Types of workplaces: Which one is yours?

‘Type’ is a strong word and not everyone likes to be categorised by type. But organizations and work cultures do have types. Whether an organization has types or not depends solely on the stance the management takes towards the employees.The whole job of the Human Resource department of any company is to keep the employees happy and willing and to help them settle in the atmosphere thus created. The job of the HRs is the hardest as unlike all the other departments, they have to be in sync with not just the management but also the staff of the company. They are the threads that hold the whole structure together.

While the higher management is responsible for choosing the culture and the organization type based on it, the task of the communication and creation of the related atmosphere in the organization rests with the human resource department. With this blog, I’ll be telling you the types of organizations there are in the professional world, based on culture, and how the HR team can create the right kind of atmosphere so that the staff accepts and enjoys working.

1. Power based organization- Such organization cultures often have high staff dissatisfaction, especially at the lower hierarchical levels. Since power rests with few people from the management, they do not give the employees the liberty to express opinion and ideas and expect them to follow orders quitely. All this leads to higher employee turnover and loss of resources, both human and strategic.
   As an HR, you must provide a healthy atmosphere for employees to express their grievances and provide growth opportunities. This will benefit you as, human beings seek power and they will want to continue working with you, despite the present dissatisfaction.

2. Task based organization- The only priority in these structures is the completion of tasks and achievement of goals. The approach is centralized as well as decentralized. While there is a higher management, there are teams that work together. These allow a lot of creativity and growth and provide high job satisfaction.
   As the HR of such an organization, mild strictness on your part would be useful as too lax an atmosphere may lead to delays in delivery and wastage of time. Also, providing professional rewards for target accomplishments are helpful.

3. Role based organizations- In this arrangement, employees are expected to work to the best of their capabilities and they are given roles accordingly. The decision  of the role they play is made based on their specializations, education and choice. This provides them maximum satisfaction as they are good at the work given to them and are able to provide good results too.
   As an HR, this is one of the easier tasks to do. All you have to do is match up the employee to the right job. Regular follow ups and reviews are necessary too as the results may not be consistent with the expectations, a matter of contingencies.

4. Person based organization- In this type of structure, maximum emphasis is laid on the employees and their concerns. Many organizations are trying to keep their employees happy, expecting that happy employees will keep the customers happy. However, there is a lot of scope for disaster because of the absence of common goals and teamwork.
   As the HR manager of such an organization, it is important to strike a balance between organizational good and individual good. A situation in which both the faces benefit, will lead to proper growth and benefit. It is best to not let the staff realize that they are a priority, even when it comes to decision-making.

5. Hybrid culture organizations- Since different parts of each culture type can be good for different organizations, most organizations choose to create a set of specifics and use them to manage the pros and avoid the cons.
   Owing to the benefits, the complexity increases, as does the HR manager’s responsibility to make it work. The HR has to work with the staff to find the right level of formal, casual and responsible that people need to be. With all the fast paced growth and innovation, organizations are required to be dynamic, otherwise the team will leave you faster than you think. And I have already told you how much you lose if your employee don’t want to stay. So, we suggest this model, our tried and tested format. It is hard, complicated and very particular, but what good thing comes easy?!

When one joins a company as an HR manager, it is important that he or she determines the type of organization they now call home. Based on that, one must start working on the relationship building and curving the edges that might be damaging the organization’s culture. Here is an example of a fast growing Design and Technology firm that uses our services. They work on the hybrid model, having struck the perfect balance, and you can check out their Wow stories HERE.

 

Got any questions? Strike a conversation with me.