Re-engineering people—The forgotten survivors

Decreased morale, motivation and confidence; increased scepticism, stress and insecurity; changing attitudes towards loyalty, employability and career—these are just some of the key responses of remaining employees (the ‘survivors’) which were identified by personnel professionals following changes in the financial services sector. This recent survey clearly indicated the potential impact of business process re-engineering (BPR) and other major organizational change initiatives on survivors. The generation of more appropriate responses and behaviours from individuals which match the new processes and technology are a prerequisite of successful BPR. This requires the management of three distinct issues: organizational change, personal transition and the psychological contract.