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Can HR Become a Better “Organizational Surgeon”?

Friday, June 19, 2009*

by Maurizio Morselli

With layoffs and downsizings all around us, I wonder whether HR can help ensure that these "staff-ectomies" are

carefully planned and cut no deeper than absolutely necessary.

Organizations and individuals are faced with new challenges every day. The global “FDD” (fiscal decadence disorder) is the

latest malady that has created enormous pressures to carry out expeditious procedures such as cost/resource

reductions or reductions at the personal level. And, for those of us still working, there is the pressure of trying to be a

strategic partner at the organizational level, for organizations affected with myriads of challenges such as to where to

reduce costs and staff; what procedures to carry out? And all with some known side effects felt throughout the entire

organizational organism. But what is the cure? What should the organizational physician and his or her team do?

Enter the Organizational Surgeons

Many “coping strategies” or so-called “cures” are being quickly prescribed to deal with this malady. Our

management teams convene in the “operating room” and decide quickly where to “cut” and what organs to remove. The

simplest strategies—eliminating staff and outsourcing activities that are not core—appear to be immediate quick fixes or measures that can at least stop the bleeding. They can, however, (and we should know it) carry their own risks and side

effects.

Downsizing (also euphemistically called “rightsizing”) and reductions in force (RIFs) unfortunately become the procedures/protocols of choice. Indeed, they can expeditiously restore a semblance of renewed organizational health

almost overnight. While I certainly admit that surgery may be required when organizational survival is at stake, I strongly

believe that the downsizing scalpel wielded without proper diagnosis and careful thought about “post operational”

consequences, can lead to serious, irreparable damage to core competencies and the loss of critical institutional

knowledge.

The deleterious results will be seen in a reduced ability to innovate, to take creative risks, to execute business plans as originally envisioned and, in general, to succeed in a globalized economy that is becoming fiercely competitive,

entrepreneurial, and extremely focused on utilizing knowledge as a core asset. Now, more than ever, knowledge,

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information, and content are key resources of the firm. Did the surgeons consider the organizational value of institutional

knowledge?

Knowledge plays a critical role with respect to performance, both with the individual worker and at the organizational

level. Moreover, the knowledge required is a moving target, forever in flux—it is a living organism. It evolves constantly as a

result of the rate, volume, and nature of changes occurring within organizations and in their environments. The central role of knowledge, and its fluid nature, brings to the fore the significance of organizational strategies for developing and

deploying content that conveys useful knowledge.

When we downsize, we remove important informational, institutional connective tissue. Without the staff who once had that knowledge and who used its content effectively and contextually in the culture of the firm, the firm is at a

disadvantage, and it may have compounded the problem by creating side organizational stressors that will not go away.

My Question to All of Us

The question I am trying to answer is: how can the HR function be (or become, if it’s not) an effective member of the corporate operating room ensuring that:

Unnecessary “operations” are not carried out.

Necessary “operations” are approached with diligent diagnosis and are the least invasive possible.

Quality of life (for all, not just the executive team) after the “operation” is seriously considered.

Alternate therapies have been sought before rushing in with the scalpel.

Postoperative health maintenance has been considered thoroughly as part of the “pre-op” process.

In the meantime, diagnose well, consider all side effects and, if absolutely necessary, operate with care!

*The article appeared originally in 2009 in Maurizio Morselli’s column in the HR Daily Advisor of BLR (Business Legal

Reports); Originally entitled: Can HR Cure FDD (Fiscal Decadence Disorder)?

Maurizio Morselli is a multilingual Human Resources Development consultant and professor and specializes in Executive

Coaching, Management Development and Business English for Professionals. He is passionate about the health of

organizational systems. He can be reached at mloves2teach@gmail.com