Organisational Restructuring Project Charter
This is a practical guide to building a project charter for an organisational restructuring project — the short authorising document that names the sponsor, states the objective and gives the manager authority to run the project, adapted to the realities of restructuring teams, roles or the operating model.
What a Project Charter is
A project charter is the short authorising document that names the sponsor, states the objective and gives the manager authority to run the project. For the full concept and how it works in general, see Project Charter. On an organisational restructuring project it plays the same role, tuned to this kind of work.
Why it matters for an Organisational Restructuring project
Organisational Restructuring projects live or die on restructuring teams, roles or the operating model. A well-built project charter gives the team a shared, explicit reference for exactly that — reducing ambiguity, aligning stakeholders, and making problems visible early enough to act. Skipping it, or doing it generically, is how organisational restructuring projects drift into avoidable delay and cost.
What to include
- Purpose and business justification
- Objectives and success criteria
- High-level scope (in and out)
- Budget and timeline summary
- Key stakeholders and sponsor sign-off
Organisational Restructuring-specific considerations
Tailor the project charter to the risks that most often derail organisational restructuring projects:
- People and morale impact
- Consultation requirements
- Business continuity
Example
On a real organisational restructuring project, the project charter would be shaped by restructuring teams, roles or the operating model. In particular, it should explicitly account for the project’s biggest risks — people and morale impact, consultation requirements, business continuity — rather than treating them as afterthoughts.