Reorganization and downsizing create new challenges within an organization. Staff reductions can be very hard working on all employees. When the cause of layoffs is the result of economic pressure, there is nobody to blame and no fault to be found, but there is responsibility to the remaining colleagues to pull together and forge a strong foundation for the future. What should you do under these circumstances?
Responsibility to the Remaining Staff
Recognize the emotional consequences of reorganization. Significant restructuring impacts nearly every individual in the organization. Friendships that have been forged in daily interactions and mutual support are suddenly separated when one entity remains and another party is asked to leave. This inevitably impacts mental and emotional motivation.
Even without personal bonds of friendship or camaraderie, significant reductions in manpower result in substantial adjustments of workload. Just because the organization is capitulated to reduce operating expense does not mean that the amount of work has decreased. On the contrary, the nature of change means that there is more work and more responsibility, because the act of change requires effort. This means that the original workload is increased by the work of change. This also means that individuals may be required to absorb additional responsibilities even as they are learning them. There are fewer people to share the burden of the rate of change and the workload. The pressure felt by each person can be overwhelming at times.
It is important to recognize the psychological, emotional, and physical strain that is shared across the organization. While coping with the loss of colleagues, individuals inevitably question the security of their own position. It is not unusual for a reorganization to include other cost cutting changes, including adjustments to salaries or benefits, setting limits on work hours, or forced use of vacations. Sometimes the seemingly subtle acts of eliminating coffee, artwork, bottled water, or office aesthetics can send a loud message of fear and concern for the future. As a manager, leader, or colleague, it is important to recognize the signs of impact on everyone in the organization and to be prepared to respond accordingly.
How to Respond
Be open and honest in communications that relate to the stability and the future of the organization. If the cost cutting measures are over, then let it be known. If the expense reductions are targeted to reach a specific goal, then share the goal with the organization and share the effort to achieve the goals. Give employees and colleagues a venue to express concerns, vent frustration in proper and private setting, and collaborate on methods to counteract the stress.
Position Profiles
Each department should have well defined profiles of each position. A position profile consists of documented routines, responsibilities, and levels of authority. Immediately after a reorganization, these position profiles should be distributed and revised accordingly. Work assignments can be restructured and reallocated with documented clarity and explanation. As roles change, the new guardians of the responsibilities have documented instructions to follow, accompanied with guidelines, schedules, metrics, and reports of previous performance. It makes the transfer of responsibilities easier to manage and quicker to come up to speed.
Position Profiles are very different from job descriptions. A job description is typically a bulleted list of activities that may be performed by a particular job title, and the list of desired qualifications. This comes in handy when posting a position for hire, but is entirely inadequate as a position profile. A position profile should describe in detail the daily, weekly, or monthly routines performed by a person in a position. The position profile should include the metrics to measure performance, so there is an understanding as to determining the effectiveness of the job performed. The position profile should include a clearly defined level of authority for making decisions relevant to the completion of job related activities. For example, does this position have the authority to make a final decision, recommend, or influence a decision that has economic impact? It is good to have these things defined, especially when someone new inherits the responsibilities.
Uh-oh, if you do not currently have profiles, don't panic. This is as good a time as any to start creating them. If you do not have position profiles before the dust settles on the reorganization, then begin by asking each person to document a list of duties and responsibilities. When responsibilities are defined, review them as a group or department to make sure that nothing was overlooked. It is always surprising for individuals to realize how much each person contributes that may not have been fully recognized. When each person is confident that the lists are complete then begin to identify the metrics and goals associated with the performance of responsibilities. Goals may be based on time, schedules, financial metrics, or merely completion. Then define the level of authority associated with each task. Finally, create a step-by-step process that can be followed by another person. As you can imagine, such detailed profiles also come in handy when one person needs to fill in for another person during vacation and holidays.
The task of creating position profiles can bring a sense of purpose and clarity during a period of change and uncertainty. It encourages each person to reflect on new responsibilities in a very focused and structured manner. The documentation brings clarity to the position, and mutual understanding with management. Assigning and understanding the performance metrics are equally important for mutual alignment in anticipation of reviews and performance appraisals. Having a defined method of measuring tasks takes all the guesswork and effort out of creating fair performance appraisals.
