Background

This client is a leading South African University of Technology focused on “digitally smart industrial transformation.” The university had operated with unchanged organisational structures since 2016, creating mounting operational challenges and structural inefficiencies that required systematic resolution.

What was the business challenge?

The client faced critical organisational issues:

• Financial Crisis: Personnel costs exceeding the DHET’s, projected to rise
• Workforce Instability: High university-wide vacancy rate with some divisions above 24%
• Budget Inefficiency: Nearly half of the budget is unutilised for full-time positions
• Structural Problems: Span of control violations and reporting bottlenecks across divisions

Overview of the scope of Laetoli’s involvement

Laetoli was engaged to conduct a comprehensive organisational refinement project encompassing:

• Five major portfolios: Vice-Chancellor, Teaching & Learning, RICI, Resources & Operations, Registrar with 2,226 positions across all university directorates
• Detailed review of all divisions including Quality Promotion Unit, faculties, and support services
• Financial sustainability modelling and implementation planning
• Review of the business model and development of a business model canvas
• Review of the operating model and development of a standard operating model and value chain to inform
• Review of the client’s digital transformation framework and architecture and recommendation of a new framework

How did we address this business challenge?

• Innovative Analytics: Developed custom Stability Index and Cost Efficiency metrics to quantify organisational performance across all divisions
• Strategic Assessment: Revealed overall stability with significant variations (27.3% to 100% across divisions) and identified more than R600 million in optimisation opportunities.
• Phased Implementation: Created a prioritised rollout strategy balancing immediate needs with long-term sustainability.
• Best Practice Identification: Highlighted internal stability benchmarks to inform the institutional excellence model.

What steps did Laetoli take to ensure sustainability?

Institutional Capacity Building

• Strategic Staffing Committee: Recommended establishment of a cross-functional team with executive authority to oversee implementation and ongoing organisational management.
• Performance Monitoring Systems: Created real-time dashboards for stability indices, cost efficiency, and budget utilisation across all divisions.
• Governance Frameworks: Developed quarterly review processes with corrective action protocols.

Financial Management Systems 

• Budget Reconciliation Processes: Implemented systematic approaches to align budgets with strategic priorities and actual capacity.
• Revenue Enhancement Strategies: Identified opportunities for alternative funding through research centres, executive education, and international partnerships.
• Strategic Reserve Fund: Recommended establishment of contingency resources for critical staffing interventions.

What were the successes of the project?

The intervention of Laetoli produced the following key successes:

Financial Optimisation: Identified R600+ million in budget optimisation opportunities

Strategic Clarity: Delivered actionable roadmap within financial constraints

Excellence Benchmarking: Established a benchmark institutional index model

Risk Mitigation: Prevented potential institutional decline through early intervention

Sustainable Framework: Created a replicable methodology for ongoing organisational management

In reference to Laetoli, this client wrote the following: “The project provided the institution with evidence-based organisational transformation, preventing financial crisis while maintaining educational excellence. Laetoli’s analytical frameworks became institutional benchmarks, enabling data-driven decision-making and sustainable workforce management.”