The staying power of any business or corporation has always depended in part on the ability to change with the times. Change is more rapid in today’s environment than any other era in history. Enter in the fluid organization. Sometimes called the flexible organization, the benefits of this corporate non-structure are based on agility rather than stability.
In a fluid organization model, projects are handled by the best employees for the job and not by the employee’s job description. Individual skills sets are emphasized rather than titles or length of time with the company.
Imagine a software development company that has been called on to create a new package for a medical office. The programmers know the coding and development environment, but may have no experience with the day-to-day operation of a medical office. The front desk attendant just so happens to have previous experience in a large doctor’s building. In a fluid organization, the secretary becomes a consultant on the development project, the programmers ensure the best possible software for their client, and the company is praised for its final product.
Management changes, the needs of departments change, and the same model does not always fit different projects. Product development may need to work closely with process development in the first stages. The final stage may require close work with production. But if product development is now having to answer to process and production, duplications and conflicts arise. Fluid organization structure allows for change at each stage and a more efficient use of time. The corporation evolves along with the project.
Fluid organization allows for more choices, new ideas, and a company based on customer needs. Gone are the days of the customer adapting to the company structure. The agility of the flexible organization is being gained by some corporation through a process of decentralization. While maintaining a core centralized structure that can expand and contract as needed, the smaller business units can rapidly adapt to the changing market.
For the fluid organization, employee competency and innovation overrides career path planning and the traditional ladder to success. Employees find satisfaction in being recognized for true skills rather than job descriptions, the corporation avoids the pitfalls of management power struggles, and the market drives the business.
Fluid, Flexible, and Agile are the new motivational posters for corporate break rooms.