Where to Find Short Term Success
The most powerful ideas for short term success and immediate impact will come from the employees. Listen to the creative ideas of the people who have the responsibility for getting the job done on a daily basis. Inevitably there is a wealth of creative ideas to automate processes, streamline workflow, and integrate activities. Create opportunities for employees to collaborate on ideas that can make their routines more effective and efficient. Create a platform to recognize and reward collaborative teams for developing cost cutting, performance enhancing, or streamlined processes. Collaborate with colleagues to do the same.
Where to Find Long Term Success
Powerful concepts for long term success will come from clients and partners. Listen to the voice of your customers, their needs, and their requirements. It is important to be aware of how economic pressures are impacting your clients, and it is just as important to recognize when clients are experiencing new growth. Look for partners to help meet the needs of customers today, and develop a platform to be ahead of your competitors in the future. Investing in innovative strategic platforms today enables an organization to race past the competition in the coming months. Be aware of the innovation and be prepared to work with experienced partners. Having the right strategic partner and platform can empower an organization to stay ahead of client needs and the competition.
Good Times are Good, but Bad Times Make Us Better
It is easy to be complacent during periods of successive growth and profitability. Global stock markets have demonstrated the degree to which rising promise and good fortune can mask a multitude of shortcomings, bad decisions, or impractical investments. In some very public instances, bad business practices were exposed by a rapid decline in fortunes. While the good times make it easy to share enthusiasm and success, it is the bad times that require organizations and individuals to reflect and make necessary changes. When these changes are planned and practical, the adjustments forge a stronger foundation for the future. It is a time to be internally honest about the requirements for survival. It is a time for teams and partners to collaborate for maximum performance, efficiency, and productivity. The tough periods offer an excuse to address our sense of purpose and to jettison distractions that interfere with the real requirements.
There is a very common pattern that exists with organizations and individuals. Greater accomplishments are often realized after a period of great challenge. Sustained periods of success and good times typically graduate into a plateau of complacency. The person or organization is satisfied with status quo or mild growth, and the satiated appetite loses the hunger to achieve. However, after a period of sharp decline, the natural response is to reorganize and adjust to rebuild. When the adjustment and planning are augmented by sustained effort, the new successes inevitably surpass the previous plateaus. A period of great challenge is indeed an opportunity to reinvent and renew that passion that propelled your previous successes. Turn the concern into a burning fire of desire to succeed, and share the passion.
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution."- Bertrand Russell
"Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better."- King Whitney Jr
"Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don't fight them. Just find a different way to stand.”- Oprah Winfrey
______________________________________________________
Responsibility to the Remaining Staff
Recognize the emotional consequences of reorganization. Significant restructuring impacts nearly every individual in the organization. Friendships that have been forged in daily interactions and mutual support are suddenly separated when one entity remains and another party is asked to leave. This inevitably impacts mental and emotional motivation.
Even without personal bonds of friendship or camaraderie, significant reductions in manpower result in substantial adjustments of workload. Just because the organization is capitulated to reduce operating expense does not mean that the amount of work has decreased. On the contrary, the nature of change means that there is more work and more responsibility, because the act of change requires effort. This means that the original workload is increased by the work of change. This also means that individuals may be required to absorb additional responsibilities even as they are learning them. There are fewer people to share the burden of the rate of change and the workload. The pressure felt by each person can be overwhelming at times.
It is important to recognize the psychological, emotional, and physical strain that is shared across the organization. While coping with the loss of colleagues, individuals inevitably question the security of their own position. It is not unusual for a reorganization to include other cost cutting changes, including adjustments to salaries or benefits, setting limits on work hours, or forced use of vacations. Sometimes the seemingly subtle acts of eliminating coffee, artwork, bottled water, or office aesthetics can send a loud message of fear and concern for the future. As a manager, leader, or colleague, it is important to recognize the signs of impact on everyone in the organization and to be prepared to respond accordingly.
How to Respond
Be open and honest in communications that relate to the stability and the future of the organization. If the cost cutting measures are over, then let it be known. If the expense reductions are targeted to reach a specific goal, then share the goal with the organization and share the effort to achieve the goals. Give employees and colleagues a venue to express concerns, vent frustration in proper and private setting, and collaborate on methods to counteract the stress.
Position Profiles
Each department should have well defined profiles of each position. A position profile consists of documented routines, responsibilities, and levels of authority. Immediately after a reorganization, these position profiles should be distributed and revised accordingly. Work assignments can be restructured and reallocated with documented clarity and explanation. As roles change, the new guardians of the responsibilities have documented instructions to follow, accompanied with guidelines, schedules, metrics, and reports of previous performance. It makes the transfer of responsibilities easier to manage and quicker to come up to speed.
