We are consolidating our operations departments to gain efficiencies, which leaves us with three redundant managers. We want to avoid layoffs to protect our culture, but we cannot have multiple names in one seat. How do we restructure the Accountability Chart to absorb them without creating artificial roles?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

To protect your culture and maintain operational integrity, you must follow the EOS® principle of structuring your Accountability Chart first, then placing people in seats. Do not create artificial seats to avoid hard conversations. Start by designing the ideal, consolidated operations structure. Define the seats and the five core roles for each. Once the structure is locked, look at your three redundant managers and run the GWC™ tool on them for the remaining open seats in your organization. Do they GWC™ any of the new, real seats you need for scaling? They might be excellent candidates for individual contributor seats that require senior expertise, such as high-level project delivery, key account management, or technical training roles. These are real seats that drive revenue, not artificial boxes. If you find a match, move them. If they do not GWC™ the available open seats, or if you simply do not have the budget to keep them in non-essential roles, you must let them go. Keeping redundant managers in fake seats will drain your cash, confuse your team, and destroy the clarity of your Accountability Chart. Handle their exit with dignity, respect, and proper compensation. Protecting your culture means being clear, honest, and fair, not keeping people in jobs that the business no longer requires.