Work Design: The Hidden Lever for Transformation with Ravin Jesuthasan (Bestselling Author & Global Leader for Transformation Services, Mercer)

10/06/2025 28 min

Listen "Work Design: The Hidden Lever for Transformation with Ravin Jesuthasan (Bestselling Author & Global Leader for Transformation Services, Mercer)"

Episode Synopsis

When was the last time your organization redesigned work, not just reorganized jobs? Ravin Jesuthasan, bestselling author and global leader for transformation services at Mercer, explains why work redesign is the missing foundation for successful transformation. Drawing from his books "Work Without Jobs" and "The Skills-Powered Organization," Ravin shares how deconstructing work into its core tasks and redeploying them efficiently led to extraordinary results—like an oil company cutting performance variance from 35% to 2.3% without layoffs. Discover why "fixed, flex, and flow" models are replacing traditional jobs, how resistance to change plummets when employees help redesign their own work, and why transformations should never be "one and done."----Connect with:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Nellie Wartoft⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠CEO of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tigerhall⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Chair of the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Executive Council for Leading Change (ECLC)⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected] ----00.00 - Introduction 01:30 - Why work redesign is pivotal to organizational transformation03:45 - The three steps of work redesign: deconstruction, redeployment, reconstruction05:20 - How job architecture fits into the work redesign approach07:10 - Signs that outdated work structures are blocking transformation efforts09:15 - Why tech-forward approaches fail compared to work-backwards perspectives11:30 - Case study: How an oil company transformed operations without layoffs14:45 - The critical role of leadership in connecting work redesign to transformation goals16:20 - How work redesign reduces resistance to change19:40 - Moving from employment to employability: upskilling, reskilling, and outskilling22:15 - The three models of work: fixed, flexible, and flow24:30 - How internal talent marketplaces and "flow to work" models dramatically increase productivity27:15 - Building leadership buy-in for flexible work allocation29:35 - Final thoughts: Transformation is never "one and done"----Breathe by RYGO | https://soundcloud.com/francesco-rigolonEverything You Need Is By Your Side by Vlad Gluschenko |Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.comCreative Commons / Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US

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