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Layer 04 of 6 — Operating Model Design

Service Delivery.
The moment the operating model meets the real world.

Service delivery is where everything else in the operating model is tested. The people design, the process design, the technology — all of it is only as good as the moment it reaches the customer, citizen or end user. CN designs service delivery models that match how people actually want to interact, with standards that are genuinely accountable rather than aspirational.

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01 People 02 Process 03 Technology 04 Service Delivery 05 Performance 06 Governance
What CN does in this layer

The work inside the layer

  • —Service design — defining what services the organisation offers and how they are structured
  • —Channel strategy — which channels serve which user needs, and how they connect
  • —Customer and citizen journey mapping — the experience of accessing and receiving the service
  • —Service standards definition — what good looks like, measurably
  • —Front-line capability design — what skills and knowledge the people delivering the service need
  • —Service accountability framework — who owns each service and what they are accountable for
  • —Demand management — understanding and planning for service demand patterns
  • —Service transition planning — moving from current to target service model without disrupting users
  • —User research and co-design — involving service users in the design of the service they will receive
  • —Digital channel design — designing digital service journeys that users can actually complete
How we do it

The CN approach

01
Start with the user, not the organisation
Service design begins with understanding what the user needs to achieve — not what the organisation has decided to offer. User research, journey mapping and co-design are used to understand the experience from the outside in before designing from the inside out.
02
Design the channel around the user need
Different users need different channels. Digital-first is not right for every user group or every transaction type. CN designs a channel strategy that serves the real population of users — including those who cannot or will not use digital channels.
03
Make service standards genuinely accountable
Service standards that exist on a slide but are not measured, reported or acted upon are worse than no standards — they create a false sense of assurance. CN designs standards that are specific, measurable and connected to management accountability.
04
Enable the front line, not just the back office
Service delivery lives in the hands of frontline staff. Operating model redesigns that focus on back-office efficiency but neglect frontline capability will deliver improved processes that are inconsistently applied.
05
Design transition to protect the user experience
Moving from one service model to another creates a period of risk for users. The transition plan must protect service continuity — users should experience the change as an improvement from day one, not a period of disruption.
What good looks like
  • ✓Services designed around user needs, not organisational convenience
  • ✓Channel strategy that serves all user groups
  • ✓Service standards that are measured and acted upon
  • ✓Front-line staff enabled to deliver to standard consistently
  • ✓User experience improving from transition date, not after bedding in
Warning signs
  • ✗Channel strategy driven by cost reduction, ignoring user need
  • ✗Service standards defined but not measured
  • ✗Front-line capability neglected in favour of system investment
  • ✗User research done after the service is designed
  • ✗Transition that improves the back office but disrupts the user
Connects to
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Process & Ways of Working
The end-to-end process determines how the service is delivered. Service design and process design must be aligned.
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People & Organisation
Front-line staff deliver the service. Their capability, accountability and management must support the service standard.
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Performance & Insight
Service performance must be measured. The KPI framework needs to capture what the user experiences, not just what the back office produces.
Part of the full model
This layer is one of six. Changing it without the others creates integration failures.
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Working on this layer?
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