Position Profiles are very different from job descriptions. A job description is typically a bulleted list of activities that may be performed by a particular job title, and the list of desired qualifications. This comes in handy when posting a position for hire, but is entirely inadequate as a position profile. A position profile should describe in detail the daily, weekly, or monthly routines performed by a person in a position. The position profile should include the metrics to measure performance, so there is an understanding as to determining the effectiveness of the job performed. The position profile should include a clearly defined level of authority for making decisions relevant to the completion of job related activities. For example, does this position have the authority to make a final decision, recommend, or influence a decision that has economic impact? It is good to have these things defined, especially when someone new inherits the responsibilities.
Uh-oh, if you do not currently have profiles, don't panic. This is as good a time as any to start creating them. If you do not have position profiles before the dust settles on the reorganization, then begin by asking each person to document a list of duties and responsibilities. When responsibilities are defined, review them as a group or department to make sure that nothing was overlooked. It is always surprising for individuals to realize how much each person contributes that may not have been fully recognized. When each person is confident that the lists are complete then begin to identify the metrics and goals associated with the performance of responsibilities. Goals may be based on time, schedules, financial metrics, or merely completion. Then define the level of authority associated with each task. Finally, create a step-by-step process that can be followed by another person. As you can imagine, such detailed profiles also come in handy when one person needs to fill in for another person during vacation and holidays.
The task of creating position profiles can bring a sense of purpose and clarity during a period of change and uncertainty. It encourages each person to reflect on new responsibilities in a very focused and structured manner. The documentation brings clarity to the position, and mutual understanding with management. Assigning and understanding the performance metrics are equally important for mutual alignment in anticipation of reviews and performance appraisals. Having a defined method of measuring tasks takes all the guesswork and effort out of creating fair performance appraisals.
Where to Find Short Term Success
The most powerful ideas for short term success and immediate impact will come from the employees. Listen to the creative ideas of the people who have the responsibility for getting the job done on a daily basis. Inevitably there is a wealth of creative ideas to automate processes, streamline workflow, and integrate activities. Create opportunities for employees to collaborate on ideas that can make their routines more effective and efficient. Create a platform to recognize and reward collaborative teams for developing cost cutting, performance enhancing, or streamlined processes. Collaborate with colleagues to do the same.
Where to Find Long Term Success
Powerful concepts for long term success will come from clients and partners. Listen to the voice of your customers, their needs, and their requirements. It is important to be aware of how economic pressures are impacting your clients, and it is just as important to recognize when clients are experiencing new growth. Look for partners to help meet the needs of customers today, and develop a platform to be ahead of your competitors in the future. Investing in innovative strategic platforms today enables an organization to race past the competition in the coming months. Be aware of the innovation and be prepared to work with experienced partners. Having the right strategic partner and platform can empower an organization to stay ahead of client needs and the competition.
Good Times are Good, but Bad Times Make Us Better
It is easy to be complacent during periods of successive growth and profitability. Global stock markets have demonstrated the degree to which rising promise and good fortune can mask a multitude of shortcomings, bad decisions, or impractical investments. In some very public instances, bad business practices were exposed by a rapid decline in fortunes. While the good times make it easy to share enthusiasm and success, it is the bad times that require organizations and individuals to reflect and make necessary changes. When these changes are planned and practical, the adjustments forge a stronger foundation for the future. It is a time to be internally honest about the requirements for survival. It is a time for teams and partners to collaborate for maximum performance, efficiency, and productivity. The tough periods offer an excuse to address our sense of purpose and to jettison distractions that interfere with the real requirements.
There is a very common pattern that exists with organizations and individuals. Greater accomplishments are often realized after a period of great challenge. Sustained periods of success and good times typically graduate into a plateau of complacency. The person or organization is satisfied with status quo or mild growth, and the satiated appetite loses the hunger to achieve. However, after a period of sharp decline, the natural response is to reorganize and adjust to rebuild. When the adjustment and planning are augmented by sustained effort, the new successes inevitably surpass the previous plateaus. A period of great challenge is indeed an opportunity to reinvent and renew that passion that propelled your previous successes. Turn the concern into a burning fire of desire to succeed, and share the passion.
______________________________________________________
Words of Wisdom
"The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution."- Bertrand Russell
"Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better."- King Whitney Jr
"Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don't fight them. Just find a different way to stand.”- Oprah Winfrey
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