Background:
An Integrated Care Board (ICB) in England, formed through the merger of six legacy finance teams, was facing a common post-integration challenge: multiple teams operating in silos, varied working methods, duplicated tasks, and unclear accountability. Despite consolidation, there was no single view of workload or performance, and no consistent way of onboarding new staff.
Recognising the inefficiencies impacting productivity and cost management, the ICB commissioned Meridian Productivity to assess operations and deliver measurable improvements across its corporate finance services.
Analysis:
Meridian’s two-week diagnostic study revealed systemic inefficiencies across financial planning, financial control, and commissioning finance:
Teams with the same job titles used different methods and had varying workloads
No consistent or documented processes for recurring tasks
Inconsistent management oversight, leading to uneven productivity and duplication
Absence of capacity planning tools to track who was doing what, and when
Training gaps and minimal support for onboarding new hires
A lack of alignment between effort and value-added activity
This baseline confirmed that a standardised, capacity-aware operating model could unlock significant savings and improve the quality of financial support to the wider ICB.
Implementation:
Over an 18-week improvement programme, Meridian embedded practical, measurable changes across the finance function:
Developed and implemented 26 Procedure Control Documents, standardising delivery across all functions
Delivered management training workshops focused on practical leadership and tactical decision-making
Introduced workload and capacity tracking dashboards, providing visibility of real-time performance
Defined core vs. non-core activities, setting consistent expectations for roles
Created an induction-ready training manual to streamline onboarding and reduce time to productivity
Installed weekly performance KPIs, enabling managers to act on variances quickly
By supporting both the technical and behavioural sides of change, Meridian helped shift the finance team from reactive to proactive.
Results:
The transformation delivered outstanding, sustainable results:
£65,000 in weekly savings—equating to over £3.3 million annually
75 hours of unnecessary weekly workload removed across teams
Core workload delivery rose from:
41% to 55% in Commissioning Finance
28% to 75% in Financial Control
16% to 61% in Financial Planning
For the first time, the department had a granular, role-by-role understanding of capacity and output
The ICB’s finance department is now leaner, more focused, and better positioned to support clinical teams and system-wide priorities with accurate, timely financial insight.
