whats a fogger vape

Is the Pod Structure the Right Team Structure for You?

Traditional Team Structures

Organizations have been adhering to a number of team structures for years. While each of these structures can work and be the right fit in some cases, know that the right team structure is highly dependent on the makeup and workflow of your specific organization.

Hierarchical/Departmental Structure

This is likely the model most of us think of when it comes to organizational structures. In a traditional hierarchical system, teams are established based on skillset or function within the company. Team members report to leaders in their respective departments, and those leaders report to upper management.

This team structure offers an advanced level of control and supervision of employees and, in some cases, can be an effective solution to managing complex operations. However, hierarchical systems can often delay decision-making processes, limit employee voices and lead to stagnation due to the emphasis and reliance on following established protocols.

Flat Structure

In a flat team structure, there is little to no middle management. This means that nearly all team members report to top-level leaders. While this can be useful for very small teams that require direct communication with leadership, it can be very challenging when scaling for larger businesses or projects. It’s easy to run into bottlenecks and confusion when operating under this model.

Divisional Structure

Often adopted by national or international organizations, the divisional structure establishes teams based on product or location. This allows teams to narrow their focus on their established division, limiting the chain of command and allowing for quicker decision-making. The biggest hurdle with this team structure is maintaining consistency across divisions. Coordination can become difficult the more your team is fragmented. This can be particularly troublesome when it comes to maintaining a cohesive brand identity.

Matrix Structure

A matrix team structure borrows the departmental structure of a hierarchical system and adds additional management in the form of account or project managers. These additional managerial roles lead cross-departmental projects, allowing for easier interdepartmental communication and collaboration while still maintaining the functional roles of each department. However, this can also cause conflict between department leaders and project leaders, causing bottlenecks in the decision-making process.

The biggest issue of traditional team structures is the tendency for restriction and bottleneck; If one rung in the chain fails, everything that follows will suffer. This dependency on individuals further up the chain is destructive twofold: Production-level employees lose empowerment, and the development process halts until the chain is re-established.

So, how do we adapt?

The Pod Structure

One example is the pod structure. The pod structure is nothing new for industry juggernauts like Google and Hubspot, where it is implemented regularly to complete projects large and small. But what exactly is the meaning of pod for businesses?

By definition, a pod is a small group of individuals with complementary skills working with a shared purpose to complete a portion of a larger project or campaign. The pod structure is not a “process,” but a way of thinking. It’s a complete mental shift, with the onus of responsibility to make decisions and complete tasks placed completely on the pod. No more chains. No more bottlenecks.

Product or Process-based Structure

A variation of the pod team structure is the product or process-based structure. This alternative establishes teams based on the product you’re delivering or the process it takes to produce the work.

Similar to the pod structure, you have a set team that works together, allowing certain team members to work on specific parts of your business or product, which minimizes dependencies. This structure helps to streamline operational inefficiencies because people aren’t always relying on each other.

How to Form a Pod Team Structure

Establish the Goal(s): Begin by defining the goal or deliverable for your pod structure. Basically, what’s the pod’s purpose? Once you’ve laid out what the pod needs to accomplish, you’ll be able to select the team members appropriate for the job.

Assign a Leader: Pick a captain for your ship. This person should be well-versed in the expectations of the goal and/or project and be capable of directing the actions and decisions of his or her fellow pod members.

Assemble a Team:Once you have your leader, it’s time to choose the remaining pod members. Pods should be between two to six people. Any more than six, and you should split into two groups. Ultimately, the needs of the pod will determine who should be included. If you need to make a landing page, don’t pick a pod full of media buyers.

Define Member Roles and Deliverables:Great! Now that you have your pod and pod leader, you must give each member a role and deliverable. Remember that these deliverables, when combined, should equal the project goal.

Launch: You’re almost done! Everyone is assembled and has a job. All that’s left to do is to set your deliverable deadlines, establish any checkpoints or pod regroups needed, and release your pod into the world!

Benefits of the Pod Structure

How, exactly, can using the pod model of business increase the efficiency of an agency? In more ways than you’d think. Research-based feedback from industry leaders shows that pod structures have immensely helped with increasing production efficiency and team collaboration. Specifically, there are six major areas of improvement:

1. Employee Empowerment: Team members are made to feel comfortable and confident to make decisions without the involvement of upper management. This helps encourage a less top-down approach to leadership and autonomy within small teams.
2. Team Efficiency: Pod structure implementation offers a more agile process for tackling projects. This allows teams to be more nimble through frequent reviews and ensures the right people are involved at the right time.
3. Collaboration: Team members can be utilized throughout multiple pods to accomplish different goals, which increases peer-to-peer collaboration and accountability.
4. Communication: Working in small units allows team members to quickly reconvene and share information on a project or discuss issues that arise.
5. Accountability:Pod structures foster a shared sense of awareness and responsibility to each other, the team, the product, the client and the deadlines.
6. Innovation: With constant communication between different parts of the puzzle, this system creates a “learning culture” within the agency, helping to maintain standards and accomplish major project milestones.

Team Structure Considerations

Keep in mind that any change you introduce to your team, whether large or small, will take time and commitment to make stick. There’s a learning curve with everything, and the pod model is no exception. If you’re adopting this strategy for the first time, here are a few points to consider:

Prepare an Onboarding Presentation: Not only will this be helpful for your current crew, but it’ll come in handy when you eventually add new people to your team. This can be as simple as a short guide for new workers to navigate the established team structures.

Use a Feedback System:Quarterly employee surveys measuring the success of your new work methodology can help you see what’s working and what needs work.

Tweak the System: What works for one company might not work for everyone else. Constantly evaluate the failures and successes of your structure and tweak as needed.

Structure Your Team for Success

From the traditional hierarchical structure to matrix systems, pod structures, and more, there is a team structure for every organization. The biggest thing to remember is that the solution for your business is likely going to be as unique as the individuals you employ. Don’t feel constrained by the structure of your organization, and adopt a culture of adaptability that allows you to keep what works and leave behind the rest. Not only will your team thank you, but your bottom line will as well.