People Enablement
The people you have and the roles they fill determine whether the new organization can actually do what it was designed to do.
Aim
People Enablement covers how to identify which roles need to be filled, assess the capabilities of the people in the organization against those roles, and plan the knowledge transfer required for people to move successfully into new positions. It works through two tools — the People Assessment tool, which inventories your people's current work, skills, and potential future roles; and the Knowledge Transfer tool, which captures what an organization must know about a role to move people into it effectively. Together they answer the question: who can do what, and what do they need to know to succeed in their new role?
Results
- A complete inventory of the people in the organization, their current work breakdown, skills and potential roles in the new design
- Clear alignment between the roles the new organization needs and the people and capabilities available to fill them
- Identification of capability gaps — where the organization has no one who can step into a critical role, or where people have significant strengths that aren't being used
- Knowledge documentation for each impacted role: key contacts, deliverables, assignments, meetings, risks, and lessons learned
- A transition plan that moves people into new roles with the information and support they need to succeed
Pro Tips
- Start with the roles, not the people. Know what the new organization needs to do before you figure out who will do it — otherwise you optimize for who you have rather than what you need.
- Use the Assessment tool to understand the full person, not just their title. Work breakdown and skills inventory together surface where someone is overqualified, underutilized, or ready to grow into something new.
- Capture knowledge before people leave their roles. The Knowledge Transfer tool is most valuable when you use it while the role incumbent is still available to document what they do and why.
- Plan for dependencies and handoffs. Understanding the contacts, deliverables, and meetings tied to each role lets you see where people depend on each other and what might break if the transition isn't coordinated.
- Don't forget the people with no new role yet. Gap identification is just the beginning — the organization then has to decide whether to hire, develop, or move people in other directions.