Two steps ahead: lessons from AEC reorganizations

A well-executed reorganization is more than a structural change, it’s a strategic enabler. By anticipating challenges, leading with action, and maintaining open communication, AEC leadership teams can turn change into opportunity and deliver on a reorganization's true value.

According to the Stambaugh Ness 2025 AEC Industry Outlook, survey respondents from engineering/environmental firms cited improving operational efficiency (71%) and managing company growth (68%) as key challenges. Firms that have grown rapidly, the survey notes, simply don’t have the organizational structure to effectively manage that growth. Many of those firms are reorganizing in an effort to build capacity for growth, tighten alignment across the firm, and improve efficiency to drive value.

Successful reorganizations require thoughtful planning and consistent communication that builds a clear understanding of not only the why, when, who, and how but, critically, the what’s next. Announcing a reorganization is just the beginning. Anticipating questions, understanding concerns, and meticulously planning next steps is the bedrock of sustained adoption. That includes reading managers in in advance and quickly enabling and empowering new leaders to lead on day one to establish trust through action and operationalize the what’s next of change.

The sustainability of change hinges on immediate action. Teams prepared for not just day one, but day two and beyond can begin to build trust by showing – not just telling – how the new organization will work together.

A few observations and insights from our work guiding firms through enterprise-wide reorganizations:

What’s the story?

In today’s AEC industry, change begets change. An acquisition brings together a new leadership team, a new strategy necessitates a reorganization, etc. Change is not a stand-alone project, but a new way of working. When communicating change, it’s important that leaders share the broader transformation story: What led to this moment? Where are we today? Why change now? What’s ahead? Context matters.

When aligned with strategy and communicated clearly, a reorganization can present a significant opportunity for learning across the organization. If new market influences and evolving client needs are key growth drivers in the decision to restructure, for example, leading conversations about those trends across the organization can help employees understand the broader market picture and elevate market intelligence from client-facing project teams to drive decision-making.

If a strategy refresh is driving a reorganization, communicating the reorganization presents a singular opportunity to reinforce and operationalize the strategy. For a mid-size publicly traded environmental consulting firm, for example, a new three-year strategic plan drove a reorganization to consolidate and realign business sectors and streamline P&Ls. Core messaging for the reorganization established a direct connection to the four strategic pillars of the plan and provided a clear line of sight to how the new structure aligned with strategy and enabled its execution. The reorganization presented an opportunity to reinforce and deepen understanding of the firm's strategic direction.

Seize the moment.

The most vulnerable moments in a reorganization are those immediately following an announcement. The town hall has wrapped, the attendees have dispersed, the collective energy dissipates, and the questions begin to form. Focused, nuanced questions not asked and answered in the FAQ document or town hall follow-up deck posted to the intranet.

This is a pivotal moment and a singular opportunity to demonstrate how the new structure functions in real time. The sustainability of change hinges on immediate action. Teams prepared for not just day one, but day two and beyond can begin to build trust by showing – not just telling – how the new organization will work together.

Case in point: leading with action.

A global engineering firm moving from a sector-lead structure to a regional operating model had regional and business line leaders co-host calls immediately following the reorg announcement. The result? A real time view into what their partnership would look like going forward.

The calls provided an opportunity to respond to questions and begin to talk through regional market opportunities. Proactively standing up communications functions at the regional level was key to establishing leadership and building trust.

Mind the complexities.

In planning and rolling out a reorganization, leaders can look ahead to anticipate issues and plan next steps, but it is equally important to look broadly across the organization to understand and accommodate other recent or ongoing changes. Mergers and acquisitions, for example, can trigger a cascade of subsequent change: new leadership teams, new strategies, entering new markets and geographies, and reorganizing internally.

For many AEC firms on an acquisitive growth path, ongoing M&A integrations can create an added level of complexity in implementing a reorganization. Recently integrated teams just getting acclimated to an existing structure and finding their place in it are now called on to navigate a new structure, new leadership, and, in some instances, new reporting lines. Hearing and understanding specific concerns from groups uniquely impacted by change is essential to maintain engagement and minimize confusion and disruption.

A new organizational structure is a consequential change for any firm. Leaders can lay the groundwork for success by anticipating and addressing roadblocks early, providing an immediate and clear line of sight to how the new structure will work, and leading with positive action from day one.