Dive Brief:
- After a reorganization, 88% of company leaders believe their new organizational structure will achieve its goals, but only 36% of employees agree, according to research from Bain & Co. released Jan. 29.
- In a recent global survey of almost 1,000 executives and employees who’ve recently been through an organizational change, the report found that only 22% of employees said they received enough support in training, coaching or tools to enable them to adapt to new ways of working.
- More than 80% of leaders said they believe they effectively communicate, train and support those most impacted by a reorganization, but only 57% of the middle managers tasked with executing the reorganization agree, per the report.
Dive Insight:
Middle managers are often expected to translate a new organizational model into daily execution while their own roles shift significantly, said Bain in a release, adding that middle managers are “often asked to champion change without clear guidance on new workflows, decision rights and expectations.”
The report found that 90% of people in that role reported considerable changes to their work and noted that any uncertainty at this level quickly cascades across teams.
The disconnect between leadership expectation and employee execution highlighted an insufficient focus on how the organization’s new operating model will play out over time, Bain said.
“Leaders are overemphasizing and overcommunicating the organizational design and structure, but little is done on the actual details — the transition, and how it would impact employees’ day-to-day work,” the report said.
As organizations continue to implement artificial intelligence in their operating model reinventions, this challenge will become increasingly critical, Bain added.
The report recommended what it called a 20/200/2000 framework for investing time and support. The “20” refers to the senior leaders who design and sponsor the new operating model; the “200” refers to the middle managers who redefine workflows and help new routines take root; and the “2000” or more refers to the employees whose day-to-day behaviors will need to shift.
“The announcement of a redesign isn't the finish line — it’s the starting gun,” Tracy Thurkow, partner at Bain and leader of the Global Center for Culture and Behavior Change in Bain's people and organization practice, said in the release. “Leaders who plan for how people will actually work in the new model, and who support them through that transition, are the ones who unlock results others never reach.”
A recent report from leadership development firm DDI found that only 13% of HR leaders believed their organization’s leaders were “very capable of anticipating and reacting to change,” and just 18% of leaders said they felt “very prepared” to do so.
