How to win at Organisation Design.
Helen Hardy, Co-Founder of Kozo Design Solutions recently spoke to a Sullivan Brown HR Recruitment HR Leaders breakfast and was led an interactive discussion to highlight the difference between Organisation design and organisation development and
Helen clarified the differences as:
- Organisation design shapes the operating model by aligning structures, processes, roles, decision-making and other organisational systems with strategy.
- Organisation development builds the behaviours, capabilities and cultural conditions that enable that operating model to work effectively and adapt over time.
Effective organisation design requires HR to consider the interdependencies between:
- Strategy — what the organisation is seeking to achieve.
- Structure — how roles, responsibilities and accountabilities are arranged.
- Processes and ways of working — how work and information flow.
- People and capabilities — the skills, behaviours and leadership required.
- Governance and decision-making — where authority sits and how decisions are coordinated.
- Culture, rewards and performance — how behaviours are encouraged, measured and sustained.
Changing one component in isolation can create unintended consequences elsewhere. The central principle is that organisations are designed—intentionally or otherwise—to produce their current results.
Strategic, operational and day-to-day decisions may require different levels of authority and different methods, including autocratic, consultative, expert-led, majority, consensus or unanimous approaches. HR can help leaders establish decision-making practices that balance accountability, pace, inclusion and risk.
From this insightful session, it became clear that HR can add greatest value by:
- Translating strategy into workforce, capability and operating-model requirements.
- Challenging requests that move immediately to headcount reduction or restructuring without sufficient diagnosis.
- Ensuring AI adoption is treated as a redesign of work, roles, skills and decision-making—not simply a technology implementation.
- Facilitating leadership alignment around design principles and priorities.
- Identifying the capabilities, behaviours and cultural conditions required by the future model.
- Designing governance that gives people appropriate clarity, authority and accountability.
- Supporting implementation so that new structures and processes become embedded ways of working.
In an environment characterised by ongoing ambiguity and disruption, organisation design should become a continuing organisational competence rather than a one-off project. Successful organisations will combine clear strategic intent with flexible governance, behavioural health and the ability to adapt confidently as conditions change.
For more information, contact helen@kosodesignsolutions.co.uk or visit kozodesignsolutions.co.uk