Restructuring a company: personal relationships between employees can change everything
Friendship, long-standing attachment... The links between employees are one of the key elements for the success of your reorganization.
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When a boss decides to restructure a company, he rarely dwells on the relationship between employees. In a company, however, the bonds between employees are often deep. Friendship, sporting or cultural affinities or even intimate ties, the rapprochements affect the functioning of a team and the running of a company.
Ignoring them, especially in the context of a reorganization, is a fundamental error, according to Susan Lynch, assistant professor of strategy at theEuropean Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD) and Marie-Louise Mors, professor of strategy and international management at theCopenhagen Business School.
In theHarvard Business Review, they relate the results of a study conducted with a consulting firm of 96 employees.“Organizational changes have no impact on deep relationships between individuals,observe the two teachers.These persist regardless of organizational changes. Employees united by less deep relations, which are materialized by a simple cordial agreement between individuals, are more likely to adhere to the change and to adapt to the new structure. 136bad5cf58d_
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Susan Lynch and Marie-Louise Mors deduce three actions intended to make the links between colleagues profitable:
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1 - Adapt its strategic change in relation to the company's personnel organization.The reorganization will affect relationships between people, but in turn, these will also affect the implementation of the new measures.
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2 - Identify the deep relationships between employees and take advantage of them.If employees spend time and energy maintaining relationships that no longer fit the new strategy, it can end up being costly.
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3 - Think about the new links generated by a reorganization.The formal structure will impact how individuals connect with each other and interact – what they do together, who they talk to, and what they talk about.
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At Sociacom, via our approachHappiness Performance, we place people at the center of business strategy. Would you like to be advised on the optimization of your organizational restructuring? Contact us.
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