CASE STUDY
Creating Actionable Steps to Move Forward
Redesigned team structure
A practical restructuring roadmap helped one client address turnover, improve capacity, strengthen morale, and protect a highly profitable business line.
The challenge
A client was experiencing significant turnover in one of their business lines.
After losing a substantial portion of the team, the department was struggling with capacity issues. Remaining staff were overworked, morale was low, and the owner was spending a significant amount of time trying to hire replacements.
The situation was especially frustrating because this was one of the company’s most profitable business lines. Without a clear path forward, the owner was considering shutting the department down entirely.
What changed
Gemsbok worked with the client to assess the root cause of the turnover and create a practical roadmap for moving forward.
Through that process, Gemsbok identified that the department was not structured in a way that made the best use of its people. The work required highly skilled, technical employees, but those same employees were also responsible for repetitive support tasks that did not require the same level of expertise.
This created frustration for senior staff, made hiring more difficult, and contributed to a work environment that was not working for the team or the business.
Gemsbok worked with department staff to better understand the difference between strategic work and tactical support work. From there, Gemsbok recommended restructuring the department into pod teams, separating the existing role into two clearer functions: a senior strategic role and a support role.
This included:
Defining new roles to separate technical work from support tasks
Creating pod teams to improve workflow and accountability
Reducing pressure on senior staff by removing repetitive work from their responsibilities
Creating a lower-level support role that was easier to hire for and train
Building a path for junior staff to grow into more strategic, technical roles over time
Supporting implementation through role definition, training, and team transition planning
Gemsbok worked with the client through the transition, helping define the new roles, train employees on their updated responsibilities, and assess where team members were or were not aligned with the new structure.
The outcome
The restructuring allowed the client to hire junior-level staff, relieve pressure on senior employees, and improve the way work moved through the department.
The new pod teams created workflow efficiencies that allowed the department to take on more work than expected. Staff morale also improved. Employees became more engaged, more motivated, and better supported in their roles.
Instead of shutting down the department, the client was able to keep the profitable business line open and make it stronger.
The new structure became a model the company could apply across other areas of the business.