Unravelling the Complexity of the Matrix Organisation

“HR must be able to discuss the strategic value of the breadth of the organisation in the context of the local market,” says Stella Strazdas, Worldwide Vice President, Human Resources at Johnson & Johnson. “The value of the matrix is in understanding its necessity. There’s no longer just one primary customer like it was for most organisations.”

HR becomes the champion of the shared purpose–the common goal that unites the matrix. “We have to train our managers, as well as our employees to be solutions focused. Gone are the days where we segregate around a single product. We need business leaders who can lead in a region or a country on behalf of a function, and not the other way around,” Strazdas says.

Strazdas believes HR’s true value is in the conversations with the business around establishing highly strategic groups who create a unique value within a marketplace across business units or functions while simultaneously helping them to create standardisation when necessary to leverage internal processes.

“I see HR providing a lot of value around helping the organisation learn to manage efficiencies through standardisation when its necessary whilst at the same time executing the global business strategy.”

Overcoming the challenges of the matrix structure

There are many reasons why some organisations struggle to succeed with a matrix structure. Poor communication, lack of clear goals, and ambiguous or competing priorities are often touted as some of the main ones.

“I think it’s harder to appreciate the benefits of the matrix the farther you’re away from headquarters,” Strazdas says. “But there are definitely ways you can mitigate these challenges, and I see that’s where HR can help. We’re the enablers of the organisation. We help to create uniformity around processes, systems, and platforms to drive efficiencies so that the business leaders, the regional and global leaders can focus on delivering solutions that provide value for the customers. As an organisation, we have to be focused, relevant, and agile. And ultimately this is why the matrix organisation exists.”

3 steps towards success

• Goal alignment — planning is important to establish a shared purpose. Goals should be highly efficiency driven yet flexible enough to respond to external market changes.
• Shared accountability — a matrix organisation allows for shared success as well as shared failure. If goals are aligned then the accountability is shared amongst all those involved. Individual responsibilities might be different, but each employee is working towards a shared purpose and is interdependent on one another’s success.Open communication — for a matrix organisation to work, feedback is critical.
• Open communication — for a matrix organisation to work, feedback is critical. When there are competing priorities or shifting external market pressures, it’s imperative to have open lines of communication so that business leaders and employees can partner to realign their goals and set better expectations.

As more organisations evolve to a matrix structure to allow for easier expansion into high-growth markets while leveraging existing business knowledge and efficiencies, the more flexible management and HR will become in navigating the various informal yet necessary reporting relationship to achieve a shared success. And this will ultimately lead to a more agile and robust organisation.