We need to consolidate three regional administrative hubs into a centralized shared services seat to make our operations leaner before an exit, but we want to retain all three hub managers in other roles. How do we redesign the Accountability Chart to shift their responsibilities without running a layoff?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To restructure without running a layoff, you must decouple the design of your Accountability Chart from the people currently employed. First, design the ideal future-state structure that makes your operations lean and ready for exit. This means creating one single centralized shared services seat with five clear roles and measurable outcomes. Forget about your three current managers during this design phase.

Once the ideal structure is locked in, you must evaluate your three managers against the new seats on your chart. Use the People Analyzer™ to determine their core values fit and run a GWC™ evaluation for the new centralized seat. Only one person can occupy the new centralized manager seat.

For the remaining two managers, look at the other vacant or expanding seats on your Accountability Chart. As you prepare for an exit, you likely have gaps in customer retention, quality control, or operational support. Evaluate if these managers GWC™ these other seats.

If they are a core values fit and have high capacity, they can easily pivot to these new focus areas. However, you must be disciplined. Do not create artificial seats just to keep people on the payroll. Doing so adds unnecessary overhead and dilutes accountability. If there is no genuine seat that they GWC™ on the new chart, you must have an honest conversation about transition, but often, a lean restructuring reveals critical operational gaps that these experienced managers are perfect to fill.