The structure opens the employees up to various projects rather than limiting them to the work of a single department or team. Workers are usually their time more efficiently, and no one must wait for their next assignment since they can return to their functional tasks immediately. Keeping the lines of communication open between the project's various leaders is essential to progress. There will be fewer times of idleness across the company since other employees can work on other tasks if they are not busy elsewhere. Grace is the Director of People & Culture at TeamBuilding. CLIMB Center, Copyright 2000-2016 Portland Community College An Affirmative Action Equal Opportunity Institution, Continuous Learning for Individuals, Management & Business, The 7 Benefits of Effective Communication in Personal and Professional Settings, CLIMB Professional Development and Training. Anticipate communication deficiencies, and use these discoveries as a means for facilitating organizational development and innovation. It is an issue that can cause all work to grind to a halt. Internally, a project manager might serve as a trainer for those team members aspiring to be functional managers in the future. The costs and complexity of this essential decision may discourage some organizations. Overworking the best employees can drive them to seek employment elsewhere. It facilitates the free flow of communication and . Since the department head controls the projects budget and deadline, the matrix gets weaker when the project manager has minimal influence over the project. The ease of communication that exists with this structure almost always leads to new sharing and collaboration opportunities. It is critical to have the best and the brightest working on each project. The departmental walls that create competition in other companies disappear, making it easier for workers to move freely between different units. Communication plans help assure uniform, timely, accurate, and effective exchange of information, both internally throughout the organization and externally to your customers, vendors, and . Promotes Co-Operation and Industrial Peace and Others. In the absence of clear goals people often assume that the matrix is the latest management fad or the brainchild of some external consultants. Information Distribution, which includes making needed information available to project stakeholders in a timely manner. Under this framework, employees will work on both job obligations and special projects simultaneously. When all elements of a project are laid out right there in a matrix document, everyone. Some companies might create a line to a specific executive who then reports to the CEO, the President, or the Board of Directors. Take our free Introduction to the Matrix online learning program. Makes the World a Smaller Place If someone from customer service has marketing skills that you need, then you can pull them into the work until it gets done and then send them back to their regular job duties. Increases Managerial Efficiency 5. (Powell, n.d.) When the decision making is not shared this can cause a stressful environment for the participants. When everything goes according to plan, the matrix organizational structure will place the best employees in critical positions. Matrix Structures Are Much More Flexible & Encourage Collaboration. You can have a weak, balanced, or strong approach when forming teams. Some employees like sowing disagreement between two bosses because it provides more autonomy. A communication matrix guarantees that everyone involved in a project is kept up to date. That means there are fewer boundaries between groups, fewer silos, and more collaboration because the business has more integration. Thus, project managers may serve as leadership role models for subordinates. Your company has a strong sense of culture, one that employees help create and want to participate in. Here is a guide to matrix organizational structure and its advantages and disadvantages. Communication as an Aid to Co-Ordination 5. Although having your best and brightest on each project is an important outcome, people can only do so much in the time theyre allotted for work each day. Brands like Texas Instruments and Caterpillar require its supervisors to report along project and functional lines to ensure productivity levels remain high. That means a diverse approach to thinking and creativity develops within the company. When you can achieve this outcome, the work gets better with less labor, and that means the cost savings can get passed along to consumers to create a competitive advantage. This benefit helps employees feel better about their work while increasing their value as workers. 10. This advantage makes it easier to transition between projects because the learning curve decreases. Shifting to a matrix organizational structure changes this dynamic because it creates multiple paths of responsibility. Communication Management Approach. #1 Advertising The matrix organizational structure helps a company manage large, complex projects. It allows for consistent methods to get used across the organization. Therefore, most businesses demand that all relevant management people get employee reports simultaneously. As a result, the organization can foster fresh perspectives, creativity, and problem-solving methods. Topics: Communication becomes more manageable when a firm adopts a matrix organizational structure. Supervisors benefit because they have a clear idea about who their direct reports are and what their responsibilities will be each day. The traditional hierarchy model was used for centuries because it creates a simple foundation for reporting. This benefit improves the chain of command and decreases the expense of maintaining a separate training unit inside the firm. You can ask anyone from any department a question about a project. It is simple to implement and easy to understand. The companys increased integration reduces the restrictions between groups and silos and promotes collaboration. Good communication skills can play an important role in nurturing positive work experiences for your entire team. If a worker receives conflicting messages from their bosses, then the end result is a reduction of quality and quantity in their work. It can be used to identify which employees need to communicate with each other, and to track the progress of communication. With effective communication skills, youre able to deliver clear expectations and objectives for your team. While there are many benefits of a matrix management approach, there are challenges as well. That's because it's critical to project success. . Facilitates Co-Ordination 4. In the absence of clear communication, the response to reorganization is often I will keep my head down and it will go away in six months.. Disrupting that process can create enough discomfort where individual productivity goes down. Since labor is the primary expense for most companies, using this structure can cause the payroll to balloon rapidly. With proper management, the flexibility of the matrix organizational structure allows for more rest for employees. A project communication plan is another tool to manage your project's key stakeholders. It predicts the future actions of a company. This disadvantage of the matrix organizational structure can also make some workers question who is in charge. These benefits contribute to greater productivity for you and your team. Advantages of Matrix Responsibility chart. Discord in the management ranks means there is less supervision that happens during a project. Due to their experience and expertise, team members often get tasks above and beyond their normal work obligations. There is usually a product and a functional manager that oversees productivity each day. That means the actions of the project and functional managers might create problems for their direct reports because employees dont know which side is following company directives. There are a variety of communication plans that can be applicable for many different purposes in order to achieve the implementation of an approach or an action that is policy-driven and development-oriented. This means that 1-2 people may wind up making the decisions and that can lead to a negative affect on the meeting. There are disadvantages to using a communications matrix, but overall the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The structure is flexible enough to adapt to the demands of multiple ongoing projects and the many divisions within the firm. A higher workload may lead to a decrease in work satisfaction, increased staff turnover, and a rise in stress and burnout. Here are just a few benefits: Improved communication across departments. Finally, the employees productivity suffers due to confusion. In addition, the faster flow of information can speed up decision-making. The managers may ignore coaching responsibilities and eventually forget altogether. It describes communication channels that facilitate the exchange of information and ideas among your board, executives, management, and staff. While this method reduces the need for multitasking, it is not necessarily more efficient. 