A Professional Development Resource
Introduction
Organisational change is a natural part of university life.
Indeed, many colleagues have experienced so much organisational change that they can no longer remember which organisation they originally joined.
This guide will help you navigate periods of restructuring with confidence, professionalism and the appearance of purposeful movement.
Phase One: The Announcement
The Vice-Chancellor announces an exciting new organisational structure.
Key phrases include:
"fit for the future"
"reimagining our capabilities"
"breaking down silos"
"enhancing agility"
At this stage you should nod thoughtfully.
Do not ask what problem is actually being solved.
This suggests an unhealthy attachment to causality.
Phase Two: The Consultation
Staff are invited to provide feedback.
Remember:
Consultation is an opportunity to feel heard.
It is not necessarily an opportunity to alter the direction of travel.
Complete the survey.
Tick "Strongly Agree" for the question:
"I appreciate being consulted."
Tick "Neither Agree nor Disagree" for everything else.
This is known institutionally as measured optimism.
Phase Three: The Working Groups
Working groups are formed.
You will notice that the same eleven people appear on every committee.
This is because they are recognised as highly collaborative.
They have not been seen doing their actual jobs since 2018.
Phase Four: The New Structure
Everyone receives a new organisational chart.
Nobody understands it.
Boxes have moved.
Lines have changed colour.
Someone has become an Executive Director without ever occupying the intermediate evolutionary stages.
The chart is described as:
"Intuitively navigable."
This intuition has yet to emerge.
Phase Five: The New Titles
Your position title changes.
Nothing else changes.
Examples include:
Student Services Officer
becomes
Student Experience Facilitation Partner.
Administrative Assistant
becomes
Operational Enablement Coordinator.
Caretaker
becomes
Campus Infrastructure Continuity Specialist.
Everyone quietly continues introducing themselves exactly as before.
Phase Six: The Strategic Pause
No decisions are made for approximately six weeks.
This is because everyone is waiting to discover whether they are still authorised to make them.
During this period:
Meetings increase by 43%.
Emails increase by 76%.
Actual work continues through unofficial conversations in corridors.
Management later describes this as:
"A period of collaborative transition."
Phase Seven: The Discovery
Around Month Four, something remarkable happens.
People begin ignoring the new structure.
They quietly telephone the same person they have telephoned for the last fifteen years.
That person knows everything.
Officially they occupy a Level 5 administrative position.
Unofficially they are the entire University's operating system.
Phase Eight: Institutional Memory
Eventually a consultant asks:
"Why do people keep bypassing the official process?"
Silence.
Finally, Margaret from Finance says:
"Because otherwise nothing would ever happen."
The room falls quiet.
The consultant writes:
"Evidence of informal communication pathways."
Margaret returns to making the University function.
Final Reflection
Every organisational chart assumes that institutions operate through reporting lines.
Every experienced staff member knows they operate through relationships.
The chart explains where authority is supposed to flow.
The people explain where understanding actually lives.
These two systems coexist peacefully, provided neither looks too closely at the other.
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