Establishing the Core

The foundation of this transformation project began with an exploration into CHARIS’ existing operational model. Consulus employed the Unity 4.0 Audit to assess CHARIS’ readiness for change. This audit was a comprehensive survey sent to leaders of management and member organizations, covering operational, organizational, and brand-related aspects.

The results, presented in detailed graphs during a strategic workshop, provided a clear picture of CHARIS’ current state and highlighted areas for improvement. This also laid the groundwork for a new Purpose Statement which was crafted to act as a strategic framework that aligns with the Archdiocesan goals and a guiding principle for the next evolution of the company to ensure that all future operational developments would be effective in the field and aligned with their overarching mission.

Bridging Ideas and Implementation

With a strong foundation established, the next step was to translate these ideas into actionable strategies. Consulus facilitated a strategic workshop on 11 January 2020, where board members from CHARIS participated in shaping a comprehensive strategic document using Consulus’ 9-dimensions framework. This document was designed to guide CHARIS’ future actions and ensure that all initiatives align with the newly defined purpose. Key strategic priorities were established for both the immediate and long term to help align resources effectively towards successful actions for changing the operating model.

In addition, a key output from this workshop was the development of a new engagement framework to enhance communication and collaboration within the CHARIS network and with the broader Archdiocese. The engagement workshop held on 12 January 2020, further solidified these strategies by introducing new collaborative activities and services aimed at improving partner, affiliate, and donor experiences.

Enhancing the Strategy

As the project moved forward, initial recommendations were put into place to refine CHARIS’ vision and operational model. Immediate actions included the following:

• Developing engagement plans to enhance the experiences of partners, affiliates, and donors
• Redesigning elements of the industrial framework to introduce new collaborative activities and services that would drive impact in the mid-term
• Creating a constitutional framework for organizational effectiveness to ensure that CHARIS’ operations would be sustainable and aligned with its strategic purpose in the long run.

This holistic approach to organizational design, combined with a sensory experience to secure buy-in from all stakeholders, reinforced CHARIS’ well-preparedness to face future challenges while staying true to its mission of helping society at large.