10. We have 30+ experiences to choose from, and thousands of five star reviews. Standard procedures mean transitioning between projects is seamless since there is minimal learning. It will help managers to form better and more productive teams and fill positions with the employees who are the best fit for that role. Results are more consistent across the board since employees follow standard operating procedures. The matrix organizational structure encourages employees to continue their career development process. It makes sense to use this option when it is necessary to efficiently process a massive volume of information or quickly deploy specialized expertise. Different management directions from other lines of command might occasionally clash. However, without enough work to maintain a busy workplace, the company loses money rapidly. . To improve cooperation and communication across the functional and geographic silos. Basis of Decision-Making and Planning: Communication is essential for decision-making and planning. There are powerful reasons to introduce a matrix organization structure thats why many of the worlds leading organizations have one. The matrix organizational structure may give too much flexibility for a firm if a project is a long-term initiative. As a free online tool, it's easy for families to use at home. A Communication Plan relates the a companys brand, image, mission, values, and goals to all employees, informing them of what the company does and for whom; the benefits it offers and the problems it solves. If there is more than one boss supervising a workers performance, then the details that get moved up the chain-of-command can get jumbled quickly. 3. Some workers might experience reporting confusion. To better evaluate poor or nonexistent internal communication, look for ways to change how you talk about problems, to truly assess and analyze these problems in a new light, and to generate new and innovative solutions. This situation means there is no uncertainty about who is responsible for a task. More Information = Slower Decision-Making Recommend and provide justification for the appropriate communication channel you would use in the following contexts. When there is flexibility in the resource pool with a matrix organizational structure in place, then everyone gets more consistency because each person must work in a similar way. To bring flexibility through faster decisions involving multiple stakeholders. Some of the key benefits are: 1. Let's go through those in detail. Share your communication plan and update it as needed Once you've created your communication plan, it's time to share it with your project team. If some employees work more than others yet earn the same wages, those constantly working are likely to be less enthusiastic about work. It encourages more employee development. 1. A communication plan is a document that details how project team members and stakeholders should communicate with one another. Benefits of Matrix Protocol As you have learned about the protocol and its features, what are the exact matrix protocol benefits? The matrix organizational structure creates enough flexibility within the employee pool to create more moments of downtime when correctly managed. 5. Some of the drawbacks of matrix organizational structure include: In a matrix system, employees often answer to different higher-ups. According to a recent study exploring the psychology of employee engagement, only 15% of adult employees are engaged with their employers. To improve their capability to run global or regional projects and systems, To improve access to resources, skills and technologies across the organisation that might otherwise be locked up in the vertical silos. The contemporary workplace often suffers from the unfair distribution of tasks. This, in turn, nurtures mutual respect. To prevent this problem, managers can review job assignments. Companies need to analyze their motivations and requirements before deciding whether or not to employ a matrix structure. Rich Maggiani is the principal and founder of Solari Communication. The characteristics of a matrix organization include multiple chains of command, a collaboration between different departments, and sharing of skilled resources. The Communication Matrix has created an assessment tool to help families and professionals easily understand the communication status, progress, and unique needs of anyone functioning at the early stages of communication or using forms of communication other than speaking or writing. This arrangement generates a strong organizational structure since the project manager has complete responsibility for the project. From the Magazine (May 1978) No organization design or method of management is perfect. Some companies may even hold on to underutilized employees to avoid losing a valuable employee to a competitor. This discussion must be robust enough so that everyone related to the company speaks with one voice, one mind, one purpose: a focused, clear, articulate message. Employees feel comfortable enough to not only recognize and accept change and growth, but to participate and lead it. Here are answers to questions about matrix organizational structure: A matrix organizational structure is a company structure where the reporting ladder is in a matrix or grid instead of the traditional hierarchy. There is the possibility of more resource conflict as people need to engage outside their silos to get things done. Organization: At its most basic level, a communication plan will help keep you and your project schedule organized by plotting a course for upcoming . The Matrix is a very helpful tool because it lets you see the relationship between all sixteen styles at a glance. Although the matrix organizational structure improves communication within a company, the dual-reporting structure can also create some confusion for some workers. And its this vibrant culture that leads to the many benefits experienced through effective communication. When the employees from every team, work together the projects will . Typically, a raci matrix includes a list of key stakeholders and defines who is responsible for what. A number of these include: The potential for participants to be conflicted between various managers and priorities. It identifies the communication flow throughout the hierarchy and what types of communication that will be used. 1. Increased openness. From the authors of the book Making the Matrix Work, The 6 key advantages and disadvantages of a matrix organization. Then the project and functional managers report to the C-Suite in some way. This standardization can create some issues with job security if artificial intelligence can take over repetitive tasks. Project managers can act as trainers within an organization. Content Expert at teambuilding.com. The project manager should use a communication plan because: It defines the frequency of communication so as not to overload the team, and informs them of the expectations of them. Target Audience: This field should be populated with a description of the target audience for this communication vehicle.