3131 Human factors briefing note no. 3 – Organisational change

Overview:

This document is freely available to all registered users of this site.

There are various ways of changing how people work. Examples include downsizing, de-layering, multiskilling and employee empowerment. Change can arise as a result of company mergers, acquisitions or disposals, and changes can improve or worsen safety. Staffing changes are often associated with increased use of contractors.

Why organisational change?

Companies making organisational changes to solve a specific problem sometimes find other problems with the organisation that they were previously unaware of. Changes to the organisation may also cause problems that had not been considered or adequately addressed when planning the change. Team and organisation building is a large subject and the domain of human resource (HR) specialists or management consultants. However, some of the key issues involved are described in this briefing note. Other issues explored are listed on the back page of this briefing note, along with the some resources that can be used to help address them.

Human factors briefing notes - Resource pack includes the complete collection of briefing notes, contained in their own folder.