Have you ever thought about the structure of your organisation – how it is organised and how changing it could make it more efficient, more effective, even more profitable? Chances are that your current structure has emerged rather than been consciously designed and it’s probably more suitable for the business you were, rather than the business you are now, or more importantly the business you want to be.
The need or desire to change opens up many questions – what is the right design for us? What should our organisation look like? In the midst of these questions, leaders want some certainty – they desire to find the “right” answer and desperately hope that it is hidden at the back of a book. This commonly turns into two actions: hire some external advice (get some help); and do some “benchmarking” (Harvard-speak for look at what the others are doing). Both of these are good ideas in general.
Getting some help – It is unlikely you have a structural design expert in your organisation, so some external help is good (but then I would say that…). Just take care that helping you find the answer does not become giving you the answer – because they won’t have it, trust me.
Look at what the others are doing – It is likely that you have not looked at other companies and how they are structured in any depth. Comparisons (and we prefer that term to benchmarking – the latter indicates a right or best answer) or looking at what others are doing or have done is always prudent and may help you avoid the mistakes of others. However, comparing can easily turn into the hunt for someone else’s right answer. To find your right answer, you’re going to have to roll up your sleeves, I’m afraid. There are no answers at the back of the book – no right ones anyway.
So, when you’re ready to roll up those sleeves and look at comparators here is quick guide to how we would approach it:
• Clarity on the problem – Be clear on the problem or in most cases the number of problems you are trying to solve. Not knowing exactly what you want to research will only lead to a general discussion on overall structures rather than getting to the point.
• Stretch the Thinking – Make a list of the companies you want to compare and then add some outliers – stretch the thinking and re-emphasise that this is part of a hard thinking process, not the search for a blueprint. For example, it might be worth looking at companies outside your industry.
• Get some data – start by gathering some publicly available information – depending on the comparator, they may have a good deal published. Get this together and see what is emerging and identify if there are things that look out of place or you want to clarify
• It’s Good to Talk – the depth of information you get from a face to face meeting will really add to the process – be honest about what you are doing and people love to share – use your external help if you need some distance
• Assess and evaluate – This is the key stage and yet often the one that is rushed. Consider the comparisons and distil them into sets of insights for each problem area. And remember, you can learn just as much from what others did wrong as what they did right!
While this all seems like a lot of hard work, the insights generated will help you understand who has overcome the problems you are facing, and how. Applying these insights to your business could lead to a significant increase in efficiency and help you to do what you do, better!