After a restructuring in a small business – implementing change successfully

Mar 30, 2020 | Managing change

The post-restructuring period is just as important as the actual restructuring process itself, and it can get overlooked as manager worry about communication and redundancy procedures. But handling that period after the formal procedure has been completed well is just as important to making sure the change you’ve decided to make is successful.

There are two key areas you need to consider when managing a small business post-restructure.

 

Implementation of change

You will have a number of immediate and longer-term challenges when you’ve gone through a restructuring, including:

People in new roles where they perhaps have skills gaps, or new responsibilities. They will need support, possibly training, and closer performance management than perhaps they had previously, with objectives being set and more regular reviews.

People with new working arrangements. This might include different hours, working location or increased travel, and it’s important to monitor how well these are working, and whether the employees are encountering any particular challenges or difficulties.

A team that is suffering a bit from having been disrupted, and retaining some additional stress and possibly resentment, and perhaps with new team members coming into a less-than ideal working environment as everyone tries to get used to the new situation. Additional team building or social time might be a good idea to encourage bonding and repair some of the inevitable (although hopefully not too significant) damage.

 

Reviewing the process and learning from it

Once the process is complete, it is useful to reflect and review. Immediately afterwards you can look at the process and whether it went well, whether there is anything you might consider doing differently another time.

But after an interval of perhaps a few months, another period of reflection might be useful.  Consider whether the business objectives that were the drivers for the change have been achieved. Were the problems you were experiencing solved by the restructure? If not, why not?

Have the necessary improvements been made? If not, you may need to consider whether there is anything further you need to do at this point, or any tweaks needed. Did staff receive the appropriate levels of support and necessary training in their new roles? If they are not settling into new roles successfully and performing well, revising how they are supported and offering further training may be necessary at this point.

Giving ‘debrief’ opportunities to staff involved can be helpful in both the immediate aftermath and also further down the line, and this will also foster a sense of openness and trust.

 

If you would like further advice on successfully implementing change after restructuring your business, do get in touch.