Just the word ‘restructure’ can fill many employees and employers with dread, after all change is tough. But change can also be exciting. If you keep doing the same thing you will likely get the same result so if you need (or want) different results you need to make some changes.
Restructures typically come around as a result of:
- Reduction or changes in work
- Technological changes that change work processes
- Changing location of work
- Business closure
At Rise HR we support a variety of businesses, and in recent months we’ve been working on some change and restructure projects so we thought we’d share our top tips on how to plan and implement a restructure:
- Plan every step, every communication and consider lots of different scenarios- you can’t communicate too much in these situations.
- Write your business justification down, read it, edit it and get really comfortable with the reason why you need to make these changes.
- Review each existing job, and each new role in your structure. Map out similarities and differences, key skills, new responsibilities and reporting lines. The key is to have all the changes mapped out so that you can refer to it in consultation when you get asked the questions about “Who will do xxxx if my job doesn’t exist?”.
- Consult effectively, which means listening to and encouraging feedback, consider the alternatives- your team might have some great ideas.
- Don’t forget the people who are staying– these are the people who will be taking your business forward so plan time to check in with them, seek their feedback on the changes and keep them in the loop. You need them on side.
- Don’t forget the small stuff, who has keys to the office? who orders the coffee? what happens if someone is sick or on holiday?
- If you are having to make redundancies, consider career coaching or outplacement support– this is a nice gesture and helps those displaced to see light and opportunity after redundancy.
- Consider suitable alternatives– if you have any vacancies these should be considered as alternatives to redundancy, even if they are lower paid or different roles if a redundant person could do the role they should be offered it. Anyone on family leave would get priority for alternative roles.
You’ll also need to ensure you follow the statutory redundancy processes. So if you’re considering making some changes to your team structure, and would like some help to both ensure compliance but also get the most out of the process for you and your team why not get in touch: hello@risehr.co.uk.