Managing Organisational Complexity to boost Effectiveness

Organisational Complexity

In a recent McKinsey article titled ‘Putting Organizational Complexity in its Place’, the authors state: 

“Not all complexity is bad for business – but executives don’t always know what kind their company has. They should understand what creates complexity for most employees, remove what doesn’t add value, and channel the rest to employees who can handle it effectively.” 

The field of organisational complexity is central to the work that BIOSS SA does on a daily basis. We have been utilsing a complexity – management solution with our clients successfully over the last 3 decades. 

The BIOSS Approach to Managing Complexity

At BIOSS we look at complexity from an organisational and individual perspective and in doing so try answer the following questions: 

1)     What does the overall complexity in the organisation look like from a structural perspective?

2)     What does complexity look like within the organisational levels and job roles?

3)     Where is complexity causing problems i.e. overcrowding, gaps in the structure, leadership issues?

4)     Do the leaders, managers and employees have sufficient capability to deal with the complexity they face in their respective roles?

5)     How do we ensure we have the right people, in the right roles and at the right time who are able to make the right decisions in the face of the complexity they encounter?

6)     How do we ensure that complexity does not hinder effective decision-making? 

We answer these questions by: 

1)     Starting with the belief that every organisation and every role within it has an inherent amount of complexity, uncertainty and ambiguity at varying levels that needs to be managed.

2)     Applying our ‘Levels of Work’ organisational design methodology to help us understand the nature of the complexity faced at all organisational levels (i.e. what we call a Levels of Work Audit, similar to creating ‘heat maps’)

3)     Implementing a scientific process we have used with thousands of organisations across the globe  that  enables us to determine whether people have the capability to manage the complexity of their roles (i.e. Career Path Appreciation).

4)     Utilsing technology to perform talent and structural analytics to remove obstacles and boost organisational effectiveness. 

Ultimately the goal of the work BIOSS does is to help our client’s manage their institutional complexity and to ensure employees have sufficient capability and internal resources to manage the uncertainty they encounter at work, thereby enhancing both individual and institutional resilience, adaptability, decision-making and flow. 

For more information email info@bioss.co.za