How Organization Design & Structure delivers during Adversities – Learnings during Pandemic Outbreak

"It is often during the most challenging times where there is the greatest opportunity to redefine yourself" - Shilagh Mirgain

The past year has shown how organizations worldwide have quickly changed gears, bounced back, and redefined themselves to address one of humanity's most significant issues. The Covid-19 pandemic served as a wake-up call, overturning the standard way of life and casting doubt on long-held beliefs about organizational structure and design. Despite initial concerns in the early months of the pandemic, most firms were agile enough to thrive in the "New Normal" and not just adapt to it.

The idea of virtual and borderless workplaces eventually became a reality as the definition of organizational design and structure evolved beyond the traditional conception of office buildings and cubicles. When the pandemic first hit in December 2019, humanity had no idea it was about to experience one of the most spectacular operational shifts in history. The pandemic left firms to deliberate and ponder how to continue doing business despite the imminent uncertainties. Even though there were worries about resource constraints, data security, network availability, and other issues, organizations had to implement work-from-home policies. The work-from-home policies brought with it increased flexibility in the new working environment, leading to many firms reporting a productivity improvement a few months into the pandemic.

Organization Design is a process for reorganizing and running enterprises. It covers a wide range of workplace subjects, such as team formations, shifts patterns, reporting lines, decision-making mechanisms, and communication routes, to name a few. Moreover, a poor or outdated organizational structure may cause a slew of issues, including ambiguity in operations, a lack of responsibility, role confusion, and inadequate coordination within verticals, all of which contribute to a failure to exchange ideas. Another big issue might be the company's slow decision-making process, which could lead to avoidable conflict. Therefore, the importance of organizational design and structure in accomplishing a company's goals and realigning the organization to changing times without jeopardizing the company's vision and purpose cannot be overstated.

According to a McKinsey report, several organizations still utilize a hierarchical model, in which each role is carefully documented and solidified using a system of boxes and lines. This causes accountability to be buried in the depths of complicated organizational systems. With companies and government agencies alike experiencing unprecedented upheaval, the ability to make rapid choices and complete tasks swiftly has never been more critical.

It states that some companies have successfully "unstructured" themselves to become fitter, flatter, and quicker, unlocking enormous value. Many businesses are experimenting with dynamic operational models, such as the "helix" model and the agile "network of teams," to keep up with the speed of change. Leaders can learn from what these organizations have done well and build a framework that will help them organize for the future.

1. Flatter structure to reduce layers and improve speed: Speed and agility are hindered by cumbersome management layers. The study suggests that leaders should move away from the old rules about the most effective ratios for spans and layers and that even the most prominent companies should not have more than six layers. Most agile organizations often have only three layers.
2. Use of a flexible and dynamic network of teams to effectively tackle fast-evolving problems: Organizations of all types are confronted with new, fast-moving disruptions in their industry, whether a global pandemic or another crisis. They must be able to form and dissolve agile teams quickly, efficiently, and effectively, with little time and effort from the leadership team.
3. Ensure long-term career development by providing a stable home base for employees: The helix model, whose central concept is to break down the usual division of management responsibilities into two different parallel lines of accountability, has recently gained popularity. The capability line is structured into stable skill pools, with managers in charge of long-term personnel care, growth, and training. Employees work on a daily basis on the value creation line, which is made up of the highest-priority activities.
4. Making of clear decision rights to be delegated to lowest possible levels: One of the essential aspects of the post-pandemic organization is effective decision making. The flattened structure may speed up decision-making by removing unneeded management layers, ensuring that individuals understand their roles, responsibilities, and decision rights, and enabling the front lines to make choices within guardrails.

The pandemic has provided an excellent opportunity for organizations to reengineer their old and outdated structures and designs and enabled them to create a more agile, empowered, flexible, and better working model. Organizations should capitalize on the momentum and ensure that their organizational structures are in place to enable and accelerate their strategic goals, rather than holding them back.