Seven in 10 organisations have restructured in the past year, according to
an IRS study of 94 employers.
The survey found that top-down change programmes have been common across all
industries as organisations have downsized to cope with difficult trading
conditions or to get a better focus on their customers’ needs.
The results show that almost half the restructuring exercises involved
compulsory redundancies and that re-location and deployment were both also
common results.
Just three in 10 companies said they had negotiated with trade unions about
the restructuring programmes.
The two most commonly cited reasons for restructuring were job cuts
(particularly in the engineering and manufacturing sectors), but improving
customer focus, takeovers, mergers and the need to enter new markets were also
popular reasons behind restructuring programmes.
Half the respondents said that employees had some say in the way the
restructuring programmes were handled, and six in 10 said they recognised staff
input as an important factor. However, many respondents said they could have
done more to communicate with employees, particularly middle managers, whose
role was highlighted as being vital during this type of programme. www.irsemploymentreview.com,
020 8686 9141
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