Modern organisations aren't pyramids: how to make matrix management work

Your organisational chart says you report to one person. Your working week tells a completely different story.

You have a line manager who approves your annual leave and conducts your appraisal.

A project lead oversees your work on a major client account.

A specialist colleague provides technical guidance.

A mentor supports your career development.

And while your manager is on leave, someone else temporarily takes responsibility for urgent decisions.

Welcome to the modern workplace.

For many organisations, management relationships are no longer captured adequately by a simple hierarchy.

Yet some HR and performance management systems still assume that every employee has one manager who needs access to everything.

That creates a difficult choice.

Either people cannot access the information they need to fulfil their responsibilities, or organisations give them broader permissions than necessary.

Neither approach is ideal.

Modern management requires flexible responsibilities and carefully controlled access.

What is matrix management?

Matrix management is an organisational approach in which employees may have responsibilities or reporting relationships involving more than one manager or leader.

For example, an employee might report formally to a department manager while working on a project led by someone from another department.

Matrix arrangements are common in organisations delivering cross-functional projects, professional services, technology, education and other collaborative activities.

They can help organisations use specialist expertise across traditional departmental boundaries.

However, they also create challenges around accountability, communication and decision-making.

Why traditional reporting structures can fall short

A conventional hierarchy provides a clear reporting line.

<escape>Employee → Manager → Senior Manager → Director</escape>

This remains useful for establishing formal accountability.

But it may not represent how work is actually coordinated.

Consider a software developer.

Their primary manager is responsible for formal performance management.

Their project lead allocates sprint work.

A technical lead reviews coding standards.

A mentor supports their longer-term development.

These people have different responsibilities.

They should not necessarily have identical access to the employee's records.

The four relationships organisations need to distinguish

1. Primary line manager

The primary manager typically holds formal responsibility for matters such as appraisals, agreed objectives and relevant management approvals.

Their authority should be clearly defined.

2. Project or dotted-line manager

A project lead may oversee particular activities, provide feedback and monitor delivery.

Their responsibilities may be limited to a specific project or workstream.

3. Mentor or development supporter

A mentor provides guidance and developmental support.

This relationship should not automatically grant access to confidential HR information.

4. Temporary acting manager

An acting manager may take on specific responsibilities while the primary manager is absent.

Those responsibilities may need to be time-limited.

The permissions problem

Imagine an employee is working on two projects.

Project Lead A needs to review progress on Project A.

Project Lead B needs to review progress on Project B.

Neither necessarily needs access to the employee's full appraisal history, personal information or unrelated projects.

Yet a poorly designed system may offer only two options:

• No management access.
• Full management access.

This can lead to unnecessary information sharing.

It may also encourage organisations to manage work outside their formal systems through spreadsheets, emails and shared documents.

The result is fragmented information and weaker control.

A better approach: scoped management permissions

A more appropriate permissions model separates formal accountability from operational responsibilities.

For example:

Relationship	Appropriate access might include	Access not automatically required
Primary manager	Relevant formal appraisal and development records	Unrelated confidential records
Project lead	Assigned project objectives and relevant progress	Full employment history
Mentor	Agreed mentoring goals and shared development information	Private HR or disciplinary information
Acting manager	Temporarily delegated management tasks	Permanent unrestricted access
HR administrator	Information required for authorised HR responsibilities	Information outside their authorised role

Actual permissions should reflect organisational policies, data protection obligations and legitimate operational requirements.

What is a primary anchor manager?

A primary anchor is the employee's main formal management relationship.

This provides clarity about who holds responsibility for key decisions.

For example:

• Formal appraisal sign-off.
• Agreed performance objectives.
• Relevant management approvals.
• Escalation of performance concerns.
• Coordination of wider employee development.

Secondary managers can then be assigned more limited responsibilities.

This avoids confusing formal accountability with every other working relationship.

Example: managing a cross-functional employee

Imagine an employee working in a marketing department while supporting a six-month digital transformation project.

Their primary manager is the Head of Marketing.

The transformation project is led by the Operations Director.

The employee also receives mentoring from a senior colleague.

