However, HR leaders need to go beyond this in order to truly look after people. Hernon warns against neglecting the mental health impact when change occurs and says HR must be ready to provide support services to ease the transition.
“HR must be mindful of the long-term effect on company culture,” Hernon explains, “as restructuring multiple times can demotivate employees and lead to ‘change fatigue’, meaning employees become exhausted and not receptive to change, if not handled with sensitivity and fairness.” Cases of “survivor syndrome” may also need attention, where employees feel guilty that they’re still in position or employed when others are not.
Being clear and direct about what the restructure means is paramount to making the process effective. Since HR is going to be steering employees into the new arrangements, it has to be convinced that those new arrangements are going to work.
Gallard emphasises the need to have a well-thought-through direction that underpins everything. “A business owes it to its people to develop logical, data-driven business cases that align with wider communications,” he says. “Honesty and integrity in updates are crucial to avoid surprises.”
“HR must be mindful of the long-term effect on company culture, as restructuring multiple times can demotivate employees and lead to ‘change fatigue,’ meaning employees become exhausted and not receptive to change, if not handled with sensitivity and fairness.”
Uncertainty and disruption are frequently the result—or at least side effects—of restructuring, and Gallard notes businesses may need to plan for possible impacts on time management, outputs, and even financial results. There will also be a sense of the time scales over which this impact will occur and by when things should be back on track—or better than before. “Changes in roles and responsibilities affect upstream and downstream processes,” he notes. “It’s important to document and communicate new expectations clearly to support performance management.”
At the end of the day, it is always HR’s role to ensure people are being deployed in an optimum way and to the best of their abilities and potential. As such, it may be that part of HR’s job is to help those who are no longer required in the new business structure to find something to move on to. “Businesses should consider retraining, repositioning, or outplacement support to retain talent and fulfil legal and moral obligations,” says Hernon. “However, significant strategic pivots or financial constraints may make this impractical.”
Comprehensive talent management and succession planning may not always be possible, but simply shedding talent will do little for the esteem in which exiting employees may hold their previous employer and crucially have a detrimental effect on the employer’s brand. Even CV assistance from internal teams or job-seeking support from external agencies can make all the difference here. With a little thought and consideration, restructuring can ultimately be good for everyone involved.