Every engagement starts with understanding what's actually happening before prescribing what should happen.
Understand the real operational patterns, not just the org chart. Where are decisions getting stuck? Where are systems out of sync? What's the gap between what leadership believes is happening and what actually is?
Separate symptoms from sources. Retention problems might trace to compensation, training gaps, management patterns, or a benefits platform that's been misconfigured for two years. The fix depends on finding the actual cause.
Design and implement infrastructure that solves the problem and scales. Not a slide deck with recommendations. Working processes, configured platforms, documented procedures, trained teams.
Build it so the organization can run it without you. Every engagement ends with the internal team owning the system, not depending on the consultant who built it.