How to... handle restructuring

Whether you’ve been asked to replace a senior executive, merge departments or eliminate surplus capacity as a result of reduced sales, the challenges associated with restructuring are not to be underestimated. Follow these steps to optimise your chances of success.

1 Plan ahead
Although pressure to make the changes quickly may be intense, step back and think about what business-critical skills or knowledge needs to be retained. What timeframes are required for any necessary handover and, if you’re letting people go, what policy is most likely to retain the people you want to keep, without incurring claims of unfair dismissal? If you offer voluntary redundancy, who’s likely to leave and what are the implications? Think about these issues in both the long and the short term to demonstrate that you’re not only thinking about how to minimise disruption but also how to reduce future training and recruitment costs.