How can you manage culture change in a downsizing or restructuring context?

I experienced downsizing or rightsizing whatever you call it. Evaluate the existing structure, align those with projects or milestones at hand. Find the gaps and see where change is needed. Develop a policy to downsize and compensate those for their number of years and future time that may take to get another job. Communicate well in advance with supervisors and their staff who will be affected. Share positive and negative insights. Train the affected staff how to prepare resumes, prepare for interviews and guide them how to find jobs on social media especially LinkedIn. Then execute the downsizing plan. It will pose less challenges.

Communication with empathy is the most critical requirement. Organisations are social systems, and downsizing is often seen as an attack on this system by the individual and the wider group. This is at the core of organisational resistance to change: how does impact, my team and the wider orgnaisation.

Difficult decisions should always been given priority in handling. Every employee deserve to know their status at the earliest point possible... why because it gives them more time to make the necessary arrangement. In reality no matter how great is one's strategy in preparing for a downsizing, it is never an easy path for employee. Focus on immediate short term plans and long term plans. The short term is crucial, identifying one crucial skill to up skill the employee and create a pool where they can be still hired on temporary basis for 6 months after the downsizing. This gives them time to source for employment. The long terms is to partner with other companies that may offer employment.

When evaluating an organization's current culture, it's crucial to understand that culture is not just a set of values written on paper. It's a dynamic phenomenon that manifests daily through actions, stories, traditions, and relationships. While surveys provide numerical insights, the subtle nuances are often found in informal channels like impromptu brainstorming sessions, water cooler chats, and how feedback is given and received. Engaging employees at all levels provides a comprehensive view, capturing not only the "what" of the culture but also the "why" behind it. This in-depth understanding enables a more empathetic and practical approach to transforming culture.

One thing I find many forget in this assessment is that you already have tons of data to reuse. What have the latest polls, surveys etc shown when it comes to leadership, employee satisfaction etc? after reviewing those, and only after that should you create some sort of new survey. And that survey should also complement what information you already do have and bearing in mind what effect you're after. It's about analyzing the situation and adding what you need in order to get you information that will serve you getting the effect you're after. A plain "how do our employees feel about this restructuring / reorganization won't cut it.

Communicate, communicate, communicate! Ensure a consistent message is delivered from executives to line managers. If the message isn't consistent, skepticism may set in.

In order to close the gap between where you are and where you want to go you need to listen to how and what the employees themselves see as beneficiary and not with this transformation of culture. Communicating what you feel is serving them and the company won't bring about the change you're after. You need to get into their heads, using their language and way of expressing themselves and not go through the lens of corporate wording.

To preface, at this stage, a new org. design would have been initiated, a new operating model, assessment of material changes to roles and a detailed consultation approach to name a few - to ensure you're not breaching employment law (aside from being the right thing to do). Now, when it comes to defining a desired culture, a wireframe and guiding principles are imperative starting points to enable strategy, though where at all possible there’d also be an element of co-designing the aspirational culture, WITH those who will be impacted by change. Both cognitive and emotional. People are far more likely to adopt what they've had a hand in creating. I'm sure it'd also espouse meaning and purpose. Essential ingredients to culture change.

Restructures usually result in layoffs. It's really tricky to co-create or co-own that kind of change. Clarity of messaging is key. Where can employees contribute and where have the decisions already been made? All employees will have their guard up, rightfully so. Leaders need to demonstrate empathy around this, but also set clear expectations. Any inconsistency in what is said versus actions observed will raise doubt and hamper the outcome.

Whilst I wholeheartedly agree that cultures would ideally be co-designed, don't forget that if this culture change is prefaced by an organisational re-design, that formal and in-depth consultation is required (not merely engagement and empowerment). If cultural co-design comes after a re-structure, you’ll also need have to have solid key messaging, instil trust and provide a sense of stability to the organisation. Re-structures can be stressful for those impacted. Consider the right timing.

In these challenging times of downsizing and restructuring, it's not about offering flashy perks, but rather about creating a culture where employees feel heard and valued. Encouraging open, honest feedback and providing the freedom to express genuine feelings can be transformative. When employees know their voices matter, it not only enhances morale but also paves the way for a resilient and adaptive organizational culture.

In a restructuring most people are afraid or have fears of the future. In situations like that it's actually even more crucial to let people be part of the things they can control and have a say in. To feel they have control/insight of something in a situation where most things are out of their control. That will mitigate fear and resistance. And in saying that you will have some people who'll always step forward. There will be some who are a bit on the fence and some that are obstructing. Direct your first focus on what works (the ambassadors) and highlight them. "Where your focus goes, energy flows" and the people on the fence might be swayed positive more easily. Having that in motion you can adress and support the people resisting.

