Organisation and role design Exploratory

Why have an exploratory discussion? Your initial discussion with a senior leader or leaders who are contemplating a restructure can be challenging.
As an HR representative, you want to be able to support your senior leaders to make good decisions.
Senior Leaders may not be aware of their range of options other than a restructure or may not have thought through their objectives or the implications of the change.
You can include one or several key decision makers in the exploratory discussion. Public Service Commission 4 The exploratory discussion will:<br>

Exploratory discussion process 1. Preparation
Prepare for the exploratory discussion by identifying and inviting the key decision makers that need to be involved. Think about your organisation’s strategic priorities, the needs and priorities of your customers and the key decision makers in your organisation. Review this exploratory discussion tool and choose specific questions to ask, to guide your discussion. And lastly, reflect on how you can use motivational interviewing techniques to support key decision makers with identifying if restructuring is the right solution.

2. Exploratory discussion
During the exploratory discussion make sure you listen and reflect on the key points raised in the discussion, and be alert to signs of flexible thinking. Encourage your client to explore alternative options and make sure you cover topics including your organisation’s objective, current gaps and issues (and the root causes of any of the issues), risks and opportunities, and your client’s hopes, fears and ambitions.

3. Decision point
Review the outcomes and insights from the exploratory discussion, to understand if restructuring will resolve the current gaps or issues in the organisation. Decide if restructuring is the right solution after reflecting on the insights from the exploratory discussion. If a restructure:
Is required: make sure you explore changes to the organisational structure, role descriptions and design, systems and processes, delegations, and ways of working.
Is not required: consider minor adjustments to the organisational structure, performance management, capability uplift, workplace culture change, or minor role adjustments including role creation and realignment.

If you a considering a restructure, think about the following questions:
What will the restructure look like (small and simple or large and complex)?
How long will this restructure take?
What do we anticipate the change impact to be (low, medium, high)?
What opportunities does a restructure present?
What do we know and what do we need to explore? Refer to the Building Blocks in the Approach to Organisation and Role Design resource
Who needs to be involved in developing the high level and detailed organisational design?
How will we develop the organisational design, change and implementation plan (workshops, interviews, focus groups etc)? Public Service Commission 5<br>

Business partnering guidance Public Service Commission 6<br>

Exploratory discussion questions Public Service Commission 7<br>

Exploratory discussion questions (cont.) Public Service Commission 8<br>

Root cause analysis tool Public Service Commission 9 What will you do to achieve the future you want?
Is a restructure really required? What is the real reason for the issue? Consider capability, people management, role design, culture, networks, systems, processes etc
Break down the issue into small parts to understand the bigger picture
Develop a mind map of possible causal factors to trace back to the root cause Which events have led up to the issue?
What is the context? What is the impact of the issue?
How long has it been going on? What do you see happening? Defining the issue Collect data Identify contextual factors Identify the root cause Implement solutions<br>