Risk Trends 2025 and Beyond: Organization Design and Readiness

Is your organization ready for the future — or even for today — and how resilient will you be as critical resources retire or quit?

Continuous transformation is happening everywhere, driven mostly by rapid technological advancements. With that in mind, adapting your organization to be future-ready is critical. However, a lack of vision and strategy is a big risk that can hinder an organization’s ability to evolve. Many system transformations, for instance, don’t consider the changes needed in organizational design, job descriptions, processes, and policy.

Setting up a business to support its goals while quickly responding to new challenges and opportunities is essential. Even without a major digital overhaul, businesses need to consider how emerging technologies can impact how they deliver products and services. 

Without clear goals, aligning systems, processes, and resources becomes difficult. Poor communication of new initiatives can leave employees confused and investments misaligned. Everyone in the organization needs to understand the direction and goals to increase the chances of success. Therefore, leaders need to understand technology well enough to communicate effectively to all resources, even their technology experts. 

Leading the charge

Inadequate leadership support can derail change efforts. Change requires strong commitment from the top. Without executive backing, there won’t be enough direction or resources to drive change forward. Leaders need to champion and provide clear guidance. 

Resistance to change is a common hurdle. Employees often prefer the comfort of the familiar and fear the unknown. They may even be scared they’ll be replaced by new technology or more digital-minded colleagues. This resistance can stop change in its tracks. Leaders must communicate the benefits of new initiatives and involve employees in the transition to alleviate concerns. 

Failing to address resistance and cultural issues can lead to misalignment of corporate values and, at its worst, lead to conflict. Organizational culture impacts how changes are perceived and adopted. Ignoring the potential for resistance and cultural issues can create a divided workforce. Categorizing employees into three groups: those who will never change, those who want to change but need help, and those who are ready and able to change can make organizational change management efforts more effective.

Ultimately, even if a business hasn’t undergone a massive digital transformation, it’s important to consider how technology will drive leadership, product development, and service delivery. Proactively addressing these key points will help organizations adapt to future changes and ensure long-term success.

Why stop there? Here are other risks to consider:

• Poor communication — especially from leadership
• Insufficient resource capability to adopt critical technology
• Insufficient training while skill gaps exist
• Inadequate infrastructure and systems
• Ineffective monitoring, support, and feedback mechanisms

Questions to consider: 

• Is your organization prepared for tomorrow? What about the next three years? 
• If not, are you prepared to remove the barriers in the way of required change? 
• Is there a need for a major reorganization to be better aligned with critical technology needs — like knowing which resources have required technology capabilities.
• Are you able to recruit and retain the talent you require to support the company’s continued evolution? If not, what is standing in your way?
• How do you compare to your greatest competitors?