Every company functions on a carefully picked organizational structure. What is an organizational structure? An organizational structure refers to a system that decides the hierarchy or workflow of an organization.
For instance, in a centralized system, the company decisions flow top to bottom, whereas decentralized is just the opposite.
It outlines certain activities to be conducted for achieving the organizational goals.
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The top-level executives and leaders consider diverse factors for deciding the organizational structure best suited for business. Organizational matrix structure is one such structure that helps in business maximization by deploying resources across departments and projects.
PowerPoint presentations are the best tools to enlighten your employees on your matrix organizational structure. SlideModel offers a repository of PowerPoint backgrounds for presentations for designing excellent slide decks.
Check out this Organizational Charts PowerPoint Template for crafting an eye-catching matrix presentation.
Before we dive into the best practices for creating a matrix for your organizational structure, let us know a bit more about it.
What is an Organizational Matrix Structure?
A matrix organizational structure does not go on the lines of a hierarchical and traditional model. It arranges your business reporting in a grid or a matrix form.
In a hierarchical structure, employees often report to only one boss. But in a matrix setup, the employees have dual reporting duties- commonly to their general manager and project manager.
In the organizational structure, one reporting line may have priority over the other in some cases. For example, the team may have to report first to their functional manager and then to the project manager.
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The available resources and staff get judiciously shared across projects, teams, and departments in this structure.
Who Needs an Organizational Structure Matrix?
Matrix organizational structure is a win-win for companies having limited resources within an organization. It also helps when particular expertise is required simultaneously or across departments.
Utilizing this structure for project management can drive your teams forward by removing silos and boosting team efficiency.
Small businesses can particularly benefit from the matrix organizational structure. Hiring new talent for establishing a dedicated project team is a costly path. Matrix organizational structure allows companies to maximize the available resources without a loose wallet.
It can help your business to develop new solutions and create a more diverse project team. Here are some benefits of this structure:
- Maximized organizational flexibility
- Enhanced communication with horizontal and vertical communications
- Team building
- Collaboration
- Development of new managers
- Improved decision making
- Diversity of roles
- Sharing best practices and ideas
- Increased business efficiency
- Best use of company resources
Deocoding Organizational Matrix
The Matrix setup works wonders for firms looking to maximize productivity. But how to form and concretize your thoughts in an appealing way?
Pick this Organizational Change Management Plan from SlideModel to analyze your organizational structure and switch to a new one.
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There exist primarily three types of Matrix Organizational Structure:
- Weak or Functional Matrix Organization- The functional manager holds the most power. He is assigned the role and charge of the resources and people. The project manager plays quite a minimal role where he carries out coordinating or administrative tasks.
- Strong Matrix Organization- Here, the project manager takes an authority role and holds the most power. He is in charge of controlling the budget, staff, and decisions. The role of a functional manager is quite limited in these organizations.
- Balanced Matrix Organization- In this setup, the project manager and the functional manager have a power balance. They share equal responsibilities and roles. They have equal authority over the project, budget, and staff.
Let us have a look at the parts of a Matrix Organizational Structure:
- Executive or General Manager- The general manager remains in the leadership position forming plans and constructs a team to execute them. He handles the chain of command and lays down a project vision aligned with the company goals.
- Functional Manager- The functional manager takes the responsibility of managing people. He is also known as the line manager to which traditionally the team and project manager reports. He is a step above the project manager in the chain of command. He supervises team efficiency and staff management.
- Project Manager- The project manager overviews the project task regarding resources and assets. It includes information on project inputs vital to achieving the project goal. It involves staff time, equipment, and costs with a focus on project objectives.
- Project Team- The project team comprises the company employees chosen to do a specific task. The functional and project manager jointly take care of the workflow of the whole team.
Best Practices for Creating a Matrix for your Organizational Structure
If an organization chooses to incorporate the matrix structure, it requires efficient planning for avoiding loopholes and maintaining productivity. Here are some best practices for building your organizational matrix structure:
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1. Design a Presentation
You can formulate a well-elaborated slideshow to bring your team on board with the matrix organizational structure. Presentations will pose perfectly to illuminate your company executives to adopt this structure.
You can leverage this Organizational Culture PowerPoint Template for a wow-worthy presentation. Schedule a meeting with your staff for training them about this structure. It will incredibly help your employees to comprehend the matrix structure and their duties.
2. Harmony
The C-level executives in a leadership position must oversee the harmony and coordination between the functional and project managers. It will help them to avoid conflicts. Further, it will also increase the decision-making ability of both parties.
Any differences might lead to decreased business productivity. Visible joint leadership is crucial. The senior team of an organization must lead by example. They should show the path to them about how they can link arms for a common end.
3. Clear Role Definitions
The more clarity you ensue to people’s responsibilities and roles, the more the chances of people reaching your envisioned performance level. Let them know their duties and hold them accountable for the tasks done by them. It is only then people can be expected to deliver & held accountable once you clearly define their roles, respectively.
One of the most imperative roles is continuity. You must avoid the temptation for role changing again and again at the sight of slight trouble. People take time to adhere to their roles and build skills in a particular niche. Thus, let people foster skills and adjust well to the matrix structure.
4. Leverage Technology
Using at-par technology has become the need of the hour in the business age of the 21st century. The world has already experienced a global lockdown that has taught it the value of technology. Utilize best-in-class project management software for keeping track of the project progress. This software list can include time management, productivity management, presentation building, and collaboration tools.
For instance, with remote working kicking in, it has become imperative than ever to ensure smooth team communication. Businesses can come aboard with cloud-based team collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Google Business Suite and leverage state-of-the-art communication, file sharing, meetings, and more.
5. Conflict Management
Conflicts are bound to pop up in every organization. What matters is your expertise in handling it. You must discover how you can tackle the inconsequential differences and misunderstandings that arise before they take a larger shape. Make your team sit together and work out the issues. Keep a clear line of communication and equal distribution of authority balance.
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Be it resource allocation, working relationships, or client escalations, businesses should expect conflict rather than ignoring the possibility altogether!
The company needs to learn how to mitigate the risks healthily while keeping all the stakeholders happy. A good starting point would be helping people understand what their roles entail.
Conclusion
Organizational structures keep changing with the shifting dynamism of the world. Matrix organizational structure is great for big projects including many roles.
This mix of horizontal and vertical structure bestows versatility to a project. Before enforcing this structure, ensure to design a good slideshow with PowerPoint templates for achieving maximum results.
When it comes to managing complex and large projects delivered by both- local and remote teams, having a matrix organizational structure can help businesses accomplish goals!
Project managers can seamlessly manage the complexities involved with large projects, foster a smooth team engagement and thus, ensure smooth project deliverables.