Change and restructuring
Emergencies evolve often rapidly and your programme will have to respond accordingly. This may mean that the organisational chart has to change dramatically, with some positions disappearing and others being created. A similar situation may arise if substantial funding is secured or lost.
Changing the organisational chart on paper may be relatively easy, but matching the existing team to the new structure will be much harder.
| Possible strategy | Risk |
| You are loyal to existing team members and/or reluctant to face the task of terminating contracts, so you retain all your team and place them in the post which appear the most suitable | You put people in positions for which they do no have the necessary experience or competencies |
| You want to give everyone an equal chance, so you terminate the contracts of team members whose posts have disappeared and invite them to apply for the new posts | Team members resent having to re-apply for what they might see as 'their old job' with a different job title. Strong team members prefer to find alternative work with other organisations leaving only weaker members applying for posts. |
| You recognise that some team members will need to take on posts for which they do not have the necessary experience or competencies, but provide learning opportunities to bridge the gap. | Training may be able to develop competencies but can not replace experience. Three days' training certainly can not turn a bookkeeper into an accountant |