Two in five CEOs would rather quit than lead a large-scale workforce transformation

Orgvue, the organisational design and planning software platform, has published research findings on C-suite attitudes to workplace transformation. Surveying 700 senior decision makers of organisations with more than 1,000 employees, the research found that two in five (38 per cent) CEOs would rather quit than lead a large-scale workforce transformation project.

As pressure in the modern business environment intensifies, C-suite leaders see event-based transformation as a blunt instrument for cutting costs. Sixty per cent believe decisions about workforce transformation are driven by human emotion rather than rational analysis and 61 per cent said they don’t give enough thought to planning transformation projects.

The research shows that cost take-out remains a top concern for C-Suite leaders. Sixty-three per cent of say cost cutting is the primary motive behind their transformation and 74 per cent are willing to go through transformation for this reason. Additionally, 64 per cent of CEOs would rather conduct layoffs than miss earnings targets.

As part of the study, Orgvue identified two different cohorts of CEO with opposing views on transformation. Conservative CEOs are change-sensitive and represent the two in five that would rather quit than go through transformation. Only 29 per cent of these CEOs are willing to lead major restructuring initiatives for their organisation, and only 25 per cent are willing to dismantle traditional hierarchies and management tiers to optimise workforce efficiencies.

Conversely, Agile CEOs are change-agnostic and are likely to embrace workforce transformation. Ninety-seven per cent of these CEOs say they’re willing to lead major restructuring projects for their organisation. They also say they’re willing to take a continuous approach to organisational change, rather than disruptive, timebound project approach.

Oliver Shaw, CEO of Orgvue, said: “Our research suggests that transformation fatigue has the C-suite in its grip. We think this is for two reasons: only 23% of transformation projects succeed; and many organizations are forced into crisis-response or event-based transformations.

“Organisations are taking the wrong approach to transformation, creating anxiety around these large, arduous, risky projects that invariably don’t return the cost savings they promise. Encouragingly, the research shows there’s a cohort of CEOs that see transformation in a different way and they’re more willing to lead major restructuring programs as a result. They see transformation as a continuous, iterative process that takes the pain out of organisational change and makes it more sustainable.”