Start with organisation design and the rest will follow

I firmly believe organisation design is the root of whether an organisation is functional or failing. Get it right, with the right leadership, values and systems, and the organisation will function. Get it wrong, and you are constantly going to be facing big challenges. Simply put: if you don’t set up the organisation in the right way, something is going to go wrong. And that means HR will constantly be firefighting.

In examples such as VW, company values missed out the importance of being honest and transparent. People were driven by market share at all costs and profitability usurped all of the other values. At the BBC, our values such as treating people with respect, making world class programmes and acting with integrity are at the heart of everything we do. And whereas in the past, leaders may not have been held to account, now they absolutely walk the walk. 

So how do you change an established organisation, which can often feel like turning an oil tanker around? How can we fill the FTSE 100 with organisations that act more like a John Lewis Partnership? It can be done, but it takes time. And for resilient, persistent leaders, it is doable even in the most complex of organisations.

There are a number of principles I’ve found useful. Firstly, be clear on the number of layers you have, so people understand where they fit. At Cafcass, where I was HR and OD director, we had a maximum of six layers, so five between the CEO and the frontline. At the BBC, we have a maximum of seven layers. At Cafcass we capped the percentage of managers at 7% for team managers and 1% for senior managers. 

Link organisation design back to the values of the organisation. Everyone should know what the organisation is about, where they fit into it, what they need to deliver to be successful, and how they can speak to the CEO. Transparency is crucial.

Make no mistake: this is hard work and not a one-year job. You might hear people say that what you propose can’t be done, that the organisation can’t be progressive. For a CEO, leading such transformation means being inspirational and visionary. They need to tell the story of the organisation’s future rather than just talk about the problems of the past or present. 

For HR directors, it’s about being strong enablers and innovators, truly understanding the problems of the business. It’s not about trying to shoehorn business issues into traditional HR ‘buckets’.

Get the organisation design right – the right people in the right places with the right skills and values, supported by the right process – and the rest will follow. Do that and as an HR director you can truly empower your managers and never have to worry about someone making the wrong decision. You will then have a happy organisation, somewhere people want to work, partner with and buy from.