University restructures have been a feature of life for as long as I’ve been in the sector – over 30 years.
I’ve led many restructures, and I’ve been at the sharp end of restructures too.
I’ve learned a lot.
And they’ve been tough learns. But until now I’ve never shared it. Somehow, the inside track on university restructuring doesn’t get much airtime in sector debates. And I can understand why. If you’re leading a restructure, conventional wisdom says that you say nothing publicly until the time is right and the narrative has been fully sanitised and de-risked. If you’re on the receiving end, it feels confusing, personally risky and far too sensitive to talk about in open forums.
And yet I’ve had innumerable private conversations in recent months with those leading restructures, those affected by restructures and everything in between. With Universities facing tough financial futures, restructuring seems to be – still – a default approach.
So what have I learned?
1 Restructures, reviews, re orgs – whatever you want to call them – create the organisational equivalent of the freeze response to stress. All the organisational blood rushes from the brain to the limbs, ready to take flight. Projects stall, investments are paused, strategies go on ice. This period of organisational inertia can be immensely costly at time when the environment for UK higher education is fast moving, global and fiercely competitive.
2 Affected – and unaffected – university staff can feel like collateral damage. Even the most well-intentioned and deftly communicated restructuring goals can cause individual and collective trauma amongst staff. People really are Universities’ greatest asset so this has all the hallmarks of self-sabotage.
3 The longer a restructure takes to complete, the greater the impact on staff in terms of uncertainty, fear, anxiety and wellbeing. And this means a drop off in productivity, an increase in staff attrition (as loyalty is trumped by self preservation), and potentially a drop off in student satisfaction. All of this materially affects the bottom line and the ability of a University to flourish and grow.
Enough of the downsides! The best reorganisations that I have experienced:
1 Are relentlessly transparent about rationale and vision while explicitly and honestly addressing legitimate fears through clear, consistent two-way engagement with staff and stakeholders. And answers the difficult questions honestly, with limitless patience and without judgement or obfuscation.
2 Include up-front and ongoing investment in support for staff that actually meets people where they are, and which are tailored to individual needs. Everyone experiences change differently and a one size fits all solution simply won’t cut it. Create safe spaces, provide counselling, lay on coaching, ask staff what they really need. And know that this need will change as time passes.
3 Bring in employees into the re-org conversation from the get-go – as co-creators in restructuring journeys, rather than as passive recipients. This requires a relinquishing of some control by the senior team (and this is not easy!) so that staff gain some real agency. It also means that the senior team must drop any fixation on a particular model. Staff input and expertise will always come up with something better and stronger. Above all, treat staff as the intelligent, grown-up experts that they are. And trust them.
4 Capture and lock in vital institutional knowledge from disrupted functions to avoid loss of institutional memory.
5 Ensure that all changes are scrutinised through an equity lens, paying close heed to intersectionality impacts and ensuring that the decision taken move the organisation forward in equity terms, not backwards. Greater equity = greater organisational capacity and talent. No restructuring achieves its intended impact if it locks in the very obstacles to diversity, equity, and inclusion it should be dismantling.
All this upfront investment pays dividends – more engaged staff, smoother transitions, enhanced productivity, innovation and capacity to compete in a VUCA world.
No University reinvention is worthwhile if it doesn’t somehow leave the place fundamentally stronger and more aligned to its mission at a human level.
Shuffle the pieces but do it well, fairly and only those which actually warrant a shuffle!
