APAC 2017 Australian Enterprise Awards

26 APAC / Australian Enterprise Awards 2017 , AE170017 Best Performance Improvement Consultants 2017 - East Australia 451 Consulting support their clients to help deliver sustained performance improvement. We invited Gerard O’Hara to talk us through the firm’s service offering inmore detail. Established in 2001, in their home state of Queensland, 451 have continued to grow and develop their service offering across the Eastern Seaboard of Australia within four key capability disciplines: strategy, transformation, performance improvement and projects. It is the third of these disciplines that has seen the biggest demand from 451’s client base in the last 12 months, with organisations as diverse as mid-tier financial services firms to large regional councils looking to develop PI capability so practitioners can be deployed across their organisation, identifying and implementing business improvement opportunities in partnership with operational areas. The benefits can be compelling, with the ability to continually uplift customer service, efficiency and performance. Drawing on its vast experience in the market, 451 has been able to build up this view of what works and does not work in the Performance Improvement field through extensive practical experience implementing such programs with their clients for over 12 years, as Gerard is keen to emphasise. “Here at 451, when organisations ask us how to create and embed an internal PI function, we suggest they have two broad options. Firstly, they could build a business case to justify the cost of more positions and capability development programs and offset this against specific PI targets which would ensure a short pay-back period. Any successful PI team should be able to cover their direct costs three times over each year (as a minimum) through targeted efficiency programs. Alternatively, a more conservative organisation may engage an organisation such as ourselves to undertake a pilot program for an initial 3 to 6-month period to prove that this can work within their organisation and their culture. When the pilot is successful, the organisation can invest in a dedicated team for the longer term with more confidence. “Fundamentally, we strongly believe the role of management consultants needs to evolve to stay relevant in today’s fast paced organisational environments. Instead of just writing reports with recommendations, 451 are committed to working alongside clients to identify and implement productive change that delivers sustained performance improvement.” Overall, 451 Consulting P have supported over 100 leading Australian businesses and government clients since inception, providing specialist capability in strategy, transformation, performance improvement and projects. Moving forward, the firm foresees even greater interest in its service offering which it is keen to take advantage of, as Gerard concludes. “Currently, a trend we are witnessing is that many leading organisations want to foster a performance improvement culture that consistently delivers innovation, and uplifts organisational performance. These organisations understand that the best way to do this can be to create a small dedicated team with strong PI capability, and they appreciate the team will need to get runs-on-the-board quickly to establish business credibility. 451 Consulting are one of few Managing Consultants who specialise in fast-track internal PI capability. “As such, we firmly believe that PI capability is sure to feature highly in many forward- thinking organisations’ plans for the coming year. It is good to know that external support and knowledge transfer is available to underpin success and lower risk in this growing subject area, and we are looking forward to supporting new clients and showcasing our expertise in this vital area over the months and years to come.” Company: 451 Consulting Pty Ltd Contact: Gerard O’Hara Contact Email: [email protected] Address: 377 Montague Road, West End, QLD, 4101, Australia Phone: 0061 428 451 451 Web Address: www.451consulting.com.au