Organisational Change

Continuing success comes from adapting and changing.

For an organisation, which levers of change are available and which ones should be activated?

Organisational change refers to the actions in which a company or business alters a major component of its organisation, such as its culture, the underlying technologies or infrastructure it uses to operate, or its internal processes.

There are many models for organisational change(e.g.: ADKAR, Kotter’s 8-step change model, Kubler-Ross Change Curve, PDCA (Plan-Do-Act-Change) model, Bridges Transition Model etc).

The Seven-S tool is based on the theory that an organisation is not just “structure”, but is comprised of seven elements distinguished by the “hard S” and “soft S”.

The three “hard S”, Structure, Strategy and Systems are practical and easily identifiable. The 4 “soft S”, Skills, Staff, Style and Shared Values, are somewhat less easily discerned and are less tangible.

The Seven-S diagram depicts how each of the elements influences, and is influenced by all of the other elements.

Strategy is a "hard S" in the 7-S framework. It is the company's route to success.

The strategy answers the question of what the company should do to achieve success by taking into account competitors and limited resources.

Organisational Change Question:

What should we do to solve the specified business problem?

Structure is a "hard S" in the 7-S framework. "Business structure" roughly equates to the organisational chart.

The goal of the organisation structure is to divide the tasks and resources to make everyhting work properly.

Organisational Change Question:

What structure do we need to execute our strategy?

Systems is a "hard S" in the 7-S framework. As a business we have a business structure and strategy. But actually, how do things happen?

Systems bring life into the business:

How are our customers treated?
How does our marketing work?
How do our logistics work?

All of these are supported by systems.

Organisational Change Question:

What business system do we need to use or invent to execute our strategy?

Shared Values is a "soft S" in the 7-S framework. In the original version of the model, these were entitled "Superordinate Goals".

These shared values might not mean a great deal to people outside of the organisation but they mean a lot to the employees and can be expressed as the company's principles and DNA.

Organisational Change Question:

Which of our principles help us? Why do we do what we do in the way that we do it?

Skills is a "soft S" in the 7-S framework. These are the "dominating attributes or capabilities" of the company. During organisational change, it is imperative to note that:

If the skill / capability is not explicitly marked, then it tends to get lost during a strategy or structure shift.
The new skill can appear only when the old skill is revised and removed/modified together with its supporting structure and systems.

Consequently, it is advisable to work with a compny's skills or at least label them properly.

Organisational Change Question:

What are the specific skills that will help us? What skills do we need to develop?

Staff is a "soft S" in the 7-S framework. Staff are the "company's people". Interestingly, many managers tend to ignore this aspect of the business during organisational change.

On the one hand, there are formal training programs, appraisal systems that are the prerogative of HR.
On the other hand, there is an engagement and motivation aspect that is skipped because it is not clear how to control it.

The result is that managers do not have any specific plan to improve the capabilities of their team.

Organisational Change Question:

How should we help members of our team in their growth?

Style is a "soft S" in the 7-S framework. It is a combination of "leadership style" and company culture.

In simple terms: how do executives spend their time?

Organisational Change Question:

What leadership style and cultural qualities will help us to achieve our startegic objectives?

Organisational Change

Continuing success comes from adapting and changing.

For an organisation, which levers of change are available and which ones should be activated?

Organisational change refers to the actions in which a company or business alters a major component of its organisation, such as its culture, the underlying technologies or infrastructure it uses to operate, or its internal processes.

There are many models for organisational change(e.g.: ADKAR, Kotter’s 8-step change model, Kubler-Ross Change Curve, PDCA (Plan-Do-Act-Change) model, Bridges Transition Model etc).

The Seven-S tool is based on the theory that an organisation is not just “structure”, but is comprised of seven elements distinguished by the “hard S” and “soft S”.

The three “hard S”, Structure, Strategy and Systems are practical and easily identifiable. The 4 “soft S”, Skills, Staff, Style and Shared Values, are somewhat less easily discerned and are less tangible.

The Seven-S diagram depicts how each of the elements influences, and is influenced by all of the other elements.

Strategy is a "hard S" in the 7-S framework. It is the company's route to success.

The strategy answers the question of what the company should do to achieve success by taking into account competitors and limited resources.

Organisational Change Question:

What should we do to solve the specified business problem?

Structure is a "hard S" in the 7-S framework. "Business structure" roughly equates to the organisational chart.

The goal of the organisation structure is to divide the tasks and resources to make everyhting work properly.

Organisational Change Question:

What structure do we need to execute our strategy?

Systems is a "hard S" in the 7-S framework. As a business we have a business structure and strategy. But actually, how do things happen?

Systems bring life into the business:

How are our customers treated?

How does our marketing work?

How do our logistics work?

All of these are supported by systems.

Organisational Change Question:

What business system do we need to use or invent to execute our strategy?

Shared Values is a "soft S" in the 7-S framework. In the original version of the model, these were entitled "Superordinate Goals".

These shared values might not mean a great deal to people outside of the organisation but they mean a lot to the employees and can be expressed as the company's principles and DNA.

Organisational Change Question:

Which of our principles help us? Why do we do what we do in the way that we do it?

Skills is a "soft S" in the 7-S framework. These are the "dominating attributes or capabilities" of the company. During organisational change, it is imperative to note that:

If the skill / capability is not explicitly marked, then it tends to get lost during a strategy or structure shift.

The new skill can appear only when the old skill is revised and removed/modified together with its supporting structure and systems.

Consequently, it is advisable to work with a compny's skills or at least label them properly.

Organisational Change Question:

What are the specific skills that will help us? What skills do we need to develop?

Staff is a "soft S" in the 7-S framework. Staff are the "company's people". Interestingly, many managers tend to ignore this aspect of the business during organisational change.

On the one hand, there are formal training programs, appraisal systems that are the prerogative of HR.

On the other hand, there is an engagement and motivation aspect that is skipped because it is not clear how to control it.

The result is that managers do not have any specific plan to improve the capabilities of their team.

Organisational Change Question:

How should we help members of our team in their growth?

Style is a "soft S" in the 7-S framework. It is a combination of "leadership style" and company culture.

In simple terms: how do executives spend their time?

Organisational Change Question:

What leadership style and cultural qualities will help us to achieve our startegic objectives?