Case studies

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Organizational Turnaround for a Building Engineering Firm

Industry : Engineering
Category : Service
Location : British-Columbia

AVEL Consulting supported a specialized engineering firm in British Columbia through a critical organizational transformation. The firm, facing structural, operational, and financial inefficiencies, implemented major reforms in governance, project management, and leadership development. Within six months, the EBITDA improved by 6%, and $100K in overdue receivables were recovered within 10 days.

Problem

The client, a technical consultancy offering engineering services, was experiencing a range of challenges despite stable revenue (~$3M/year):

Lack of structured governance and role clarity.
No performance management or operational leadership.
Project delivery inefficiencies and untracked profitability.
Fragmented commercial strategy and unclear financials.
Misaligned or underskilled support functions (HR, Finance).
No formal long-term vision or strategic planning.

The impact was significant: stalled growth, reduced team engagement, and weakening client satisfaction.

Approach

AVEL Consulting conducted a full organizational diagnosis using its 3P (People, Process, Platform) methodology. Key insights were:

Structural leadership gap with an overreliance on a technically strong but operationally overwhelmed founder.
Absence of basic management systems (e.g., KPIs, org chart, pricing tools).
Underdeveloped project lifecycle management and inadequate financial oversight.
Mispositioned team members and unaddressed talent risks.
A company culture needing revitalization and alignment.

A two-phase approach was adopted:

A one-week intensive on-site intervention to address immediate operational and financial risks.
A long-term executive coaching engagement with the founder.

Solution

During the initial intervention, AVEL led a rapid deployment of foundational management practices:

Redefined roles, responsibilities, and updated the organizational chart.
Designed a structured management meeting cadence.
Reengineered the project delivery lifecycle from RFQ to invoicing.
Introduced tactical enhancements such as scope clarification in proposals, updated pricing tools, KPI tracking files, and ERP workflow adjustments.
Conducted workshops on time tracking and profitability analysis.

In parallel, executive coaching sessions guided the founder to:

Redefine his transitional leadership role.
Launch the search for a strong operational executive.
Tackle employee engagement and retention risks.
Build skills in decision-making, prioritization, and communication.
Oversee pricing reviews and enforce profitability tracking across services.

Results

- Immediate recovery of $100K in aged receivables.
- EBITDA improvement of 6% within six months.
- Full project profitability tracking implemented.
- Financial oversight and performance indicators reestablished.
- Operational leadership onboarded and empowered.
- Cultural and managerial maturity significantly enhanced.
- Greater team alignment and visibility on project performance and costs.
  Substantial early wins demonstrated the effectiveness of the intervention:

AVEL’s ongoing coaching continues to support the leadership team in reinforcing governance, scaling operations, and pursuing a sustainable growth trajectory.

Immediate recovery of $100K in aged receivable

EBITDA improvement of 6% within six months

Full project profitability tracking implemented

Financial oversight and performance indicators reestablished

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