‘Question whether the reorganization is worth doing at all: are the benefits worth the costs (including the human cost) and risks?’

‘You should expect your reorganization to take longer if the organization is bigger, if you plan to bring in a lot of external talent to fill roles, or if you operate in countries with more legal requirements.’

‘Make a wider announcement to the organization, focused on what is happening, why, how long it will take, and when they will hear more.’

‘In reality, paper plans never work out exactly the way you intend. Do not think your reorg will be perfect (it never is), and be prepared to make course corrections.’

‘Start by defining the elements of the current organization that you want to test, with input from experts across the organization.’

‘Make sure that you understand the drivers of performance gaps– in particular, the activities that drive people costs.’

‘Determine the most powerful way of sharing the findings of your diagnostic with the leadership of the company (e.g., through a gallary walk rather than a straightforward presentation.’

‘Remember to focus on people and processes as much as, or more than, structure.’

‘Decide whether you should take a top-down or bottom-up approach to reorganization.’

‘Use the collective wisdom in your organization. You should hold brainstorming meetings with the staff closest to the action to generate ideas for improvements.’

‘Decide how you want to implement the changes: e.g., layer by layer, function by function, or all at once.’

Source

Stephen Heidari-Robinson and Suzanne Heywood (2016). Reorg: How to Get it Right