Business restructuring: making sound decisions and implementing them successfully
Reorganisation, changes to the business model, carve-outs, downsizing or transformation of activities: a business restructuring requires organisations to weigh up closely interconnected economic, organisational, employment and human considerations.
The challenge is not simply to define a target organisation. It also involves assessing the consequences of different scenarios, building the right employment strategy, preparing dialogue with employee representatives, maintaining the organisation’s ability to operate and supporting the employees affected.
Alixio Group, an expert in business transformation, supports leadership teams and HR directors from project design through to operational implementation, working alongside HR teams, managers and employees.
How do you build a robust restructuring project?
A restructuring starts with a choice: identifying the scenario that meets the organisation’s objectives while remaining workable from an organisational, financial, employment and human perspective.
Alixio Group supports this decision-making phase by working on:
- organisational scenarios;
- their financial modelling;
- their consequences for employment;
- their impact on business operations.
The analysis also considers the conditions for implementation:
- target organisation;
- changes to roles and workforce levels;
- workload and working conditions;
- required skills;
- timeline;
- employee support measures.
This approach makes it possible to compare the options before a decision is made and to factor in their employment implications at an early stage.
Defining the employment strategy and preparing each stage of the project
The employment strategy translates transformation decisions into a coherent, workable framework.
Alixio Group supports leadership teams in preparing the consultation timetable, documentation and negotiations, as well as in defining the measures available to the employees affected.
Depending on the nature of the project, this may involve different individual or collective departure schemes.
The aim is not to consider each scheme in isolation, but to build an overall strategy suited to the context, the organisation’s objectives and the consequences of the project.
How can dialogue with employee representatives and sensitive situations be anticipated?
Dialogue with employee representatives needs to be prepared from the project design stage. This helps anticipate negotiation topics, the expectations of employee representatives and potential areas of tension.
Alixio Group supports leadership teams and employee relations teams in preparing and conducting discussions with trade unions and employee representatives. We also help leaders and managers understand their role in the transformation and prepare to speak about the project.
Employee communications are part of the same approach. Messages and timing need to be coordinated, and the different stakeholders must be clearly identified and brought in at the right time to explain the transformation, keep communications consistent and anticipate sensitive situations. Alixio Group has a specialist employee communications team that advises leadership and communications teams, or works directly on transformation projects.
Supporting the organisation throughout the transformation
A restructuring does not put business operations on hold. On the contrary, it can temporarily weaken certain functions, create new responsibilities or call for additional oversight.
Alixio Group supports the implementation of the new organisation and, where needed, can bring in interim managers to reinforce a function, lead a critical workstream or ensure business continuity. This expertise, provided by Alixio Talent, enables organisations to bring in experienced leaders quickly during the sensitive stages of the transformation.
The aim is to close the gap between the organisation as designed and the way it actually works: clarify responsibilities, make the switchover stages run smoothly and enable teams to take ownership of the new organisation step by step.
How should employees affected by restructuring be supported?
The success of a restructuring also depends on the ability to offer tangible prospects to the employees affected, a sign of the responsibility shown by the company carrying out the transformation.
Alixio Group supports internal and external mobility, redeployment and career transitions. Each pathway aims to identify a solution that reflects the person’s skills, experience and circumstances.
Assess the situation
Skills, experience, personal circumstances and future prospects
Identify the right solution
Internal redeployment, a new job, a career change, starting or taking over a business or, where appropriate, an end-of-career scheme
Implement the pathway
Individual support until the chosen solution is in place
Managers and executives can benefit from individual outplacement support tailored to their repositioning and career objectives. Other managerial and professional staff affected by a restructuring are generally supported through collective mobility and redeployment programmes (collective outplacement).
In collective programmes, our role is to connect the framework defined by the organisation with support that is individual enough to reflect each person’s circumstances, skills and career plans.
Depending on needs and the scheme in place, the pathway may include a skills assessment, an analysis of experience and motivations, identification of development opportunities and the construction of a realistic career plan.
Support can then focus on repositioning the person: showcasing their experience, refining their pitch and approach, preparing applications and interviews, activating their network and identifying opportunities. Feedback from the job market is used to adjust the approach step by step with the consultant, until the career plan becomes reality.
Anticipating the impact of restructuring on sites and local areas
Some projects extend beyond the organisation itself. The closure or transformation of a site can affect local employment, subcontractors and the wider local economy.
Ahead of certain site closures, Alixio Group supports organisations in searching for buyers and preparing the related processes.
Depending on the context, our support aims to identify new economic prospects and strengthen local development.
From decision to implementation: end-to-end support
Inform the decision
Organisational scenarios and impacts
Build the employee relations strategy
Schemes, timetable and negotiations
Prepare dialogue
Employee relations and communications
Implement the new organisation
Oversight, management and business continuity
Support career transitions
Mobility, redeployment and outplacement
Act at a local level
Business takeovers, revitalisation and reindustrialisation
A restructuring calls on multiple areas of expertise: organisation, employment strategy, employee relations, communications, professional mobility and business continuity.
Alixio Group brings them together within a single approach, with specialist teams deployed at each stage.
We work from the initial definition of the project with the leadership team through to its implementation with managers, teams and the employees affected.
At the outset, we help analyse scenarios and prepare decisions; where a site is involved, this may also include a disposal or a search for buyers. Once decisions have been made, we support their operational implementation.
What sets us apart: we do not stop at recommending the transformation; we also support its implementation on the ground.
Are you preparing a restructuring, reorganisation, merger or transformation with significant consequences for employment and the organisation?
