Get Ready for Your Next Business Transformation…Before It Begins

This week’s Straight Dope for the CHROPE (a CHRO in a Private Equity portfolio company) comes from Jason Barkham, Partner at WellOrg Partners—a firm specializing in helping organizations unlock value through better operating models, organizational designs, and HR–Finance collaboration.

WellOrg Partners combines advanced org-planning technology with proven transformation methodologies to help companies drive sustainable improvements in performance. Learn more at WellOrgPartners.com, and subscribe to their excellent Substack, Demystifying Transformation, for real-world insights on organizational change.

Transformation Is Coming—The Only Question Is When

For a CHRO in a PE-backed company, the timing of your next transformation isn’t a mystery—it’s an inevitability. Whether driven by M&A, cost optimization, or performance improvement, transformation initiatives in a portfolio company move fast and leave little room for preparation once they begin.

The CHROPE who prepares before the transformation starts will enable smoother execution, reduce risk, accelerate time-to-value, and shield the organization from avoidable disruption.

Here are five strategic steps CHROPEs can take now to avoid being caught flat-footed when the next wave of change hits.

1. Benchmark the Organization and Its Critical Processes

Transformation depends on data. Unfortunately, many redesign efforts rely on outdated org charts, anecdotal performance information, or incomplete headcount data. In a PE environment—where margin, efficiency, and value creation matter—leaders need a clearer, more quantitative view of how the organization works.

Key benchmarks to have ready before the transformation begins include:

Organization shape: size, structure, spans of control, layers
SG&A process efficiency: HR and Finance FTEs per $1B in revenue
Service delivery model: insourced vs. outsourced work, cost per FTE
Job architecture: job families, grades, pay bands, documented successions

These insights form the baseline for any redesign and help the CHROPE influence decisions with real data—not guesswork.

2. Build Organizational Versatility to Increase Resilience

One of the biggest hidden risks in a transformation is dependency on a handful of employees with undocumented institutional knowledge. When key processes live only in someone’s head, the organization becomes fragile—and redesigns become constrained by “who we have” rather than “what we need.”

This creates two major challenges:

You can’t promote or replace these employees without breaking something.
Their perceived irreplaceability can lead to compensation imbalance or internal leverage.

Preparing now means proactively reducing these risks through:

Inventorying mission-critical processes
Documenting gaps in workflows
Identifying employees holding critical tribal knowledge
Building succession plans and cross-training programs

This not only strengthens resilience but also uncovers process improvement opportunities and compliance risks long before the transformation begins.

3. Build a Baseline M&A Integration Checklist

For a CHROPE, an acquisition can happen with little warning. Having a draft integration playbook ready ensures you’re not scrambling when the deal is announced.

Your early-stage integration checklist should include:

Day 1 continuity requirements: compensation, benefits, policy alignment
Model alignment: which functions must integrate immediately (e.g., Finance, IT)?
System onboarding: HCM workflow, org planning, and data migration steps
Talent identification: how to quickly assess, retain, and “tuck in” key talent
Cultural integration: first 100-day messaging, rituals, and communication cadence
Role ownership: who leads each integration workstream?

A strong checklist accelerates value realization and reduces the friction of post-deal chaos.

4. Use the In-Between Time to Evaluate Automation Opportunities

The hype around automation, RPA, and Generative AI may have cooled—but that’s exactly why now is the right time for thoughtful exploration. Automated processes can significantly reduce complexity and SG&A load, but only if applied with intention.

Start evaluating:

Which repetitive or time-consuming processes could be automated?
Is the data structured enough for Gen AI or RPA to learn from?
Do employees repeatedly query the same data systems?
Where could an AI co-pilot meaningfully boost productivity?

Transformation cycles often expose inefficiencies—pre-work in automation helps address them proactively instead of reactively.

5. Train Key Resources With Transformation in Mind

The insights from the first four categories should inform a targeted training agenda that helps your team build transformation readiness—not generic skills.

When prioritizing training:

Leverage no-cost options (e.g., job shadowing, internal rotations)
Time training to match natural slow periods or capacity windows
Focus on high-potential employees who will lead or absorb change
Align training objectives to future-state skills, not just today’s needs

Preparing your people early helps reduce change fatigue and builds confidence across the organization.

Final Thoughts

A workforce already strained by constant change needs clarity, predictability, and reassurance. By framing these preparation efforts as steps toward building organizational resilience—not warning signs of impending disruption—the CHROPE can strengthen trust and reduce anxiety.

By starting early, keeping initiatives manageable, and fine-tuning your approach as you learn, you can significantly improve readiness for your next transformation while minimizing strain on the business. Transformation may be inevitable—but being unprepared is not.

Rick Denius

Rick is the Founder and Managing Partner of HR Search Co., a firm dedicated to helping CEOs and CHROs build world-class HR and in-house legal teams. With nearly two decades of corporate experience at CNN and Warner Bros. Discovery, Rick brings a unique insider’s perspective to executive search—understanding firsthand the challenges of identifying, assessing, and integrating high-impact HR leaders.

Under his leadership, HR Search Co. has helped hundreds of public and private equity–backed organizations scale by connecting them with top-tier, industry-specific HR talent. His team specializes in both contingent and retained searches, as well as interim, fractional, and project-based placements.

As a Certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and a Prosci® Change Management practitioner, Rick pairs proven methodology with deep industry insight to ensure every placement drives lasting organizational transformation. He has cultivated one of the most trusted networks of HR professionals in the country—leaders known for their expertise, integrity, and measurable results.