Mitch Carre, Manager, HR Systems at Curtin University, is no stranger to the challenges an organisational restructure creates. He’s kindly agreed to share his experience using Navigo’s org charting tool, to help manage the process.
Preparing for the restructure
“To make sure we were all on the same page, firstly we needed to assess our current structure. Navigo’s org charting tool allowed us to create easy to understand visual charts which our position management consultants could take to the business owners and have a focussed discussions. The charts allowed the business units to tidy up areas and plan new structures.”
In many organisations, the planning process is carried out via a series of dedicated workshops, with charts drawn up on whiteboards and pages of notes written out.
This makes it tough for HR, as they need to prepare org structures before each workshop and ‘model’ the changes ready for the next review.Not only does an org charting tool make it easier for HR to present the hierarchy, it also leads to faster decision making as the organisation structure can be adjusted in real-time.
Scenario planning to predict the results
“The Curtin position management team used specially configured charts which included position establishment data, incumbents and cost centres to calibrate data and changes with the business owners.”
There are a lot of calculations to make when managing a restructure. Budgets will need adjusting, cost-centres will shift and the distribution of talent will change.
Using an org charting tool makes this process much more automated, allowing you to create potential scenarios for a number of different restructure plans at once for comparison.
Before and after comparison – making the call
It’s important to understand the full effect the restructure will have on the organisation. The easiest way to do this is to compare the present structure to the future one, keeping track of all the changes that will be required, to understand just how big an undertaking the restructure is.
From there, a detailed action plan can be put into place to make the new structure a reality.
“Using these org charts, we were able to present the ‘before’ and ‘after’ – so the business could clearly see the changes involved. Once approved, area charts became templates for all future occupancy changes and provided a benchmark for the business to refer to.”
By creating templates, Mitch and the Curtin team have not only created a more effective workforce, but they’ve also got a better understanding of their team for future strategic HR decisions.
“If you are undertaking a review of positions, Navigo’s org charting tools are invaluable.”
Book a meeting with our team of experts to learn how we can help you with your restructure project.