A sensible arrangement could be:

Head of Marketing: Responsible for formal performance management and overall development.

Operations Director: Reviews relevant project objectives and provides project-specific feedback.

Mentor: Supports agreed professional development conversations.

Each person contributes to the employee's development.

But access to information remains proportionate to their responsibilities.

Temporary management cover

Management responsibilities often need to change temporarily.

A line manager may be absent because of annual leave, sickness, parental leave or another reason.

An acting manager may need to:

• Approve specific requests.
• Review urgent actions.
• Coordinate work.
• Provide relevant support.
• Escalate concerns.

These arrangements should have clear boundaries.

Organisations should establish what authority is delegated, when it begins and ends, and which records are accessible.

Temporary cover should not automatically create permanent access to confidential information.

Why confidentiality matters

Performance management systems can contain sensitive information.

For example:

• Employee reflections.
• Performance concerns.
• Development discussions.
• Personal circumstances.
• Workplace adjustments.
• Feedback from colleagues.

Not everyone involved in managing a project needs access to these details.

The UK GDPR principle of data minimisation requires personal data to be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for the intended purpose.

Appropriate role-based permissions can help organisations apply this principle.

However, software permissions are only one part of data protection.

Organisations also need appropriate policies, staff training, access reviews and information governance.

Five common matrix management mistakes

1. Unclear accountability

Employees receive conflicting instructions because nobody knows who has final responsibility.

Better approach: Define formal reporting lines and decision-making authority.

2. Excessive access

Project leaders receive broader employee information than their responsibilities require.

Better approach: Use proportionate, role-specific permissions.

3. Conflicting priorities

Different managers assign work without coordinating deadlines.

Better approach: Establish a process for resolving competing priorities.

4. Duplicated performance assessments

Employees receive separate assessments that are not brought together meaningfully.

Better approach: Gather relevant contributions while maintaining a clear formal review process.

5. Informal arrangements that never end

Temporary management responsibilities remain in place long after the original need has passed.

Better approach: Review and remove temporary permissions when no longer required.

How to introduce more effective matrix management

Step 1: map actual working relationships

Identify primary managers, project leads, mentors and temporary responsibilities.

Step 2: define authority

Clarify who can make decisions, provide feedback, approve actions and formally sign off assessments.

Step 3: review information access

Determine which information each role genuinely needs.

Step 4: establish communication arrangements

Make sure employees know who to approach for different issues.

Step 5: review regularly

Update responsibilities and permissions when projects, roles or employment arrangements change.

How WorkplaceHero supports flexible management structures

WorkplaceHero's organisational approach recognises that formal reporting lines and operational working relationships are not always identical.

Passport for Teams is designed to support a primary management anchor alongside appropriately scoped secondary management responsibilities.

This allows organisations to recognise project leads, dotted-line relationships and temporary cover without automatically providing unrestricted access to employee information.

The aim is to combine flexibility with accountability.

One person can have several working relationships without having several people entitled to see everything about them.

Frequently asked questions

What is matrix management?

Matrix management is an organisational structure where employees may work under more than one management or reporting relationship.

What is a dotted-line manager?

A dotted-line manager typically has a secondary or functional oversight relationship. Their authority depends on the organisation's arrangements.

Can an employee have two managers?

Yes. Employees may have multiple management relationships, although formal accountability and decision-making responsibilities should be clear.

What is the biggest challenge of matrix management?

Common challenges include conflicting priorities, unclear accountability and communication difficulties.

How can HR software support matrix management?

Through flexible reporting relationships, delegated responsibilities and appropriately restricted access to information.

Final thoughts: your organisation chart is not your entire organisation

Traditional hierarchies still have a purpose.

They establish accountability and provide clarity.

But they don't always capture the way modern work is delivered.

Employees collaborate across teams, contribute to projects and receive support from multiple people.

Management systems should accommodate that complexity without compromising confidentiality.

The future of organisational management isn't about removing accountability. It's about making accountability work in the real world.

Explore WorkplaceHero's organisational management tools

Related reading

• The Great Workplace Disconnect
• How to track your team's professional development
• How to conduct an employee appraisal