In the ever-changing business world, workforce restructures are becoming more and more frequent for large organisations. But did you know, according to Gartner’s research, only 34% of change initiatives are considered a success. Clearly there’s plenty of room for improvement.
What are the main drivers for a restructure?
In the last year, the top 3 were:
- COVID-19
- Change in required skills
- Business expansion
Why do restructures fail?
HR plays an important role in the restructure process, generally due to the critical nature of the plan creation. Restructures must be designed and implemented very carefully, effectively managing any issues that arise. Here’s some common reasons why restructures don’t go as planned:
- Lack of connection to strategy – Business leaders may be moving roles and employees without a compelling case for change.
- Designs are based on outdated data or point-in-time analysis – Managers need to truly understand the org structure so they can base their design on accurate data. Since org designs can take months or sometimes years, it’s better to rely on real-time data. Otherwise you’ll fail to include changes that have happened since the org design project kicked off.
- Failure to collaborate with other decision makers – Engaging the opinions of other stakeholders will help with a smoother implementation of the restructure project. Communication must be clear. There should be a constant feedback loop to ensure everyone is on the same page with the transformation process.
- Too many pivots or a short-term focus – Leaders tend to get distracted by smaller disruptions or get fixated on what’s wrong today. Redesigns that only address immediate pain points often end up creating a new set of problems which is why having a long term plan is important when undertaking a restructure project.
Generally, the hardest part with managing a complex workforce restructure is keeping the project aligned. To make life a little easier, we’ve put together some helpful tips to help make sure your next restructure project is a success.
8 tips for a successful restructure
Watch our 30 minute webinar to learn how to take the pain out of the restructure process.
Agenda
- Clean-up your workforce data
- Share & assess the current state (in a secure way)
- Create future state scenarios & collaborate
- Ensure a fast, accurate management review process
- Clear process to update scenarios
- Coordinate approvals
- Track changes for HR rollout + HRIS update
- Facilitate quarterly reviews & org health check
Poll results
We asked our attendees a few questions about managing their restructuring projects. Here’s a snapshot of the results:
We hope you found this article valuable. If you have any additional questions relating to org redesign, we’re happy to help.