As the economy continues to struggle, companies continue to reduce cost, shuffle leadership and RE-ORGANIZE. The dreaded re-org. Personally, I have experienced two within one year, completely out of my control. Decisions have been made regarding my career path that did not involve my input in any way, shape or form. And, word on the street is, another re-org is in store for our department. In a climate where people are lucky to have employment, have we completely lost the right to choose our career path?
With a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, an MBA, 10 years of experience and other certifications relevant to my field of expertise, I feel that I have put in the time and effort to be able to determine what position I spend 40 or more hours a week in. While I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to be working for a company that is going through change in order to be more competitive in the marketplace, I do question the need for a forced restructuring without input from current employees.
The effects I have observed from our re-organizing/layoffs have been:
- Lack of morale.
- Decreased productivity.
- Increased stress.
- Reduced ability to be empowered.
- Lack of trust in organizational communication.
- Increased work load.
I firmly believe in change and improving processes. To encourage the current work force to be empowered to drive this change, I would think including them in a restructuring effort would be beneficial to the employee and the company. A healthy respect for management and senior leadership is crucial to the success of a company, but employees are also a necessity. Why not offer them the opportunity to help shape the organization for a profitable future?
Would it be detrimental to a company’s well-being to offer the following?
- Training in process improvement and project management.
- Cross functional teams with employees who have chosen to participate and the tools necessary to complete a project.
- Interviews with current employees to understand their career interests/goals and to also allow a manager a few minutes to observe and interact in a one on one setting.
- Simple recognition/encouragement for goals met or change that has increased productivity/reduced costs.
- Leadership development programs for employees to engage in the new leadership style.
Have you been through a recent re-structure? Have you noticed a positive or negative reaction from fellow employees? Please share.
