Organizational Design: How to Win in the Current Economic Crisis

Times are tough for most businesses. Aggressive competition, demanding customers, new technologies, global markets, and now a severe downturn in the economy are putting unprecedented pressure on many companies who must rethink the way they do business or, in some cases, face extinction.

The leaders in companies that are achieving success in these difficult times are regaining their balance and finding success by resetting their strategies, refocusing on their most important customers, improving the efficiencies of their core business processes, and redesigning how they go about doing business.

At the Center for Organizational Design, we believe that all organizations are perfectly designed to get the results they get. The results you’re currently getting in your organization are not by chance. And although influenced by factors outside your control (not the least of which is the current economic crisis) they also have a great deal to do with factors within your control—most notably your business strategy and how you have designed your organization.

By organizational design we’re talking about the integration of people with core business processes, technology and systems. A well-designed organization ensures that the form or infrastructure of the organization matches its purpose and strategy, meets the challenges posed by business realities and significantly increases the likelihood that the collective efforts of people will be successful.

 We provide you a step-by-step methodology and guide you through a process which identifies the dysfunctional aspects of workflow, procedures, structures and systems, realigns them to fit current business goals/realities and then develops a plan to implement the new changes. Our design methodology focuses on improving both the technical and people side of the business.  The process leads to a more efficient organization design and significantly improved results:  

• Excellent customer service
• Increased profitability
• Reduced operating costs
• Improved efficiency and cycle time
• Culture of engaged employees
• A clear strategy for managing and growing your business

Our proven redesign methodology, consulting and training solutions have helped hundreds of businesses and tens of thousands of people during the past several years. Consider the following examples of companies that we’ve assisted with redesign:

• The Rockwell International Corp. Space Shuttle Site Modification team finished ahead of schedule and under budget and achieved outstanding customer quality ratings, working almost no overtime, with 20% of previous manpower levels and one half the previous management hierarchy for the $60 million project. They improved customer relations, implemented self directed work teams and had employees training employees in team skills with the full and enthusiastic support of the UAW Union.

• A Corning Mold Machine Shop was non-competitive internally and externally in cost, quality, and delivery, and was on the verge of closing. Through redesign, they moved from a failing cost center to a viable profit center, realizing 100% improvements in quality and delivery, reducing costs from 15% above competition to 15% below the competition. They retrained an alienated workforce into multi-skilled work teams and reduced headcount by 15% with full support and involvement of employees and the local union. Today they compete head to head with any outside machine shop, earn high customer ratings and are looking for ways to get even better.

• By implementing several self-managing mini-labs, the Rocky Mountain Analytical Labs (Enseco Inc.) improved productivity by 50% in 18 months, increased profit margins by 20-25%, reduced turn-around time from 28 to 14 days and reduced internal handoffs between departments by many times. Quality is at an all-time high.
• Coach Leatherware's Northeast Manufacturing facility went through a cultural change process that included strategic visioning, redesign and training that improved leather utilization by 48%, reduced overhead spending by 10%, and increased plant efficiency from 88% to 100%.

Whether a single intervention or ongoing consulting relationship we partner with you to go from where you are to where you want to be, by following a process of assessing what you need, planning innovative strategies of growth, executing those strategies and evaluating progress against predetermined business metrics.