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Image source: Getty Images Every organization follows a reporting structure that dictates how activities, roles, and responsibilities are directed. The matrix organization is one such structure. When we hear the phrase “organizational structure,” often, we imagine a hierarchical structure that looks something like this: In this divisional organizational chart, department heads report to the country manager, who reports to the CEO. Image source: Author This structure clearly defines the organization’s reporting relationships. There is also just one chain of command, no ambiguity in terms of who reports to whom, and managerial roles are fixed. However, traditional corporate hierarchies only work well when the people within them work in isolation, also called siloes. They don’t lend themselves well to large-scale projects involving cross-functional teams, where knowledge and resources are often shared. This is where the matrix organizational structure comes in. Overview: What is the matrix organizational structure?An organizational structure is a system that outlines the hierarchy of an organization and defines how roles, responsibilities, and activities are directed in order to achieve the company’s business development goals. There are several organizational structure types, and each is represented by the organizational chart. The matrix structure, as its name suggests, is a reporting structure that’s set up like a grid or matrix. In a traditional hierarchy, people in the company report to just one boss. In a matrix organization, employees report to both a functional manager and a product or project manager. The basic building blocks of a matrix organizational structure. Image source: Author Like most products or solutions, the matrix-type organization structure came about in response to a need. Projects, problems, and product lines became more complex and demanded flexible, collaborative environments that traditional hierarchies were ill-equipped to support for a variety of reasons, including:
How does the matrix organizational structure work?The matrix organizational or management structure works by grouping employees and resources by function and by product or project. An employee from the design department may be assigned to a project team -- IT Project Sandpaper, for example -- and would have to report to two bosses, or more, depending on the number of projects they’re assigned to at any given time: Project Sandpaper’s project manager and the design department head. The matrix is temporary in nature and is designed to last only for the duration of a project. This structure type offers both advantages and disadvantages to project management: Advantages
Disadvantages
Should your small business use the matrix organizational structure?Like many of the best project management tools out there, the matrix organizational structure has both critics and proponents. It’s arguably one of the most complex structures in use today, but done right, certain situations can benefit from it. Organizations using a matrix structure assign function-specific roles to projects or products. Image source: Author There are two chains of command, so an employee reports to two managers. When using the matrix structure makes senseHiring new people to establish a dedicated project team is a costly endeavor, and many small businesses are already cash-strapped as is. Matrix management enables companies with tight purse strings to maximize whatever resources they already have. It lets you share resources and employees across functions to develop new products or solutions, helping you create a stronger, more diverse project team in the process. When you should use another organizational structureThe flexibility of the matrix team structure has several upsides. However, certain situations are not cut out for it, such as:
The best project management software for a matrix organizational structureOne of the basics of project management that will undoubtedly help your organization maximize the benefits of the matrix structure is the use of project management tools. Gantt charts let you visualize project tasks against the project’s timeline, a prioritization matrix helps you decide which tasks or activities should take priority, while project management software provides a centralized location for team files, schedules, updates, and communications. Here are a few project management software options you can check out to make matrix management work for your team. 1. Podio: communication and collaborationIn a matrix structure, the project management process relies on team collaboration and open communication for success. One of the main responsibilities of a project manager is to create a project communication plan that all project stakeholders are expected to follow throughout the life cycle of the project. This is what Podio’s social feed looks like. Image source: Author With Podio, your team has a centralized workspace for updates, comments, and files. Upload your project plan and other necessary project documents into Podio for easy, on-demand access by everyone on the team. Aside from a social network-like feed system to keep everyone in the loop, Podio also comes with meeting scheduling, personal dashboards, and integrated chat. 2. Wrike: resource planningGetting resource planning right is one of the major principles of project management. Small business owners share people and resources across functions to minimize costs. But you also don’t want to burn people out or underutilize some of them, making a project management tool with essential resource planning features vital for success. Wrike’s resource management feature. Image source: Author Wrike’s resource management system will show you what everyone is doing, allowing the project manager to more efficiently respond to requests, distribute tasks, and keep team members’ workload balanced. It shows which tasks are being worked on and when, ensuring you’re maximizing everyone’s strengths and capacity. If change management is necessary to keep projects on time and within budget, Wrike gives you real-time visibility into the overall status of the project, allowing you to make the needed process improvement and personnel adjustments in a timely manner. 3. monday.com : budget managementDeveloping a project risk management plan is an essential component of the project planning phase, one of the five steps of project management. One potential risk that project managers should watch out for is the project budget going out of control, regardless of the organizational structure being followed. Use monday.com’s numbers feature to track budgets and expenses. Image source: Author With monday.com, you can use the numbers column to set budgets and create your budget dashboards.
Budgets can be per activity, per event, or per person, depending on what makes the most sense. If you only need to view specific data, you can filter your dashboard by person, status, etc. If you need advanced Excel type formulas to keep track of budgets and expenses, use monday’s formula column. Making the matrix structure work for your needsThe matrix organizational structure has its uses and drawbacks. It allows for the efficient use of limited resources, but it’s not the answer to every situation. If the required tools, processes, and principles are not implemented correctly, things can get complicated really fast. Because employees need to report to at least two managers, the right amount of communication and active participation is crucial for success. Expert-picked business credit cards with rich rewards and perksCash back, travel rewards, 0% intro APR financing: all of these can be great credit card perks for business owners. But how do you find the right business credit card for you? There are tons of offers on the market today, and sifting through them to find the right one can be a big hassle. So we've done the hard work for you. Get started with one of our top business credit card picks of 2022 today. What are the benefits of matrix structure?3 Advantages of a Matrix Organizational Structure. Flexibility Between Departments Results in Shared Knowledge. Matrix organizations excel at bringing together the right people with the right skills. ... . Open Communication Leads to Better-Informed Decisions. ... . Cross-Collaboration Boosts Employee Engagement and Morale.. Which are the primary benefits of using a dedicated project management structure?The individuals on the team work directly for the project manager. The obvious advantage of a project structure is that you have more control over the team, but other advantages are in place, too: Teams can have a strong sense of identity. It is the easiest structure within which to create a strong team culture.
What is the primary strength of a matrix structure?-primary strength of the matrix is that it can facilitate coordination of multiple complex and interdependent projects while still retaining the economies that result from keeping functional specialists grouped together.
What are the 3 types of matrix in project management?There are three different types of matrix organizations that differ according to the level of authority assigned to functional and project managers. The three types are a weak matrix, balanced matrix and strong matrix.
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