Human-Centric Services for successful Restructuring

Some consultants say that you shouldn’t dwell on the past when restructuring. But every organization has a collective memory. If you fail to recognize this, you won’t understand why employees develop fears and withdraw their loyalty. We therefore strongly recommend taking the time to investigate the collective past. This also allows us to check whether all employees have already fully experienced a previous restructuring, what experiences they gained from it, and how motivated they are with regard to a possible new restructuring.

Once the collective past has been determined, top executives should develop their restructuring plans in small groups, taking these findings into account. They should then communicate the plans to those affected as early and openly as possible. It is also advisable to obtain objective feedback on the plans from those affected. The aim is not to have them fundamentally question the plans, but rather to have them evaluate them on the basis of their professional expertise so that the plans can be adjusted if necessary. This early and open communication helps to prevent rumors.

As the reorganization progresses, it is the task of professional internal communication to create a team spirit. This gives those affected the opportunity to develop loyalty and identification with the newly structured organization. We have been designing and implementing such measures for many years. At the heart of our approach is multimedia (business) storytelling, because identity is created through stories.

Proactive change management attempts to minimize hurt feelings and emotional damage during restructuring. Otherwise, this inevitably leads to a rapid decline in performance. Organizations undergoing restructuring need exactly the opposite: motivated employees who deliver high-quality products and services in order to regain a foothold in the market and succeed.

We are often asked whether it would be possible to slow down the pace of ongoing restructuring. This would give those affected more time to adjust to the future situation. Although well-intentioned, such a request ultimately leads to an unnecessarily long transition phase full of uncertainty, fear, and limited performance. We therefore recommend swift implementation, because after that, day-to-day business will resume, which usually takes time to get back into the swing of things anyway.

Restructuring programs often get names. “Dolores” at DASA (later Airbus) is an example of how badly this can go wrong. Officially, it was an acronym for “Dollar Low Rescue.” However, the Latin and Spanish meaning, namely “pain,” quickly became ingrained in the collective consciousness of the workforce. Anyone familiar with the “Via Dolorosa” in Jerusalem, for example, knows that it was named this way because it was part of the Way of the Cross and thus of Jesus’ suffering before his execution. Nomen est omen!