The summary above shows the linear phases for re/organizing an enterprise.
Note: Each of the previously identified five stages of the Re/OrgSystem is embedded in parallel with the five phases outlined here. Additional re/org needs for each phase are added for completeness of a typical re/org, such as defining business plans and strategies, identifying best practices, loading the work and so forth.
The re/organization of an enterprise does not have to be all or nothing. Re/organizing one troublesome department for a start will pay you immediate dividends and get you used to what it takes to facilitate and gain acceptance of the Re/OrgSystem. Of course, doing the whole of the enterprise allows you to align everything as one cohesive business aimed at achieving maximum service to your clientele and profit to your business, but an enterprise-level re/org is not required to begin gaining familiarity with and faith in the Re/OrgSystem.
When faced with a skeptical enterprise that doesn't want to do a major re/org, at a minimum we have often suggested that an enterprises at least model the jobs. Besides the fact that current job descriptions, if they exist at all, can be rather useless, job models are highly functional in several different ways (e.g., better performance reviews) that have been previously alluded to. Job models get everyone more organized, giving each person a better handle on what their work is, how their job relates to other jobs, and how management can monitor, assess and improve individual work. All these are paramount to an efficient and effectively operating company. This is all to suggest that you can start to become better organized anywhere in an enterprise. At a minimum, we recommend that you do one work level to increase work execution or, at the organizational support layer, to improve the overall culture of the enterprise.
The Re/OrgSystem Phases chart at the beginning of this chapter illustrates a complete re/organization at all levels and one layer (see Langdon for additional layers) in an enterprise. As we have emphasized repeatedly in this book, your enterprise must have completed the foundational business plans and strategy first, to make clear where your enterprise is going and what it wants to achieve as business targets. Only then can you proceed to organize or re/organize your enterprise. You may have noted, by the way, that these foundational elements at the business unit level are to be found in the Organizational Support Matrix. Review what is found there, especially as business unit inputs (1A) and governances (1B).
The following is a summary of the five phases that help you orient others to your re/org and help get started righting the enterprise.
Phase 1
Depending on the size of the enterprise, you start work execution modeling with either the business unit(s) or a combination of business unit/core processes. This is where you first employ the Language of Work ModelTM to operationalize WHAT the enterprise will do to achieve its foundational business plans and strategies. The 10-Minute Teach will quickly introduce the management team (six or so representatives) who will be modeling the WHAT of business. It should not take any more than perhaps a day to complete this modeling, which can then be shared with others for input, buy-in and revision as needed. We advise that you utilize the services of an internal or external master facilitator to keep modeling on track and avoid the disruption caused by personal agendas and politics, while preserving efficiency of the modeling task at hand. We also recommend a second facilitator to do data entry and manage the overall administration of the re/org. An available compendium e-book, the Facilitator's Guide to the Language of Work ReOrgSystem, details for your internal personnel how to facilitate an effective re/organization.
Phase 2
In Phase 2, we emphasize the modeling of core processes as the HOW of enterprise work aligned with the WHAT, and subsequent naming and identifica-tion of the jobs (current or future) to actualize (align and operationalize) the core procedure steps. At this point, these are the professional and/or technical jobs needed to do the work. It is only later, in Phase 5, that support and management jobs will be identified and modeled. The predominant composition of the team modeling core processes and identifying jobs should be operations personnel who are known as exemplary managers. This is also a good place to invite an outside expert in any of your core processes to share advice on best practices in the industry. In general, we recommend that you seek their advice on how better to conduct your core processes as you model them, rather than seeking to have the expert model the processes for you.
Phase 3
In Phase 3 we model all the professional and technical jobs—the WHO—identified in Phase 2. These are best modeled by exemplary job performers within your enterprise. You know who these people are and can arrange for 4 or 5 of them to meet with a management representative or sponsor from the core processes modeling team. Together, led by facilitators, they can construct a job model in about 4 to 6 hours. This also usually includes specifying skills, knowledge, and attributes of the job for future use as a more functional set of job descriptions in the enterprise. The difference between these and earlier job descriptions is that these are more operationally work-oriented and thus can be used to hire, improve, plan and change work as needed. In large part, job models will also serve to orient the workforce on an individual basis as to the way(s) in which you intend for them to be re/organized at least in terms of what they must do, but not who they will be organized with (teams—see Phase 4) or how they will be managed organizationally (see Phase 5). The six elements of work execution defined in job models are aligned with the previously defined six elements of the business unit (WHAT) and core processes (HOW) to create the WHO of work.
Phase 4
In Phase 4 you identify and model the work groups or teams that will function exclusively within their own sphere or across organizational boundaries with other teams, jobs and/or vendors and clients. These teams or work groups are determined by the same management team that modeled the core processes with further details integrated from the already completed job models. Work groups should be modeled by exemplary performers representing the various jobs that will comprise a team model, with the aid of a sponsor from the core process modeling team, and facilitated by the re/org facilitators. Most work groups can be modeled easily within a day.
Phase 5
By the time Phase 5 is ready for development, the re/org is practically done. The organization phase includes re/org considerations for the identification and modeling of support personnel, functions/teams and management jobs, developing and revealing organizational structure (chart), and identifying organizational support needed to ensure a healthy organization to execute work. Under most circumstances, an overall implementation plan for the re/org is planned as well.
Following these 5 Phases using the Language of Work ModelTM will result in a successfully re/organized enterprise.