I appreciate that you have noted ensuring leadership models the espoused behaviours and culture, as they will be driving the social norms for your north star (aligned, or not so aligned). I would say leaders are one of the key factors to embedment, sustainability and continual improvement of your cultural change. I would also like to add, that the leaders need to have clear expectations, high accountability, as well as high support, to enable this. All too often, leadership behaviours are driven by the wider system (and executive leadership misalignment), as well as the wrong KPIs for the behaviours and culture you are really looking to achieve. Alignment tip: ensure leaders have both the clarity AND opportunity to shine.

First of all you need to know why they are resisting. 99% of the time it's not due to the actual change, it's because of some fear. Fear of loss, fear of being out of control, fear of the future. Find out what lies behind the resistance and all the emotions and then inform, adress, offer support etc. If you miss the "why" you won't be half as effective in your communication as you could be.

"Survivor employees", or the ones who are left behind, can make or break your future culture. If you wait until after the restructure's already happened and staff of redundant roles have left - it's TOO LATE. Everybody is going through the change. At the start you mightn't know who'll be retained, but you still don't want to be bringing sad, angry, stressed, anxious people into your future vision. Plan a change program that starts 6 months out. Your first 3 months (pre-transition) begins resilience. The 3 months of transition will have most of the operational change, so provide more support. And keep that going for at least 3 months post + rebuild trust because survivor employees may still leave within 6-12 months - the dreaded second wave!

Ensuring you gain trust, through being credible, reliable, building relationships and showing that your'e not merely self-interested, is a given. I would say though, drop the word resilience and add the word agility. Resilience is an overused term, and won't be a well landing one at that, especially when you're talking about a change that starts with a re-structure and continues with culture change. These changes alone are big, without even considering the orgs "epigenetics" or what else may be going on. You can help enable agility by design, through psychological safety, inclusive collaboration, nimble and social learning - to name a few. It starts with your design and enablement, vs starting with people's resilience.

In my experience, if you don't start from a place of trust, it will be difficult to build it while going through a downsizing or restructure. I would love to see companies focus on trust and resilience as part of their normal course of business.

In the most recent restructure that I led, there were two groups of employees: those departing and those staying with new roles. In the beginning our communication and meeting content was the same. As we progressed along the journey, we established two types of meetings so we could tailor the information to the distinct needs of the two groups. For example, those departing needed information on continuing benefits while those staying did not. Those staying needed training for new roles while those departing did not. Everyone was invited to attend either, but they self-selected as I hypothesized they would. Feedback from both groups was very positive regarding this approach. Hopefully this idea is helpful to others.

Aside from assessing current culture against your desired state, ensure to assess the impact of the re-structure on the current and aspirational cultures. Also, don't forget to assess the impact of your proposed changes against influencing factors in the wider "system". Factors that could strengthen or weaken not only any re-structure efforts, but culture change work you have ahead of you. Why? This kind of change is likely to be complex, create threat states and is more of a transformation effort, which would require wider integration to realise the full benefits. In context, you might consider assessing impacts of the restructure and cultural change, against the likes of customer, operations, people, process and tech.

It's gonna be tough for a while. Anger, confusion, loss of trust, guilt, and probably some turnover are all things to expect. A little planning and a lot of support will get you to the otherside. ?? Design a communication plan that accounts for all levels of communication ? Proactively answer questions, especially in how you're supporting departing employees ?? Give a clear direction for the next 6-12 months, including clarifying goals, roles and responsibilities ?? Check-in, listen and offer support to folks. ?? Consider an alumni group so you can provide continued social connection and professional support

Another thought to consider with culture change … how will the desired gains in culture work be maintained and protected? Calling out the mindsets and behaviors that can derail culture can be helpful in setting guardrails to signal the need to pause and redirect the focus back to the desired culture shift.

In the throes of downsizing or restructuring, mental health and well-being are paramount. Leaders must recognize the emotional toll of such changes and proactively provide support. Investing in mental health resources—like counseling services, mental health days, and resilience workshops—is crucial. These tools help individuals navigate stress and uncertainty. Share stories where similar strategies mitigated transition-related anxieties. Highlighting mental wellness reinforces a culture of care, showing employees they're valued beyond their roles, which is vital for morale during challenging transitions.