Financial Times

The other side of re-engineering
By Nilooka Dissanayake
I have been reading up a lot on outsourcing, particularly about experiences of organisations trying to outsource non-core activities. When I read about the responses of employees to outsourcing, I remembered an experience I had with employee relations and changes in the business process.

Since many large organisations are contemplating outsourcing, consolidation or other activities that necessitate managing change, let me relate the story. For my MBA thesis, I wanted to focus on managing organizational change.

In 1996, BPR-Business Process Re-engineering was a hot topic. Management gurus were writing best sellers about it. Organisations that had dipped their fingers-just dipped mind you, not really learnt to swim-in BPR were coming out with their experiences in glowing terms. Fortunately for me, at that time, the CIMA branch of Glasgow (where my University was) invited a guest speaker to talk about his organisation's experience in BPR.

The charming Scotsman-they are all charming up there-was representing one of the largest banks in Scotland. His story glowed so, even on that gloomy and wet winter's eve in Glasgow. I was thrilled and so was my supervisor. I could select this organisation to study how the changes impacted on employees. It would be a brilliant thesis.

When I asked for an appointment, I was given one promptly. The next week, I visited the bank headquarters in Edinburgh with my heart full of expectations because at the time I was the only one in my batch of 93 MBAs to have already selected a project.

The officer introduced me to a manager in the HR department. She seemed terrified when I asked how I could arrange to interview employees for the project. My little chat with her showed that things were not at all as bright and glowing about the BPR exercise in the bank. People were terrified of losing jobs.

Everyone was nervous. Although changes were bringing in a lot of positive results, the process had been managed in such an insensitive manner that the atmosphere was very tense. People were full to the brim with grim and negative thoughts.
It was such an unhealthy atmosphere that I decided to get out soon as I could politely manage it. That was the end of that project idea.

From that day, I have been skeptical about PBR and all management fads.
I pay attention to case studies of successes with a big bag of salt. And, best of all, I learnt the need for sensitivity and good communications in managing change in organisations. This was something that the professors could not have drilled into me through a lecture.

Ambiguity leads to chaos. Productivity actually drops. Openness is a sterling virtue in managing change. Good communications is a must. So remember this when you go for anything that leads to change within your organisation.

Whether you are outsourcing activities which earlier used to be done in-house, reorganizing functional boundaries, going in for BPR and similar fads, opening new branches, closing up old ones, consolidating, downsizing, rationalising or whatever you new spangled and highly paid consultants call it, watch out.

Think of people and their feelings. Keep them involved and informed. Assure them that they will be looked after. Explain the reasons for change. Show them and tell them in their language-not that of the consultants-the need for change. It is kinder to tell those who will be laid off sooner than to keep everyone in suspense. Sometimes you have to hurt to be kind.

Loyalty and caring will bring in results for you in the long term. Like begets like. More than anything, remember that the consultants will go off. You will be left behind to face the consequences and the music.

We welcome your comments about managing change. In the meanwhile, please do contact us with your concerns on outsourcing, especially if you are working in a large organisation. Your point of view will help those on the other side of the fence, small organisations and specialists who are seeking to take up the tasks you outsource.

You can reach us on ft@sundaytimes.wnl.lk or call on 075-552524.
The writer is the Managing Editor of Athwela Vyaparika Sangarawa (Athwela Business Journal), the only Sinhala management monthly targeting the small and medium sized business operators and its English version, Small Business International magazine. lanelle - can you run the story on reckitts alongside this one bec it is on a connected issue?

Back to Business