Are you changing any team structures or organizational models that you relied on in previous years? What are you reevaluating to ensure organizational agility?
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Are you finding that the changes in the reporting structure are causing disruption within those moving reporting lines?
It is creating some disruption, and so far, I'd say 90% of it is a good disruption. I'm moving people where they want to go. It's a question of whether they are doing what they want to do or if they are doing it because they have to. I move people where they want to go, which increases proficiency and gets more work done.
We are reassessing whether IT towers or silos are properly aligned with their leaders. Recently, we moved our manager for the modern workplace under my leadership, facilitating better alignment and support. Our goal is to ensure team members are working on tasks aligned with their strengths and interests.
As a Canadian national not-for-profit, we are not currently changing team structures or facing pressure to reduce funding. However, I am reevaluating how we describe IT spend to stakeholders. The Royal College distinguishes between strategic initiatives and operational activities, but I am exploring ways to better articulate the value of IT investments, especially member-facing products that drive revenue but are categorized as operational. This helps ensure transparency and understanding of our IT expenditures.
At Laserfiche, we have traditionally not outsourced software development, as it is core to our business. However, with our focus on SaaS platforms, we have selectively partnered with third parties to modernize legacy products that are not central to our operations. Security remains a top priority in these partnerships. We deploy solutions for static and dynamic application security testing, maintain a software bill of materials (SBOM), and conduct risk assessments on source code. Third parties are required to comply with our security policy, which extends to meetings and collaboration tools. Our vendor risk management process ensures that suppliers are transparent about their ability to meet our standards. Security by design is fundamental to our approach.
We have also downsized, cutting approximately 20% from our headcount budget over the past 8 to 18 months. In parallel, we completed major platform replacements, including CRM and ERP systems. The ERP replatforming has enabled us to democratize IT services, shifting product ownership into the business rather than IT. Now, business leaders such as finance and HR directors also serve as product leads for their respective domains. Adaptive planning is managed across the group, whereas previously it all sat within IT. We have adopted a matrix team model for many of our business AI tools. Despite the reduction in staff, we have maintained output levels, although there is an underlying sense of uncertainty that drives people to work harder. There are definite areas of improvement, and we are striving to demonstrate that IT costs are aligned with business value.
We focus on monthly alignment and internal evaluation of business activities, such as project timeliness and revenue capture. The 9-box method helps assess employee alignment, promotability, and support needs. Traditional management structures have shifted to meet employee needs and business direction, fostering relevance and agility.