Case study: Transportation
Data-driven organizational assessment to improve operational efficiency at Metro Area Transit Agency
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Every day, 200,000 people across a sprawling metro region depend on the local transit system for their daily commutes. The agency’s extensive network of buses, rail, streetcars, and on-demand services stretch across 700 square miles—a lifeline for a sprawling metro area.
But the transit agency was under pressure. And like other public transit agencies, the dual burden of maintaining aging infrastructure and funding new expansion intensified expectations to justify every dollar spent. In this environment, the CEO launched a bold strategic plan: make it the “first-in-mind mobility partner” for riders, stakeholders, and surrounding cities.
Leadership knew efficiency gaps could slow progress toward that vision. They set out to improve responsiveness, resource use, and decision-making by pinpointing inefficiencies. Through a competitive RFP, the agency selected Eagle Hill to assess operations in Procurement, Human Resources, and Data Management. The project focused on process improvement initiatives that would enhance efficiency of core processes. In just a few months, we completed a collaborative, data-driven organizational assessment—the first of its kind for the agency. The agency is now using the findings as a foundation for ongoing operational improvement.
Goal
Uncover operational inefficiencies to strengthen ways of working, drive process improvement, optimize the use of current resources, and enhance data management for use across the agency.
Unconventional consulting—and breakthrough results
documents reviewed and 41 leadership interviews conducted to distill key insights
improvement opportunities identified across assessment focus areas
prioritized and actionable recommendations developed
The challenge: Honoring sensitivities and building trust
Meaningful organizational assessments rely on honest, accurate input from stakeholders. Our experience working with clients across industries shows that individuals can be hesitant to share what’s not working—and why—when discussing their roles and organizations. That’s why Eagle Hill prioritizes building trust with leaders and staff and creating opportunities for partnership in every organizational assessment.
We earned the trust of leaders and staff through transparent engagement, protecting anonymity, and clearly communicating intent. The trust we built enabled productive collaboration with employees to identify and solve problems as a team and ultimately ensure the integrity of the assessment.
The roadmap to success: Employee perspectives meet data insights for process improvement
We grounded our assessment in a people-focused approach, combining employee perspectives with data-driven insights to create a holistic organizational assessment that directly supported process optimization and business efficiency. Knowing that data without context is just numbers, we built a meaningful business case by pairing empirical evidence with an understanding of the “why” behind it. This approach ensured that every recommendation aligned with the transit agency’s operational efficiency goals. For this reason, we were intentional about integrating first-hand employee experiences into our analysis. We engaged staff across departments and prioritized collaboration at every stage. Instead of being an “ivory tower assessment”, our approach was a collective effort rooted in transparency, trust, and shared purpose.
We were as intentional about how we worked as we were about what we delivered. Using anonymous surveys, confidential interviews, and facilitated workshops, we created safe forums for staff to speak freely. That candid feedback was essential to forming a data-driven consensus on root causes and priorities.
Our structured, evidence-based approach included:
Conducting a holistic review of data
We began by reviewing nearly 200 documents to establish a clear baseline of its current state. The team also designed and administered an agency-wide data management survey, which explored how data was collected, accessed, governed, and analyzed across departments. To contextualize our insights, we also conducted interviews with 41 leaders across 27 departments, gathering a broad range of perspectives on existing practices and challenges.
Facilitating productive Kaizen workshops
We brought together cross-departmental staff for intensive three-day Kaizen workshops. These sessions focused on identifying pain points and collaboratively surfacing practical solutions. The workshops proved highly effective in generating actionable insights, breaking down silos, fostering shared understanding, and building a holistic view of organizational inefficiencies.
In their own words
The response to the Kaizen workshops was overwhelmingly positive.
“Everyone appreciated having a literal seat at the table… You structured it well so it didn’t seem like a gripe session but more solution oriented.”
“They’re already looking to implement efficiencies even before the final report comes out… People are already looking forward to the next event and asking to be included.”
“These events really opened the lines of communications even within departments.”
Developing data-driven recommendations
We logged, validated, and synthesized discovery inputs. Through root cause analysis, we distilled just over 500 process improvement opportunities into 45 recommendations tied to 25 root causes. Each recommendation was tailored to address specific needs within Procurement, Human Resources, and Data Management.
Creating a useful prioritization framework
To support effective decision-making, we developed a custom prioritization tool to help the agency prioritize recommendations. Building on a standard industry framework that maps initiatives by value and effort, we worked closely with agency leaders to define four tailored criteria: reach, impact, effort, and urgency. Using this framework, the team scored each recommendation to ensure that the most valuable and feasible actions would be prioritized.
Maintaining momentum for successful execution
To help the organization sustain progress and capitalize on momentum for change, we developed practical supports to guide implementation, manage adoption, and mitigate risk. These included a detailed implementation roadmap and tailored change and risk management plans.
The path forward: From assessment to action
Agency leadership now has a clear path forward to achieve the transit agency’s strategic goals. Leaders leveraged outputs of this assessment as a starting point to identify actions to maintain momentum and realize benefits. Several high-priority, low-effort recommendations have already begun implementation, while others are under active review. The value of this engagement extends well beyond the final report. By including stakeholders throughout the process, delivering practical tools, and working transparently, the team produced a durable, agency-owned blueprint for continuous improvement.
