According to Mercer's 2017 Talent Trends 2017 Global Survey, 93% of business executives plan to make some type of design change or transform their organisational structure within the next two years. According to the survey results, organisational restructure and re-design is no longer simply about evolution, 'to stay ahead, organisations are transforming structures and jobs in a desire for increased efficiency, agility, and customer intimacy. Ensuring that the People agenda is not lost amid the drive for change will be critical to sustainable growth.'
The Talent Trends Survey data indicates that executives globally recognise that stasis and the staus quo are a formidable enemy of business growth. Surveyed executive acknowledge that existing organisational structures often impede, rather than accelerate, change and that a heavily layered or hierarchical organisation structure is a hindrance to the agility needed in today’s competitive markets.The result is that leadership teams across the globe are driving an aggressive change agenda in an attempt not just to keep up, but to stay ahead of the game. 93% of business executives plan to make a design change in their company within the next two years and this trend is consistent across all geographies and industries.
Mercer's report indicates that:
'Vertical hierarchies are being replaced by simpler, more horizontal organisational structures. This change reflects a desire for greater efficiency and lower costs, closer relationships with customers, and increased agility and innovation. Companies in different industries are going about this in different ways. Executives in the Auto, Energy, and Healthcare sectors are flattening their organisation structures, while those in Financial Services and Logistics are focused more on moving support functions to shared services. Consumer Goods organisations are also creating special units to handle project-based work.'
Mercer's survey data also illustrates interesting differences by geography. Greater efficiency is the number one driver of organisation design changes in the majority of the countries they studied (including US and UK), however it is less of a focus for executives in Japan (who are committed to improving collaboration) and in Hong Kong (for whom innovation is paramount).
Mercer's report states:
'The organisation in a “world is flat” universe pushes decision-making authority further down the chain, thus employees must be more self-reliant and skilled enough to independently make day-to-day decisions. This requires a shift in how we support employees at different stages of readiness, career, engagement, and work status. What do employees say they want? When asked in which areas their company should provide more support, simplified approval chains to enable quick decision making ranked third globally. This may reflect their company’s current challenges in this area — with only 15% of employees saying that their company excels at this today.'
Image Source: Mercer, Talent Trends 2017 Global Survey
One methodology gaining traction in organisational re-designand re-structure is 'change-agile,' or agile change management. Agile change management is a set of principles that can help change practitioners focus efforts on the most important activities, determined by customer value and stakeholder impact. It provides a lean, flexible and iterative approach to achieving sustainable change in an agile environment.
A change-agile organisation prioritises a flexible culture that is able to pivot easily so as to stay ahead of rapidly changing market trends. Thus, employers who embrace change and empower their workforce will be more successful.
However, according to the Talent Trends 2017 Global Study, the HR agenda for 2017 demonstrates some misalignment that may fail to leverage what employees report as important, which can spell the difference between a thriving and a stagnating workforce. Here are some key findings from the study:
The Mercer report shares insights from more than 7,000 perspectives, comparing the views of senior business executives, HR leaders, and employees from organisations around the world. The results highlight the necessity for organisations to commit to a change-agile strategy for organisational redesign and restructure if they intend to remain competitive. One of the best ways for HR Professionals to role-model organisational change and build a foundation from which to execute wider change requirements is through tranforming their own systems and processes. Restructuring HR through technology has the potential to provide your business with the capacity to become a change-agile organisation. You can discover more about how to restructure HR through tech with our free white paper.