul was engaged by this bank the directive came from the board to save £19 million a year by relocating 30% of the IT department (more than 700 roles) to Singapore and India. The management team wrongly thought this meant a 30% reduction across each IT function from business intelligence to change management. Paul demonstrated this was not possible because the way the IT infrastructure was configured meant that whole functions would have to be transferred.
Once Paul conveyed this message, resistance to change posed a real risk to the programme. Managers were concerned with how they would be personally affected rather than the potential benefits for the business. Paul carefully explained to each manager what needed to happen to keep the programme on schedule, preventing it from becoming bogged down by corporate politics.
Over the course of the programme, Paul had to maintain a firm grip on the £18m budget, which was being rapidly eaten up by travel costs. To ensure value on airfares, he ensured managers made a business case for each trip. He also introduced widespread video conferencing. The cost pressures were relentless. For example, teams in India were requesting the latest mobile phones, Paul overcame this by issuing SIM cards and getting them to buy their own handsets, avoiding the continual cost of upgrading models.
To gain buy-in to the new IT structure, Paul led a comprehensive communication programme using workshops and the web to help win hearts and minds. Furthermore, he established a framework of acceptance for future outsourcing programmes to Eastern European countries.
Ultimately, Paul was successful in establishing a 700 people-strong IT function in India and Singapore within 12 months. In fact, he successfully delivered the transformation within time and 10% under budget – reducing the total overall headcount and yielding £19 million year-on-year savings.
The Head of Strategy said, “Paul successfully delivered when the odds were completely stacked against him.”
The Development Director said, “Paul did what he said he was going to do, he delivered, which was refreshing.”
