How to Deliver a Target Operating Model in a Midsize Business (And the Skills You’ll Need)

Delivering a new target operating model in a midsize business is a significant undertaking. It isn’t just about rewriting process diagrams or deploying new technology. It’s about reshaping how the organisation functions; how people work, make decisions, and create value. For hiring and resourcing teams, understanding what it takes to successfully deliver a new operating model is crucial. The way a business designs, staffs, and supports the transition often determines whether the changes stick or fade away after the initial launch.

What Is a Target Operating Model and Why It Matters

A target operating model describes how a business organises itself to deliver its strategy. It typically includes business processes, organisational structure, technology, governance, and metrics. When a business decides to change its operating model, it’s usually because existing ways of working no longer support growth ambitions, competitive pressures, or transformation goals.

Industry analysts describe operating model change as a key part of business transformation, especially for organisations looking to scale or innovate in fast-moving markets.

People Are at the Heart of Change

One of the first things hiring teams should recognise is that delivering an operating model change is fundamentally a people-centric challenge. While technology platforms and process redesigns are visible parts of the change, real success depends on how people adopt new ways of working. Talent resourcing strategies need to anticipate not just the skills required to build the model but also the capabilities to sustain it, from leaders who drive cultural alignment to operational teams executing daily work under the new model.

“In many cases, they are looking beyond previously established people management practices and people function (or HR) operating models and taking a step into the future of people management.” – McKinsey

Balancing Flexibility and Expertise in Midsize Businesses

For midsize businesses, one of the biggest considerations is balance. These organisations often sit between the agility of smaller companies and the complexity of larger enterprises. They may have fewer specialised roles but greater flexibility to shift priorities quickly.

“However, the key to a successful transformation lies in more than just technology implementation. It requires a well-defined Target Operating Model (TOM) that acts as a strategic guide, ensuring operations are optimized to drive growth and address future challenges effectively.” – SAPinsider

This means hiring and internal resourcing must be purposeful and aligned with what the new operating model aims to achieve. If a business is moving toward a customer-centric model, resourcing teams may need to strengthen roles in customer success, data analytics, and digital engagement, not just traditional operations or IT.

Governance, Metrics, and Measuring Success

Delivering a new operating model requires clear governance and value measures. Organisations should define success early and agree on metrics that matter, spanning customer outcomes, efficiency gains, financial performance, or employee engagement. Hiring teams should identify talent who can execute and also track, report, and optimise value delivery. Success metrics should be reinforced through coaching, incentives, and leadership behaviours.

External Expertise and Hybrid Roles

A common challenge in midsize businesses is that internal teams may lack experience with large-scale transformation initiatives. External expertise and hybrid roles often become critical. Organisations frequently bring in transformation leads, operating model specialists, or consultants to help design and implement changes while mentoring internal staff. These hybrid engagements help build internal capability while ensuring execution gaps don’t stall the project.

Technology, Tools, and People Integration

Midsize businesses may adopt new platforms, automation, or data tools as part of the operating model shift. Technology alone does not drive change; success comes when teams understand how to use these tools effectively. Resourcing practices should ensure that roles with both technical proficiency and operational context are present. This includes upskilling around data literacy, cloud solutions, workflow automation, or digital collaboration tools, depending on the model’s direction.

“Perhaps the biggest change is the realisation that the operating model is no longer static. Leading organisations now treat it as a continuously evolving system that is enhanced based on strategic priorities, external shifts, and internal learning.” – k3

Communication and Change Leadership

Communication plays a central role in operating model delivery. Employees need clarity on what is changing, why it matters, and how their daily work will be different. Hiring and resourcing teams can support this by ensuring change leadership, internal communications, and organisational development skills are present in the project team. Roles focusing on employee experience, stakeholder engagement, and organisational readiness help adoption happen faster and with less resistance.

Timing, Phasing, and Lifecycle Resourcing

Delivering a new operating model unfolds in phases: design, build, test, transition, and full adoption. Each phase benefits from different skills and capabilities. Staffing often focuses on design and planning early, but execution and sustainment capabilities may be overlooked. Hiring strategies that account for the entire lifecycle of the operating model, from design to run, will be more robust and less reactive.

Leadership Alignment and Accountability

Successful operating model change depends on leadership alignment. Leaders must not only support the transformation but embody it. Hiring for leadership roles should prioritise individuals with experience shaping culture, leading change, and holding teams accountable. Leadership reinforces new behaviours and ensures the operating model becomes embedded in day-to-day operations.

Conclusion: Aligning Talent with Transformation

Delivering a new target operating model in a midsize business is complex but achievable when organisations consider people, process, technology, and leadership holistically. For hiring and resourcing teams, it’s not enough to fill roles; teams must be intentionally shaped to support both the transition and the long-term model. Organisations that anticipate skill needs, invest in capability building, and align talent with strategic outcomes are better positioned to realise the value that operating model change promises.