- Harvey Mackay
Business operations are multidimensional and companies make decisions simultaneously from the perspectives of products, clients and operating areas. The organizational structure of a company must support the management of its core areas and lay emphasis on areas that are strategically the most vital to it. For example, the client aspect can be emphasized by placing the primary profit responsibility on business units that are based on client segments. The planning of structures and areas of responsibility is particularly important when there are several areas of management.
The organization of a company needs to be systematically developed. Projects aiming at improved efficiency focus on an optimal volume and targeting of resources, for example, through developing roster systems. In addition to quantity, quality is also a major consideration. Developing the competence of the personnel through learning at work and by using the company’s own business cases as examples has proved highly effective.
Defining an optimal personnel structure and developing a resource planning model
Our client organization was facing decreasing profitability due to declining demand, which forced the management to introduce substantial savings to maintain an acceptable level of profitability. The client decided to initiate a project to determine an optimal personnel structure and to develop a model for resource planning. The target was to achieve permanent savings.
At the first stage of the project we analyzed the current personnel and cost structure as well as the model for resource planning in each unit. Following this, key development areas for improved efficiency were identified and their financial impact assessed. The key areas were then prioritized together with the management of the company and experts in the field. Based on the list of prioritized development areas, a new personnel structure was devised, which was then put into practice in the new roster plans of each unit. A new centralized planning process was defined that included both long-term overall planning and short-term roster planning. The responsibilities within the centralized roster planning organization and local units were documented and the monitoring processed and tools defined.