Getting Input and Team Buy-In Before Reorganizing and Restructuring

Problem

In my company we have a lot of contractors. We also have a lot of people within our staff who work in different locations. Recently, the engineering team began doing some reorganization and restructuring. However, those teams rely on my product management team and one of my product managers had to work with a remote team in a distant time zone. Therefore, we were impacted by the reorganization and restructuring proceedings and had to pivot in a short amount of time.

Actions taken

"I think a part of reorganization and restructuring is getting input and making sure the teams that are being impacted are onboard prior to the changes being made."

Having discussions about where they believe there might be issues, what points they think are positive, and what objections they might have. This can be done by having more one-on-one conversations with those being impacted not only before but also after the transition happens. Prior to, talk about why these changes are happening, get them to understand the benefit, and get them onboard with the situation. Afterwards, check in with people and have a dialogue about where adjustments could be made.

The key is putting the questions back to the team. Get the team to solve the problem. Most people don't like top-down decisions because they feel like the manager told them they have to do something, therefore it simply must be done in that particular way. Instead, have them come up with a solution. Give the team the problem along with the facts and express your desire for reorganizing and restructuring. Get the team involved in the discussion. This will make them more willing to be on board to make the change. It is commitment from the team you are looking for.

Lessons learned

• In my experience, when you help people understand the benefits of what you are trying to accomplish they will be more likely to get on board and be more willing to try. So make sure that the staff understands the direction that you are taking, where you want to be afterwards, and why it is going to be great.
• If you can get someone to vocally commit to the change you are less likely to have backlash during and after the process. This is because it is more difficult to revoke. Also, people are less likely to complain about the situation because it has been explained to them. Thus, it acts as not only verbal commitment but mental commitment as well.
• At the end of the day you are not going to be able to get everyone to agree but the aim is to get the majority to buy-in. Someone is always going to be unhappy about something but focus on communication and understanding with the team.