WEBINAR: Organisation Design for HR Professionals – The role of HR in Re-imagining the Organisation
OE Cam was delighted to facilitate a webinar on Wednesday 11th November on the topic of ‘Organisation Design for HR Professionals: the role of HR in re-imagining the organisation’. This webinar was hosted by the London HR Connection and attracted more than 200 registrations from their network of HR professionals.
A challenge we all face at the moment is delivering what is required to keep the organisation operating effectively during the pandemic whilst, at the same time, laying the foundations for more longer-term, transformational changes.
As a business shifts and adapts in response to Covid, its operating model will also need to change. It is therefore timely for HR to check whether their organisation’s operating model is fit-for-purpose – does it reflect the new commercial realities? Will it enable the business to function at a lower cost base, accommodate new ways of working and empower teams to quickly respond to changing customer demands?
HR plays a critical role in the design and implementation of new operating models acting as subject matter experts and challenging the robustness of the new design. They are also in a unique position to effectively translate the people implications of new proposed ways of working and develop the capability of their teams. But where do you start?
HR plays a critical role in the design and implementation of new operating models acting as subject matter experts and challenging the robustness of the new design. They are also in a unique position to effectively translate the people implications of new proposed ways of working and develop the capability of their teams. But where do you start?
The OE Cam approach focuses on building the organisation around the value chain, making clear any changes to accountability and decision-making authorities, and facilitating any potential shift in power within the organisation. In this way we ensure that organisational resilience is embedded into the business by making them more:
- Aligned – linking structures, processes and people to deliver their strategy
- Agile – adaptable to changing external conditions
- Accountable – with a clear understanding and ownership of how the organisation works and how decisions get made and implemented.
During the webinar, Gary Ashton & Julie Brophy used a simple three-phased approach to illustrate the organisation design process:
- It is important to start with understanding the context for change and its implications for the new operating model. In this phase we explore organisation strategy, its purpose and use tools such as the Business Model Canvas to understand how things are currently done. This enables us to define a set of organisation design principles.
- The current phase is about mapping the existing operating model as a baseline. We go into more depth about the teams and activities needed to deliver the strategy and critique what works well and what needs to improve in the value chain.
- The third phase – future – is about using the design principles and insight gained from value chain analysis to design and evaluate new operating model options. It is vital to think about the target culture in terms of behavioural indicators and begin strategic workforce planning.
OE Cam was joined by Sharon Saxton, formerly HR Director of Virgin Atlantic, Walt Disney and more recently Group HRD of City & Guilds. Sharon presented the OD challenges for HR and shared her personal experience of transforming an organisation’s operating model from the HR perspective.
HR has an exciting role to play in leading the re-imagining of their organisation. By providing expertise on the human dynamics of transformational change, supporting leaders to navigate shifts in power and being the voice of the workforce, HR is central to defining the shape and nature of an organisation that is fit for the future.
To learn more, including our five top tips, please download the short summary at the bottom of this page.
Building Organisational Resilience for post-Covid
Now is the time to lay the foundations for a more resilient organisation that will thrive in the upturn. This means revisiting your operating model to reflect new commercial realities, operating on a lower cost base, whilst adapting to changing customer demands.
Getting Organisationally Fit for the Future
To compete in a VUCA world, organisations need to regularly review their organisational structure to ensure it remains fit-for-purpose. In this article, Gary Ashton & Julie Brophy suggest three different ways to look at the fitness of your organisation model. Instead of jumping feet first into reorganising, just stop - think about the real drivers of change to ensure your organisation is aligned, accountable and agile.
Why Business Models Matter
In the organisation’s drive for e fficiency and synergy, a focus on the customer journey can get lost or fragmented. Mark looks at the importance of the business model in mapping the moving parts of the organisation - how they connect with one another and how they relate to suppliers and customers. If we can put aside hierarchy and ‘classification’, we can really understand how the business works and how best to organise ourselves to get even closer to the customer.