The Reorg Chronicles: What To Do When Change Seems Imminent

Company reorganization can lead to hard decisions where roles are eliminated or transformed to better align with the company’s strategic goals. As an employee, these changes can lead to fear and uncertainty. In fact, the American Psychological Association found that over 70% of employees experience significant stress during times of such change. This comes as no surprise since the result of a restructuring can often mean losing your role altogether or being asked to take on a vastly different role.

Even if you don’t think a reorg is coming to your company soon, it’s a good idea to take steps now to prepare you for any future changes. There are two parts to a company reorg that we will talk about here – the leadup and the aftermath.

Preparing for a possible restructuring

It is very possible that you won't see a reorg coming, as they are often not discussed broadly until decisions have been finalized by senior management. Your strategy starts with a reframing of the stressful emotions you feel into a productive approach. You likely won’t get to choose what happens to your role as part of a re-org, but you can control how you react to it. Think of this period of uncertainty as a period of opportunity: to maximize relationships with the people you've been working with and set yourself up for success.

• Maximize relationships with your colleagues: You've put significant time into working with your colleagues, and they can be an incredible asset for you, whether your role remains or is cut. Take some time to connect with them on all sorts of topics, from life to career goals. They may end up being your strongest advocate internally if there are roles in other organizations, or externally if they know more about you and how to help you stay on your feet. Speaking with coworkers, and specifically managers, may also give you additional insight into what other roles may exist internally, and provide insight into the next proactive steps you can take.

  
  

• Develop your skillset: Take a moment to assess your skills and how they fit into your industry more broadly. Is there an opportunity for you to develop a skill that is becoming more and more necessary? Doing this assessment and gathering insight from coworkers and managers will give you a roadmap to follow. Beyond helping you gain valuable skills, this action has a confidence-boosting effect too - helping you feel prepared in the event that your role is eliminated.
  

My role got cut—now what?

Losing your job through a restructuring feels personal, and pretending like everything is fine may be unrealistic. Remember that these feelings are valid and deserve the space to exist. That said, the most important thing for you to do immediately after finding out is to channel these emotions away from the workplace and your coworkers. Burning bridges between you and the people you've interacted with the most over your tenure in your role will set you up for a more challenging transition, internally or externally. After you've taken a beat to let the intense emotions recede, it's time to get back to work.

• Update your resume and LinkedIn profile to reflect your accomplishments and skills: This is critical to do when the content is fresh in your mind. You can always update this later for a specific opportunity, but capturing these details now will only make it easier when you need to anyway.

  
  

• Reflect on your career goals and reevaluate your aspirations: These may look similar to what they were before, or it may be time to reset. Regardless, a clarified direction helps others help you, and allows you to narrow down the option set of opportunities.

  
  

• Develop a networking and search strategy: Once you know the types of roles you are targeting, it's time to develop a focused networking and search strategy that will help you get there.

  
  

• Consider hiring a career coach: It's common for people to realize that they haven’t searched for a job in some time and aren't certain how to approach a modern one. Career coaches often support individuals needing to make a transition and are adept at doing all of the things above and more. 
  

Reorgs are undeniably a source of stress for employees. And while there may be no way to completely prevent these stressful emotions, there are certainly ways to navigate through them. Start by channeling these emotions into more positive ones and get proactive. Connect with your coworkers and prepare yourself for a new role.

If your role does get cut, take some time to process the emotions. Then it's time to take advantage of the opportunity to refresh your personal branding materials and assess where you want to go next in your career. Ultimately, embracing change as a growth opportunity and staying proactive can lead you to exciting new possibilities. Remember, resilience and optimism are powerful tools for navigating any career transition successfully.