“The protracted process of ‘salami slicing’ – chipping away to reduce cost by X per cent, time and time again, across all functions – grinds everyone and everything down” says Gary Ashton in his article on organisational reviews for theHRDIRECTOR magazine.
It’s a common problem, the need to cut costs, but simultaneously the onus is also on the organisation to deliver long-term value. Finding the right balance between these two is the challenge. By going in too hard on cost cutting – without taking a longer-term view about what the organisation needs to not just survive, but thrive – risks making cuts in the wrong areas and jeopardising future success. However, too much emphasis on future growth can lead to an unaffordable set-up.
When Elon Musk acquired the company formerly known as Twitter, he halved his workforce at a stroke. That was a salient lesson in making large scale cuts, but what must also be avoided is the protracted process of ‘salami slicing’ – chipping away to reduce cost by X percent, time and time again, across all functions – grinds everyone and everything down, reduces overall value and doesn’t account for the natural discrepancies between functions.
Zero-based organisational design – much espoused by the likes of some big consultancies – can be a rational and obvious approach to a ‘bottom-up, start, with a clean sheet’ type of approach to helping forge a purpose-built organisation. But beware a consultant-heavy, overly intense and data overloaded environment, with a correspondingly high cost that just isn’t sustainable and may not gain the necessary buy-in.
In this article for theHRDIRECTOR magazine, Gary shares OE Cam’s approach to cost optimisation – helping you to take a more considered approach to organisational reviews and encourage you to “look up before you look down.”
“A focus on ‘keeping the magic’ and being crystal clear about what core elements in the business need protecting or building before driving down costs, paves the way for a more considered, effective organisation transformation…”
This is a short excerpt. Download the article in full by clicking on the link below.
First published in theHRDIRECTOR, October, 2023. Reproduced with permission.
OE Cam is delighted to be featured in this month’s issue of theHRDIRECTOR, the independent, thought-led publication for Senior HR Practitioners. We hope you enjoy Gary Ashton’s article on page 48. You can receive a £50 discount when you Subscribe by using the promo code CONTRIBUTOR.
For more information about organsational reviews, please contact Gary Ashton at gary.ashton@oecam.com
