What is this meeting about?
As organizations continue to evolve through transformation, restructuring, cost pressures, and changing workforce expectations, Organization Design plays an increasingly important role in shaping how companies operate, grow, and reward talent effectively.
In this session, Allison McMillan, Lead Organization Design Consultant at Nat West, will share practical experiences and perspectives from her work within the UK Financial Services sector.
Alison has over a decade of experience in Human Resources and Organization Design and has worked with organizations including NatWest and the UK Department for Work and Pensions. She is passionate about helping organisations use OD as a driver for meaningful and sustainable change.
During the meeting, we will explore topics such as:
- How Organization Design influences workforce structures and decision-making
- The relationship between OD, job architecture, and Total Rewards
- Supporting leaders through organizational change and transformation
- Practical lessons learned from large organizational environments
While rooted in Financial Services, the discussion will be highly relevant for HR and Reward professionals across industries who are involved in transformation, workforce planning, organizational effectiveness, or change management.
Presentation:
Stream:
Key take-aways:
Effective organisation design starts with strategy, not structure. The session highlighted that leaders should first clarify business outcomes, required work, capabilities, accountabilities, and operating-model needs before making structural choices. Organisation charts should be treated as the result of design thinking, not the starting point
The discussion also emphasized that organisation design, workforce planning, and total rewards are increasingly interconnected. Clear roles, future capabilities, AI-enabled work, career pathways, and reward frameworks need to be considered together so organizations can evolve sustainably rather than simply restructure.
- Start with strategy, not boxes
Strong organisation design begins with strategic objectives, desired outcomes, work, and capabilities. Moving reporting lines without understanding the underlying work risks creating activity without real effectiveness. - Design work for the future, not only for today
Future capabilities, AI, automation, digital operating models, and evolving skills should be built into design decisions. The session reinforced that AI often changes tasks and responsibilities rather than simply eliminating roles. - Connect organisation design with total rewards
Role clarity, accountabilities, job evaluation, incentives, career development, and retention are directly shaped by how work is organized. Reward frameworks should therefore evolve alongside organisation design choices. - Use regulation and governance as guardrails
In complex environments, compliance requirements should guide and constrain design choices without becoming the sole driver of the operating model. Effective design balances business value, governance, and regulatory accountability. - Treat organisation design as continuous evolution
Markets, technology, regulation, and workforce expectations keep changing. Organisation design should therefore be an ongoing management discipline rather than a one-time restructuring exercise.
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