Exclusive: Organisations slash head office costs with no clear plans for the future

HR magazine exclusively polled senior HR professionals on their ideas of what a head office of the future would look like, and found although 67% of organisations - and 87% of companies with a turnover over £1 billion - are cost cutting at head office, 34%have no plans for the future shape of their organisation.

The research, in association with Egremont Group, also found by 2014 23% of respondents hope for more decentralised approach to head office power and 14% hope for a 'virtual' head office, staffed bu flexible workers, homeworkers or global workers. This means the days of the achetypal boss giving orders from his head office, could be numbered.

And although 91% of respondents see ideas for improvement in their organisation coming from the top today, just 18% think this will still be the case in five years time.

Announcing the findings at an exclusive breakfast briefing at the Hospital Club in London, Adam Kingl [pictured], director of the emerging leaders programme at London Business School, said: "[Business] value is shifting on a macro-economic scale and change in management can take time, but the ideas of command and control are changing and management are being rebalanced."

Kingl explained the days of managers telling staff what do do, were numbered. He added: "It is like when people go to the doctor - they used to let the doctor diagnose them and give them a treatment. But now patients look up their symptoms online and self diagnose, then they negotiate the best course of treatment with a doctor. The same ideas of descussion will be true in business."

Sue Swanborough, HR director at General Mills, added: "Business must act now to engage people now or they could lose them. Employers must develop leaders and a culture that makes staff feel more empowered. It comes down to trust, but this will lead to a more open working environment."

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