Media & Entertainment | Service Design | B2B | Organisational Design
Media Company Operating Model Transformation
Client
Little Dot Studios
Timeline
4 months
Role
Service Design Lead
Overview & Challenge
Little Dot Studios, a digital studio and broadcaster that distributes premium television shows and produces original content across social platforms, needed to transform its operating model to sustain growth. Having started as a small-scale startup in 2013, the company had experienced rapid expansion but needed to evolve its ways of working to continue scaling successfully.
Key Challenges
- Adapting operations to handle significantly increased production volume
- Maintaining creative quality while improving efficiency
- Creating clear career paths for a growing workforce
- Balancing commercial demands with creative innovation
- Developing consistent processes without stifling the company's agile culture
My Approach & Contribution
I led a comprehensive transformation journey, adopting a data-driven and collaborative approach to understand the current operating model and define what the company wanted to achieve in the future.
What I did
1. Conducted in-depth qualitative research over three months, including interviews, observations, and workshops with employees at various levels
3. Identified pain points and emotions associated with different tasks
5. Conducted a comprehensive analysis from multiple perspectives—operational, organisational, employee experience, and customer experience
7. Made 75 recommendations organised into 10 strategic opportunity areas
2. Worked closely with operations managers to map existing service delivery processes
4. Created service blueprints highlighting areas for improvement in the service delivery process
6. Developed key themes and opportunity areas, including Creativity, Efficiency, and Career Paths
The transformation journey had two main components:
Identifying the Future Operating Model
Through employee experience research, we assessed the company's culture, identified opportunities for career progression, and gathered customer insights to enhance the overall experience.
Designing Future Solutions
Based on our research insights, we identified key themes and opportunity areas, facilitated operational workshops to improve internal processes, and analysed the company from multiple perspectives.
Results & Impact
01
Identified three key themes that formed the basis for peer evaluation: Creativity, Efficiency, and Career Paths
03
Created service blueprints that highlighted improvement opportunities in service delivery
05
Positioned the company for sustainable growth without sacrificing its creative culture
02
Developed 75 specific recommendations organised into 10 strategic opportunity areas
04
Established a roadmap for future development and strategic focus
From our analysis, we identified several critical Opportunity Areas:
Creative Colalboration
Promoted teamwork, idea sharing, and open communication to improve innovation
Automation Efficiency
Optimised operations by leveraging AI and automation for specific tasks
Space for Experimentation
Balanced revenue generation with innovation by dedicating time for exploring new ideas
Creative Progression
Enhanced opportunities for senior staff to remain creative while expanding employee skill sets
Key Learnings
Creative companies need both freedom and structure. When scaling a creative business, efficiency and innovation work best as partners rather than enemies. The right processes actually make creativity more sustainable.
Mapping employee journeys reveals hidden opportunities. By looking at how people actually work day-to-day, we found simple ways to improve communication and create a more positive environment that didn't require major overhauls.
Growing pains are real for creative companies. The jump from startup to established business means keeping what made the company special while adding just enough structure to handle larger scale. Finding this balance matters more than anything else.
Mapping Service Blueprints
Created service blueprints that visualise end-to-end processes, highlighting improvement opportunities for both customer experience and operational efficiency.
