Cadent Gas: Driving Productivity and Culture Change Across the UK’s Largest Gas Network

Project Overview

Cadent Gas, the UK’s largest gas distribution network, faced challenges in performance, morale, and customer satisfaction following its separation from National Grid. Despite investment in operational change, the shift to a more decentralised model had stalled. VISION Consulting was brought in to reignite the transformation – this time by focusing on culture, collaboration, and a new way of managing work.

Across 12 depots, we worked shoulder-to-shoulder with Cadent’s teams to embed a new mindset of entrepreneurial ownership and deliver sustainable productivity and service improvements.

Challenge

Cadent had inherited a highly centralised and hierarchical operating model that stifled collaboration and innovation at the local level. This structure led to:

• Inefficient work allocation and planning
• Siloed teams and disengaged frontline staff
• Poor productivity and bottom-tier performance on regulator KPIs
• A culture of resignation and low morale

Attempts to decentralise operations had failed to gain traction, eroding confidence in leadership and heightening scrutiny from investors and the regulator.

Approach

VISION tackled the challenge not with top-down directives, but by instilling a new way of working rooted in trust, commitments, and local ownership. Our approach combined behavioural change, process redesign, and leadership development across three core pillars:

Signature Practices

We co-designed and implemented a suite of management tools and rituals, including:

• Commitment-Based Management™ (CbM): Establishing promise-based accountability
• Three-Week Rolling Planning: Connecting long-term regulatory goals with daily field execution
• Make Work Ready: Ensuring engineers had complete and actionable job packs
• Daily Huddles and Operational Reviews: Driving real-time coordination and alignment

These practices were documented in a customised Blue Book to support consistency and knowledge transfer.

Pilot-to-Rollout Execution

Beginning with a 12-week pilot in three depots, we tested, refined, and scaled the practices across nine more depots. Each rollout involved:

• Hands-on support from VISION coaches and mobilisers
• Collaborative design sessions with Repair, Emergency, and Planning teams
• Tailoring practices to each depot’s context to ensure fit and adoption

Leadership and Culture Shift

We coached depot leaders and supervisors to think and act like “entrepreneurial engineers” – empowered to design their own work, solve problems locally, and put customer value at the centre of every decision. A train-the-trainer model ensured lasting internal capability through Cadent’s own network of change leaders.

Results

20% Increase in Productivity

Repair crews increased their daily job completion rate without compromising safety or quality.

Improved Customer Satisfaction

Cadent’s ranking with the regulator rose significantly, moving the business from the bottom third to the top half of performance scores.

Cost Savings and ROI

Annualised cost savings exceeded £10 million, driven by more efficient planning, reduced rework, and better resource utilisation.

Sustainable Change

All 12 depots adopted VISION’s practices, with 100% of depot teams and planners engaging in ongoing process improvement and commitment-based leadership.

Conclusion

VISION helped Cadent replace a legacy of command-and-control with a culture of entrepreneurial ownership. Through collaborative design, local empowerment, and commitment-led management, Cadent transformed its depot operations into high-performing, customer-focused teams – and set a new benchmark for culture-led transformation in the utilities sector.