What Does Restructuring A Business Mean And How To Do It?

Keeping a business afloat is no easy feat; any company owner will tell you that. With various components working hand-in-hand to ensure businesses maintain a profit, it is understandable that some of these processes need changing every now and again. While some business owners might be somewhat apprehensive about making changes in their businesses, it is undoubtedly for the better. You may very well have found methods that work for your business, but you should do what you can to build on these processes to stay ahead of the game.

Restructuring a business can be viewed as a way of making changes in a company, particularly when thinking about future success. While we have no doubt that some people reading this experienced a period of restructuring throughout the pandemic, this is a business format that can be implemented beyond periods of uncertainty. As we make our way further into a post-pandemic world, you might find yourself questioning how to shuffle your own company and how to go about doing so.

Should you be in this position as of late, you have found yourself in the right place at the right time. Compiled below, you will find a little bit about restructuring and how you can execute it yourself.

What Is Restructuring Within a Business?

For the most part, this is within the word itself, but allow us to expand on it a little more for those who might be a little unsure. Restructuring your business entails modifying or changing parts of your company. The intentions and reasons behind making changes to your company will greatly depend on one business to the next; there is no one-size-fits-all method when it comes to this.

Whether you intend to restructure your company to reduce debts or to make your processes more efficient will depend on the ongoing and past performance of your business. Using data and information relating to your company will enable you to make an informed decision and do what you can to make a difference as you move forward.

With this in mind, you might find yourself asking the all-important question – how do you restructure a company successfully? As mentioned briefly before, this will greatly depend on what you are looking to change, but there are some ways of going about this process. This takes us to the following section.

How To Restructure a Business?

At first glance, this might seem a lot easier said than done, and this could be viewed as accurate. Restructuring your company will take a fair amount of time and effort, and you should do what you can to remain patient throughout this time. You will most likely not see an immediate and overnight change, but instead, something that rears its head over time. Not to mention, this is likely to be a collaborative effort rather than something that you complete on your own.

At the same time, you will want to start by thinking about what you intend to change in your business. From here, you will be able to create some form of plan and figure out what resources or tools you will need for the job. Furthermore, you will want to consider whether you will use any external resources and agencies to help you navigate this process.

Particularly if you are restructuring your business and either moving employees between departments or terminating their employment, you will need to think about how best you can support them during this time. Ensuring they have the right skills is one thing but supporting them in finding another role is another. Outplacement support services, provided by third parties like Randstad Risesmart, are an ideal resource to use for this sort of thing; you can learn more about outplacement here.

How Long Should Restructuring a Business Take?

This is a question you are likely to be asking yourself when faced with this position and is something that greatly varies from one company to the next. Unique to your situation, the timeframe that you should set yourself will depend on what you intend to change or improve within your business. Nothing stops you from setting out a timeframe in which to work from, but you should also think about whether you will face any obstacles or delays along the way. Factoring these into your plans and thinking about what you might need to solve any problems will go a long way in ensuring your success and growth.

When wanting to establish a better idea of timeframes, you should ask questions of those around you. Assessing what competitors have done when in this position is one way of doing so and will give you a vision of what you should focus on versus what you should avoid.

Understandably, this is a lengthy and arduous process; it is not something that can be completed overnight. That being said, go forth with the confidence that the changes you intend to make within your business will pay off and come to fruition soon!

By: Michael Kilgour | 21/03/2022