Category: Organization Design

Organization Design deals with the complex issue of business models, operating models, jobs, roles, and structure – keys to making companies agile, efficient, innovative, and engaging for people.

Why Do Companies Hire Too Many People?

This week we witnessed one of the most amazing business stories in years. Meta announced a 22% reduction in headcount coupled with a 25% increase in revenue, resulting in a net income of $14 Billion, up 203% from the year before. This means Meta, a $160+ billion company, is generating 35% net profit after ... Read more»

AI Implementations Feel More Like Traditional IT Projects Every Day

As we learn more and more about corporate implementations of AI, I’m struck by how they feel more like traditional IT projects every day.

Yes, Generative AI systems have many special characteristics: they’re intelligent, we need to train them, and they have radical and transformational impact on users. And the back-end processing is expensive.

But ... Read more»

Four-day work week

The Four-Day Work Week: An Idea Whose Time Has Come

We just completed a large study of the 4-day work week and the results are clear. Under the right conditions it really works. And the results are very positive: improvements in employee health and wellbeing, increases in productivity, and overall improvement in revenue, profit, and customer service.

Wait a minute. Are you actually saying that ... Read more»

Introducing The Organization Design SuperClass!

Organization design has become one of the hottest topics in business. More than 80% of the companies we talk with are now experimenting with AI, flattening their organization, and reorganizing teams to improve productivity. And when it’s done well we’ve seen companies double or even triple their output and efficiency, improving employee engagement as well.... Read more»

A New Operating Model For HR Is Arriving Soon: Join Us

Over the last year we have been developing a new operating model for HR, and the research has been astounding. Nearly every company we interview agrees that the traditional “service-delivery” model is no longer enough, and that HR teams (and functions) need to be far more integrated, focused on design and product management, more agile, ... Read more»

Adapting To AI: The New World Of Organizational Ingenuity

As we all begin to understand the role of AI in our companies, a new era has emerged. The era of what I call the “Super-worker” – where each individual in the company has “superhuman” powers they’ve never experienced before.

Yes, thanks to AI we all have access to information, insights, education, and perspectives we ... Read more»

Redesigning HR: An Operating System, Not An Operating Model.

It’s time for a new operating model for Human Resources, one we name “Systemic HR.” Bear with me as I explain this important change.

Business Challenge #1: Slower Growth, Labor Shortage

2023 represents a pivotal year. As we exit the pandemic and 15 years of low interest rates, companies are looking for new pathways to ... Read more»

Were All These Layoffs Inevitable? Perhaps, But Here’s How It Happened.

As most of you know, the technology industry has laid off more than 200,000 people in the last six weeks and each week we see more (this week it was Intel, Paypal, Splunk, and Pinterest). So let me ask an important question: were all these layoffs inevitable?

Well in order to answer this question we ... Read more»

Banking Under Siege: The Secrets To Digital Success In Financial Services

The banking industry is hot again: interest rates are rising, people are spending money, and consumers want a more integrated, digital-first relationship with their provider. For consumer and commercial banks, however, the last decade has been traumatic. Everyone from Apple to Walmart to Google to Mastercard wants to take their business away. And new Buy ... Read more»

The Healthcare Industry Has A Talent Crisis: We Found The Cure.

We just completed a massive study of the talent and HR challenges in healthcare, and the findings are astounding. And there is a lot to learn from this industry.

To start, you should understand that healthcare is now the largest industry in the United States. Almost 14% of the American workforce serves in this ... Read more»

Haphazard Organization Design Is Holding Companies Back From Growth

Just released. New Research on Designing Jobs for the Future of Work.

Every day there’s another roadblock to growth. Inflation at nearly 8%, a war in Eastern Europe, more jobs than we have people, and employees leaving companies in droves.

As part of our Global Workforce Intelligence Project we’ve been interviewing CHROs in healthcare, ... Read more»

Introducing The Global Workforce Intelligence Project

Today we’re introducing one of the most exciting projects I’ve worked on in my career: the Global Workforce Intelligence (GWI) Project. This is a massive initiative we started over the last year to understand the new jobs roles, skills, and career pathways in every major industry around the world.

It’s a big project, and ... Read more»

Let’s Stop Calling It Labor: We’re All In The Services Business Now.

The job market is more dynamic than ever, and I think we can stop using the word “labor” to talk about what’s going on. Let me explain.

Government organizations like the Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and even labor unions are named around the concept of people as workers. In the industrial age ... Read more»

Elevating Equity and Diversity: The Challenge Of The Decade

This week we launch a year-long study of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in business and the results are disappointing. After billions of dollars invested in DEI training, tools, tech, and HR strategies, we haven’t moved the needle very far. In some respects, we’ve come a long way, but as our research discovered, only ... Read more»