Case Study: Sir Robert McAlpine
Creating an account management playbook and leadership training
Building trusted client relationships for a global contractor enterprise.
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A co-created consistent approach that the business could take true ownership of with support from senior leadership.
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Deeper and more resilient relationships within managed client accounts.
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Greater employee recognition of the role they play in developing trusted client relationships.
01.
The Brief
Sir Robert McAlpine (SRM) is the c.20th largest contractor in the UK but find themselves competing with the top five in most bids. They are known for delivering large, complex engineering projects, focusing on seven main industry sub-sectors.
The business has created a more diverse and resilient business model, increasing public sector revenue They have targeted public and private sector frameworks, generating 20% of current revenues and visible pipelines.
The team needed to find an expert partner to co-develop an approach to Account Management that would be accepted across the company and, therefore, drive consistency in both planning and execution.
They got under the skin of SRM and helped focus our attention on the value of a unified approach to account management. They felt like a true partner (and a great cultural fit for us) in that they worked closely with us to co-create the essence of what we needed to achieve.
Grant Findlay
Director of Business Development & Work Winning of Sir Robert McAlpine
02.
The Approach
Key to the success of this objective was ensuring the support of senior leaders in the business whose customer and market base were quite diverse; six initial key customers and account teams were identified to develop plans, take part in relevant skills training and in the process develop a better understanding of their clients. The approach was then extended to further accounts.
The appointment and approach led to a number of positive outcomes, not least an overall improvement in customer focus throughout all stages of the project life cycle i.e., not just during construction. Having seen the benefits of an improved customer account approach, the business intends to foster the same approach with its supply chain.
After some extensive restructuring in the company there was a strategic intent to improve the business approach towards customer selectivity and relationship management i.e., Account Management.
There was no formal or consistent approach to managing client relationships and accounts within SRM, including no dedicated resources. A number of key customers were identified as having ‘single point of failure’ relationships.
There was lack of understanding of the definition of client account management, including the roles and responsibilities required throughout all departments of the organization. Client account management activities were not recognized as part of everyone’s role.
03.
The Results
The new Sir Robert McAlpine brand:
As a result of the team’s work
