Transformation
When the budget has to shrink, redesign the work before you cut the people
Amanex takes on bigger transformation challenges for schools, colleges, nonprofits and service businesses: a budget that has to shrink, programs that need to merge, or growth your operation can’t carry. We redesign how the work gets done so you get leaner without layoffs.
Why this matters now
Fewer students, tighter funding, higher costs
US high school graduates peaked in 2025 and are projected to fall 13% by 2041, according to WICHE’s Knocking at the College Door. For schools and colleges, that means fewer students and applicants for years to come. Nonprofits are being asked to do more with less predictable funding, and small businesses are absorbing higher labor costs on thin margins.
When the pressure is this real, how the work gets done isn’t a back-office detail. It’s the difference between cutting what matters and protecting it.
The challenges we take on
Three situations where small fixes aren’t enough
A budget that has to shrink
Across-the-board cuts hit good programs and bad processes equally. We find where time and money are wasted first, so reductions come from the work that adds the least.
Programs that need to merge
Two departments, two schools or two organizations becoming one. We map how each one works today, design one way of working, and plan the move so service doesn’t drop during the change.
Growth your operation can’t carry
More students, clients or sites than your current processes were built for. We redesign intake, staffing, scheduling and reporting so the operation scales with the mission.
Our principle
Leaner without layoffs
Most organizations respond to pressure by cutting positions. We start somewhere else: with the steps, handoffs, approvals and rework that eat your staff’s time. When that waste comes out, the same people can serve more, or the same service costs less.
Your team keeps doing the work only they can do. We take on the analysis, the redesign and the heavy lifting of the change.
The toolkit
The methods large organizations pay for, chosen to fit the problem
We bring the toolkit large companies use to cut cost, raise quality and redesign how work gets done. We pick the method after we understand the problem.
Lean Six Sigma
A set of methods for removing waste and errors from a process. Useful when the work has too many steps, too many mistakes, or too much waiting.
Design thinking
A way to rebuild a service around the people who use it and the people who deliver it. Useful when two programs merge or a service needs a new shape.
Business analytics
Turning your own records into a clear picture of cost, demand and capacity. Useful for deciding what to keep, combine or change, like cost per person served or next year’s staffing.
Edwine Michel, our founder, is a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt who served as Director of Recruitment and Retention in the nation’s 10th-largest school district.
How an engagement runs
Transformation runs as a Fix project
Diagnose (about two weeks). We look at how the work actually flows today, using your own records, and show you where it costs the most in dollars and hours. You get a short, plain report with options and a recommended path.
Fix. Transformation work runs as a Fix project, scoped to the size of the change. We redesign the process, plan the transition with your leaders, and do the work alongside your staff until it runs.
Sustain (optional). Your team gets simple procedures and a short training, or we match you with a vetted specialist from our network. We stay on as the quality check with a monthly scorecard your board can read in five minutes.
Common questions
Questions about transformation projects
Can you really make us leaner without layoffs?
That’s the goal we design toward. We start by removing wasted steps and rework, which frees capacity without cutting people. If a decision about positions does come up, it’s yours to make, and we’ll show you the full cost and trade-offs of each option.
How is this different from a regular Fix?
The approach is the same: Diagnose, Fix, and an optional Sustain. Transformation projects cover more ground, often several offices at once, and they usually involve a board or leadership decision along the way.
We’re merging two programs. When should we call you?
Before the merger date, if you can. The earlier we map how each program works, the easier it is to design one way of working and keep service steady through the change.
Do you only use Lean Six Sigma?
No. Lean Six Sigma is one tool among several. We also use design thinking, business analytics and other proven methods, and choose based on the problem in front of us.
How do you price transformation work?
Fixed fees, agreed up front. No hourly meters. We work with procurement for public agencies, and many funders will cover our work as capacity building for nonprofits.
Tell us what has to change.
In 30 minutes we’ll tell you honestly whether we can help, and what a diagnostic would show.
