A People-Centered Approach to Organizational Restructuring and Outplacement
A not-for-profit organization in East Africa supports inclusive economic growth through investments across multiple sectors. When it undertook a strategic merger, the organization aimed to streamline operations, clarify roles, and align its workforce with its evolving mission and priorities.
Although structural changes were necessary to strengthen long-term impact and financial sustainability, leadership recognized a critical truth: the transformation’s success would depend not only on the new organizational design, but on how effectively people experienced, understood, and adopted the change. To support this people-centered transition, the Organization engaged Cedar Africa Group to provide structured change management, career transition, and outplacement support.
The Challenge
Mergers and restructurings bring improvement opportunities to organizations, as well as significant uncertainty. In this case, employees needed to re-apply for roles through internal interviews, while some faced the reality of role redundancy and separation. Without deliberate intervention, leadership risked decreased morale, disengagement, and reputational damage, as well as the loss of institutional knowledge during a sensitive period.
Key challenges included:
- Preparing employees psychologically and practically for internal interviews in a highly emotional context
- Ensuring fairness, transparency, and dignity throughout the restructuring process
- Supporting employees exiting the organization in a way that aligned with its values and social mission
- Maintaining trust and organizational stability while navigating difficult decisions
The organization engaged Cedar Africa Group to provide a structured approach to the transition while addressing its impact on employees with empathy and practical support.
The Solution
Core interventions included:
- Project change management
- Advisory support and leadership coaching
- Interview coaching and mock interviews
- CV reviews and personal-branding support
- Career coaching and counseling for transitioning employees
- Financial coaching and holistic off-boarding support
Change management and leadership coaching
Cedar Africa Group partnered closely with the Organization’s leadership and HR teams to develop and deliver an integrated approach to managing the changes. This included designing how the merger process would be executed, aligning stakeholders, identifying and managing people-side risks, identifying dependencies, and more, to ensure a successful, post-merger outcome.
The engagement started with coaching leaders to build readiness and the capabilities they would need to support employees navigating uncertainty with credibility and care.
“The leadership coaching provided played a vital role in helping our leaders navigate the complexities of the post-merger environment. The coaches leveraged their extensive experience and knowledge to facilitate effective communication, align our leadership teams, and foster a unified vision.”
—Director
Employee coaching and outplacement support
In addition to leadership coaching, employees who were participating in internal interviews received interview coaching from Cedar Africa Group consultants, who also performed mock interviews and detailed CV reviews. These services helped individuals articulate their value, align their experience to new role requirements, and approach the process with greater confidence.
For employees exiting the Organization, Cedar Africa Group delivered dignified and comprehensive outplacement support. This included career coaching to help people reframe their professional narrative, financial coaching to support near-term stability, and counseling services to address the emotional impact of the transition.
Throughout the engagement, Cedar Africa Group served as a trusted, neutral partner, helping leadership navigate difficult conversations while ensuring that employees felt seen, supported, and respected.
The Result
Strengthening leadership credibility and creating the conditions for trust
By investing in structured change management and outplacement support, the organization’s leadership took practical steps to support employees through the reorganization. Employee feedback indicated that leadership handled difficult decisions with care and professionalism.
The organization emerged from the restructuring with greater alignment between structure, talent, and strategy. By focusing on adoption, readiness, and human experience, the transformation delivered its intended outcomes while preserving morale and institutional integrity.
“Through individual coaching sessions and ongoing support, our leaders developed the skills and mindset necessary to lead through change and drive the success of an integrated organization.”
—Director
This engagement demonstrates that successful transformation is not only about what changes, but how change is led. Through its partnership with Cedar Africa Group, the organization navigated a complex merger and restructuring with a structured approach and practical support for employees affected by the transformation.
