R&R Tales

Let’s talk about R&R today.
No, for this article, it isn’t Reward and Recognition, but Roles and Responsibilities instead.😎
Why is it so important, even for small organizations?
There are several types of “overlapping” in groups of people working together:
Between departments/domains.
Between managers and their 2nd in command.
Between external vendors.
Not every overlapping is terrible for your processes. In the case of “Number one” vs. “number two,” it is even expected for management redundancy.
But in case more than one department/domain gets a responsibility or authority (the worth) on the same matter, we are getting a situation of non-effective use of assets, irregular processes, tasks not getting the proper resolution, and no one is responsible.
In the above case, we are probably dispensing part of our assets without any reason, people get distressed, and we are presented with constant conflict inside our organization, and the result… Yes, the result couldn’t be good.

Does the size matter?
The problem of the right R&R establishment is naturally expected in more prominent organizations, but R&R is desired and treated here. 
On the other hand, there could be a misunderstanding in a smaller organization, and the management doesn’t feel it is necessary or urgent.

When is it too late?
It is crucial to decide and manage the R&R from day one. So that the organization can adequately build itself and establish the responsibilities as needed for the future. Then, the scaling takes place, but the R&R is already installed, and we need only to ensure updates following the scaling or management hierarchy changes.
No, it is never too late. But the sooner we deal with it, the better and the easier.

How?
There are many ways to deal with the R&R matter.
For example, a simple approach to establishing Roles & Responsibilities is to host a Roles & Responsibilities Workshop. This workshop guides the team through the best-in-class process. It targets the organization seeks to achieve, allows for a challenge, and builds sessions on who will be responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed (RACI).
The second part of the workshop is to establish the proper meeting structure. Striking the right balance of meetings may determine the success of the maintenance department and, ultimately, the organization.

The result should be the following:
1. Everyone knows what to do.
2. Everything gets done.
3. People work together better when they understand their roles.
4. Less energy is wasted.

So, let us talk about R&R! It is essential for every organization’s size and domain.

P.S. Haven said that (the whole article😉); how, in your opinion, does this speaking change in the case of non-hierarchical structure, such as the Matrix management model, or even more “extreme” Decentralized management?