The Corporate Lattice

A simple observation, with a nonetheless serious impact, is that the working world has changed. Organizational structures are flatter and less conducive to vertical promotion. Talented people are more mobile and aspire more to develop their skills than to maximize their job security. Work is becoming more virtual, collaborative and interconnected. Employee profiles and needs have become more diversified. These trends are obliging companies to revise their organizational model and move from a hierarchical structure to a more adaptable matrix organization.
Adopting this new model means overhauling the traditional career management policy, by recognizing that linear careers are no longer the standard today, and that people can progress in directions other than upwards. Career paths and development opportunities must consequently be personalized to be more motivating. Meeting individual expectations more closely also requires making work more flexible, to give employees more of a choice about “where, when and how” they work. These are the prerequisites for companies to attract and retain talent today.
Although the authors do not delve deeply into concrete ways to set up the model they recommend, they provide well-supported and carefully structured thinking on how companies can modernize their HR vision. We particularly recommend chapter 3, devoted to contemporary career management, and chapter 6, which cites concrete examples of companies that have made this transition successfully.