ReOrg Chaos - Advice On Approaching Professionally

Anonymous

November 7,2023 at 1:52PM UTC

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ReOrg Chaos - Advice On Approaching Professionally

I work for a large global company and my particular department is in the midst of a reorganization. We are moving our directors from being part of a particular country to more of a part of the globe. No big deal as I have worked for the global units before this job was the first time I have worked in only a specific country. The issue lies with the new management and the fact that they are sharing public organizational charts that have job specifics including role and responsibility changes without discussing with individuals affected first. It is causing me issues with projects as people are assuming I will no longer be on them after the reorg.

I need to have a 1:1 sit down with the new director as I believe he has been misinformed about my role and my current director agrees. Current director has discussed with the new one (effective 1st of year) and sees there is a gap for sure in reality and what he was informed.

I need to professionally lay out my roles/responsibilities and ask if new director would consider my input as the expert in the role (only person running the role for the market style we have) and ask for new director and I to have a more direct working relationship vs indirect.

I believe this is more of a managing up situation. Normally I would start with my manager vs my director but my manager is out of office on FMLA and I only report to the directors in their absence. I am also trying to use this as a growth opportunity to show I am constantly striving for improvement to help give options for a future new role in our company. I have no short term plans but this is considered in our yearly reviews.

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AnonymousNovember 7,2023 at 2:53PM UTC
Why don't you have your old director do it first before jumping in?
AnonymousNovember 7,2023 at 6:57PM UTC
She started the conversation but wants me to jump in as the expert of the role.
AnonymousNovember 7,2023 at 3:17PM UTC
I was in a reorg similar to that you’ve described. Be aware that the whole reorg bit is often used as an excuse/reason to cut qualified people. Sometimes the first sign of that is pulling those with a lot of experience in key areas out of projects usually or currently belonging to them.
This is because others in the company see you as an expert and defer to you; and that can be seen as a challenge to the new regime’s authority.
It could just be a lack of knowledge of your current/previous role of course, but the fact that none of you were informed/talked to about these changes before they went public is a huge warning sign. It’s disrespectful and unprofessional and it gives no opportunity for those affected to clarify their current role, express concerns/ask questions.
I would not be surprised if your request to meet is denied, nor would I be surprised if you got lip service and they started talking about these changes being to “free you up for new responsibilities”.
When you tell them all you have actually been doing, don’t be surprised if they talk about “knowledge transfer” and the need for you to have backup. Then you might be asked to train others. Red flag.
If you love this company and your job it’s worth trying to work it out, but stay skeptical and watch your back.
This is how it started for me, and in under 8 months (once I’d effectively trained my replacements; and let them know I had completed this task and was ready to hand off and begin the new role/projects) I was terminated.
I’d been with my company 16 years, was the only one in my dept with multiple awards, had stellar annual reviews, was seen as a subject expert, led teams, etc. I tried to work with new management all the while hearing from directors I worked with daily that meetings where I should have been were being held without me. When they’d said I should be there as subject expert they were told they were “trying to free me up for other projects”. My co-workers were worried for me.
In the end I was told it was just unfortunate that in the reorg there was no spot for me, I’d done nothing wrong, was an exemplary employee and I had 30 days to find myself a job within the company or I’d be terminated with severance.
Obviously I was best qualified for positions being created within this dept, but they were careful not to post them until day 31. Did I mention I was over 50, the top ranking female in my dept and had just herniated a disc but didn’t go on disability because if I sat in my chair just the right way I could stand the pain and work? Yes, all of that. Four slightly younger men were hired to replace me, each at twice my salary.
AnonymousNovember 7,2023 at 6:59PM UTC
At my company it is notoriously hard to fire or terminate someone. Even if they phase your job out they move you in the company.
I honestly think the person taking over listened to bad advice from a coworker who is a power seeker.
Thanks though for giving me some red flags to look for and keep in the back of my mind. Definitely food for thought.
April MinerNovember 7,2023 at 7:54PM UTC
I've been involved in many re-orgs)riffs. I was extremely helpful and did my part to retrain people as my back-up or to share my responsibilities. Each time my role expanded and so did my responsibilities. Don't look at the riff negatively, it could be the best thing to happen to your career!
AnonymousNovember 7,2023 at 4:43PM UTC
Unfortunately, reorgs are a magnet for ineptitude, and you could be missing because you are indeed in danger of being cut, or because some fool released org charts that aren't finalized yet.
If they have already decided you're getting cut, there is not much you can do outside of looking for a new job. However I would not let it impact your performance, in case like I said it's question of basic ignorance/stupidity.
I've been in a position a couple times where I've been ambushed with changed org charts before being informed of anything. I don't think notifying you is a courtesy people conform to anymore.
Imagine your county has been issued a Tornado Watch. Maybe nothing will happen, but you want to be prepared in case you do get that Warning. And take note that there will probably be a lot of damage around you in the process.