Chances are you’ve experienced at least one company reorganization.
Reorgs can be a great way to unlock value: Two-thirds of them deliver at
least some performance improvement, and with change accelerating in the
business environment, they are becoming more and more common, the
authors say. But most reorgs aren’t entirely successful: According to a
survey conducted at McKinsey, more than 80% fail to deliver the value
they are supposed to in the time planned, while 10% cause real damage to
the company involved. More important, they can be miserable experiences
for employees. Research suggests that reorgs—and the accompanying
uncertainty about what the future holds—may cause greater stress and
anxiety than layoffs, leading to noticeably reduced productivity in
about 60% of cases. That’s because the leaders of reorgs don’t specify
their objectives clearly enough, miss some of the key actions (for
example, focusing on reporting lines and forgetting processes and
people), or do things in the wrong order (such as deciding on the way
forward before assessing the strengths and weaknesses of what they have
already). To help maximize the value and minimize the misery of reorgs,
the authors have developed a simple five-step process for running them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]