Restructuring

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Restructuring

• Presentation for Senior Administrators Forum
  University Information Services June 2008
• Sue Clegg
• University Librarian and Director of Learning
  Services
• Roehampton University

2
Background

• Experience of being restructured/observing
  restructuring
• Experience of leading restructuring
• Current HR experience

3
Restructuring examples

• Faculties to Schools
• Creating and dismantling converged information
  Services
• Cuts and redundancies

4
Restructuring

• Structures are essentially arbitrary and an
  attempt to put some rationale into managing an
  organisation.
• Often said that the first thing new managers do
  is to restructure.
• Restructuring can be simple or complex
• Restructuring - would changing the culture be
  better?

5
Reflections

• Change has a considerable psychological impact
  on the human mind. To the fearful it is
  threatening because it means things may get
  worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because
  things may get better. To the confident it is
  inspiring because the challenge exists to make
  things better (King Whitney Jr.).

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Why restructure?

• Some Potentially Positive reasons
• To change culture?
• To fit the organisations overall structure?
• Organic evolvement?
• Providing new opportunities?
• To change work flows/patterns/services?
• Succession planning

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Why restructure?

• Some Potentially Negative reasons
• To fix problems?
• To downsize?
• Because you can/ to shake things up?
• To make your mark?
• To get rid of people who are underperforming or
  you just dont like?

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Issues to consider

• Identifying the problem/reason/rationale for the
  new structure
• Setting objectives for the restructuring
• Involvement of stakeholders
• Staff perceptions
• Scale of the restructuring
• Cycles of restructuring and therefore cynicism
• Time involved (often against short timescales)
• Time for retraining, trial periods and settling
  new structures
• Evaluation of the changes

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Issues to consider 2

• People
• Emotions
• Looking objectively
• Institutional agreements and processes
• Management buy in outside the Library/IS
• Customer buy in outside the Library/IS
• Think about the whole process at the outset

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Issues to consider 3

• Be clear about proposed structure
• Think through potential redundancies at early
  stage
• Look at worst case costing scenarios for
  voluntary redundancies/early retirements
• Write new job descriptions at early stage
• Process for getting everything in place (ring
  fencing of posts, promotion posts, interviews,
  options)
• Planning in your diaries

11
What not to do

• Dont
• Assume that restructuring is the only thing you
  have to do it only addresses one aspect of an
  organisational problem
• Restructure in order to get individuals out
  instead of performance management (temptation)
• Think it is a quick fix
• Communicate badly
• Assume that someone else is handling part of the
  process
• Avoid planning the whole process before you start
• Let staff believe that it is not a real
  consultation

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Order of events
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Stakeholder buy in

• Planning who needs to know in what order
• Briefing be as open as possible
• Consultation be open to possible changes
• Individual consultations/drop in sessions
• Communication of outcomes
• Communication of implementation
• Understand resistance, transition curve and
  manage them

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Briefing sessions

• Outline whole process to whom?
• Have more detailed sessions for most affected
  staff
• Be clear about what posts are to be deleted and
  what new options there are
• Be clear about ring fencing/slotting in/selection
  of posts
• Offer possible timetable, subject to consultation
• Drop in sessions provide times up front

15
What works well

• Planning
• Honest information
• Good paperwork (opportunities to check HR
  paperwork help!)
• Being able to withstand challenges on the
  rationale
• Well briefed line managers
• Really being prepared to change during
  consultation
• Being prepared to say you dont know all the
  answers at the outset and that it is evolving
• Being clear about givens and where things are
  pilots
• Assessing risks of restructuring and not
  restructuring

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What works badly

• Poor preparation and rush
• Not being able/prepared to give whole picture
  one hand tied behind back!
• Having weak rationale
• Having some line managers undermining it through
  lack of knowledge, lack of confidence, inherent
  disagreement
• When a number of different agendas come together
  because of circumstances
• Not thinking through the whole process
• Errors in individual letters!

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Transition curve

• Analytical tool
• How staff react at a time of change
• Stages of Emotional responses and how these may
  affect staff performance at work
• The model shows a single process, but staff may
  be in multiple processes at different stages
• Managers need to understand the stages and to
  make time for their staff during them

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Transition curve
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Summary

• Change in universities and their LIS is a
  constant
• All staff in change will be somewhere on
  transition curve, including you
• Restructuring is a very common tool to manage
  change, but has pros and cons
• Managed well, restructuring can be relatively
  smooth and neutral if not positive
• Managed badly it can be a huge stress for
  managers as well as for staff
• Restructuring problems can be created in HR, so
  make friends with HR in advance and give them
  time
• Best advice think of your own response to
  restructuring and do as you would be done by.

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Quote

• The future belongs not to those who want to be
  comfortable or avoid risk, but to those who are
  inspirational and just do it. (Lynne Brindley).

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Questions