Reorganization and change management

As teams grow, reorganization becomes inevitable. Along with defining the structure of the reorganization, communicating the reorganization can be difficult to execute. Communication turns out to be a critical component of a successful reorganization. Camille Fournier provides an excellent discussion and the following diagram.

Let’s examine each part in detail:

Vision is what the organization looks like after the structural change. This could be an org chart. It should be accompanied by why the reorganization is necessary.

Skills is the requirement that all are capable in their new roles, which includes whatever management activity is necessary.

Incentives provide motivation for people to succeed in their roles, whether it’s people moving to new roles (by choice or not), or people staying in their existing roles (by choice or not).

Resources is enusring all have what they need to succeed in their roles, either new or existing. If a reorganization removes critical resources from a role which is otherwise unchanged, the likelihood of succeed diminishes.

Action Plan provides a step-wise procedure getting from the current organization to the new organization. A good action plan will address Vision, Skills, Incentives, and Resources as discussed above.

These steps don’t quite provide a recipe for success, but surely provide necessary ingredients.