7 Things Employees Want to Know In a Department Reshuffle

Is there a big department reshuffle on the horizon? As a leader, you may have become blasé about corporate restructuring, especially if you’re a survivor of numerous downsizing/outsourcing/right-sizing battles. Trust me on this one when I say: You may be feeling chill (or resigned) about the latest company reorg, but the employees who report to you most decidedly are not.

There’s an old adage that says “people resist change.” And while there are many reasons people may be change-resistant, one of the primary elements has to do less with the change and more with the disruption that people know is coming. Even when an announced change is welcome (“Finally, it’s about time!”) there is still that period of uncertainty and lack of clarity about “who does what.” The more clearly and quickly a leader addresses employee questions, the more chance of a successful department reorganization.

There’s a Sequence to What Employees Want to Know

If your department is in any way affected by your company’s reorganization, there are several things that your team members will want to know before they can move to the task of making the change. Typically, their questions proceed in the following manner.

1. As you might suspect, the first reactions tend to be “Me” questions, like:
   • Where do I fit?
   • Will I like it?
   • What will I be required to do?
2. Then, once those questions are answered, people expand their curiosity beyond themselves to:
   • Where do others on my team fit?
   • What happens if there’s not a place for others?
3. Then, people start to assimilate how this change might be useful:
   • What are the benefits to me, my team and the company?
4. And finally (and only after all the other questions have been answered) are people ready to discuss the transition:
   • What’s the process for the changeover?

The Messaging Mistake Leaders Make in a Department Reshuffle

In my experience, leaders often breeze through steps 1 -3, providing only the most cursory of explanations. They want to move as quickly as possible to step #4. Here’s the problem with rushing steps 1 – 3: if people aren’t comfortable with the answers to the first three steps, then they’ll find a way to get the team back to the step for which they require more information.