In a matrix environment, how can a functional boss give a fair evaluation to a person whom he doesn’t see very often?
He can’t. And in fact, your question nails one of the biggest problems with matrix organizations. For all the good they can do in terms of productivity and knowledge-sharing in multiproduct-line companies, they can really fuzz up reporting relationships. And that lack of clarity can drive workers nuts, especially when it comes to performance reviews. Like you, employees want to know how they can be evaluated by someone who barely knows what they do.
Here’s a solution to consider. Functional heads in matrix organizations should start thinking of themselves as quasitemp agencies. Instead of trying to manage functional specialists in the product groups from a distance, they should focus on hiring those specialists, training them, deploying them to the right jobs in the organization, and, with the product heads, reassigning them when and if a better fit becomes available.
True, under this new approach, functional heads would still have input into any given specialist’s performance evaluation. But the bulk of that responsibility would be held by product line managers, where, for clarity’s sake, it belongs.
This question and answer originally appeared in Business Week magazine on November 27, 2006.
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