Productivity requires clear objectives

This past week I was working with a group of middle managers, assisting them with building a more empowered and engaged workforce. There was a concern amongst the crowd however that arose time and again. Multiple reporting lines kill productivity.


Shawn Casemore
Unless you work in an archaic company, the days of the management hierarchy are dead. Today we commonly see organizations in which there are fewer levels of management, requiring employees to have multiple reporting lines. An individual working in IT for example, may report directly to the Vice President of IT, and have a dotted line reporting relationship to the Vice President of Finance.

These multiple reporting lines can create a significant problem for employees, a problem that ultimately can kill their productivity. The famous “dotted line” reporting relationship is intended to allow employees to support a variety of management objectives. Herein lies the problem.

Multiple reporting lines for employees create multiple, and often competing objectives. In essence, by creating a dotted line reporting relationship to a different manager we can create confusion, conflict and overwhelm for the employee, all of which diminish morale and kill productivity. Whose objectives should the employee focus on? Who sets the priority?

It’s unreasonable to think that employees will not or should not work with various leaders through out the business, however

the onus lies with the business leaders to collaborate on objectives for the employee, rather than...

Failure to create focused and pragmatic objectives for employees leads to the employee deciding which squeaky wheel gets the grease. So to create a workforce that is focused and productive with clear lines of responsibility, remove dotted line reporting relationships and have senior leaders collaborate on employee objectives and responsibilities.

Collaboration is a team sport that should be played by employees and business leaders. Stop placing the burden on the employees to figure out what you want them to do.


Les médias du groupe Finyear

Chaque jour (5j/7) lisez gratuitement :

Le quotidien Finyear :
- Finyear Quotidien

La newsletter quotidienne :
- Finyear Newsletter
Recevez chaque matin par mail la newsletter Finyear, une sélection quotidienne des meilleures infos et expertises de la finance d’entreprise et de la finance d'affaires.

Chaque mois lisez gratuitement :

Le magazine digital :
- Finyear Magazine

Les 6 lettres digitales :
- Le Directeur Financier
- Le Trésorier
- Le Credit Manager
- Le Capital Investisseur
- GRC Manager
- Le Contrôleur de Gestion (PROJET 2014)

Un seul formulaire d'abonnement pour recevoir un avis de publication pour une ou plusieurs lettres

Vendredi 27 Juin 2014


Articles similaires