Use the RACI Matrix to Manage Remote Teams and Clarify Task Ownership
Few moments are more demoralizing than assigning a task, only to discover a week later that the work was either duplicated, or worse, never completed at all. It’s easy to get frustrated with your team for dropping the ball or slacking off, and it can be even more tempting to course-correct by micromanaging or adopting another project management tool. But more often than not, this is a process problem, not a people problem, attributable to the unique mechanics of remote work.
The solution isn’t necessarily another new project tracking tool or another team meeting. The solution is to be explicitly clear who is responsible for what.
What is the RACI matrix? How can it help managers of remote teams manage their teams effectively?
A classic four-part framework can help: the RACI matrix. RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. By assigning your staff to each of these roles for a given task or project, you can set clear expectations and prevent project duplication or stagnation. Let’s break down each role and their best practices.
Who is Responsible?
The person Responsible is the owner of the actual work. This remote teammate is the individual who executes the task and ensures the work gets done. On remote teams, the Responsible person can be the manager, but it is more often an individual contributor working asynchronously. Here are some tips remote team managers can employ to effectively manage a Responsible one.
Tips for a Remote Team Manager about the Responsible Person:
Break down larger projects into discrete tasks: if the task is too large for one person, break it down into multiple sub-tasks and assign different individuals to be responsible for each or set a clear timeline for a single individual to manageably complete all of the tasks.
Provide coaching on the handoff: the Responsible person’s primary duty is to produce a deliverable that is ready for the Accountable party to review asynchronously. It can be easy to focus on completing the task only, but work with your Responsible one to prepare the necessary context, links, summaries, and associated documents to reduce asynchronous back and forth.
Encourage communication: the Responsible person is not just responsible for completing the task, but also for flagging when something is going wrong. Make sure your team has a high-trust environment where your team members can raise a blocker as a sign of engagement and process ownership and not failure.
Who is Accountable?
The person Accountable is the single approval or final decision-maker. They have the ultimate authority (and accountability) for the project’s success or failure, and they are the one to sign off on the work product when it is completed. Often, the Accountable one is the manager of the remote team, but it can also be another person on the team.
Tips for the remote team manager about the Accountable person:
Triage communication: the Accountable person may coordinate with multiple Responsible assignees and multiple individuals who are Consulted and Informed. The Accountable person should synthesize these inputs when communicating project updates instead of sending ad hoc emails or messages to different stakeholders.
Check for a smooth hand-off: it can be tempting for the Accountable person to only review deliverables from those Responsible. Instead, the Accountable person should look at the whole system of the deliverables to ensure there is a smooth hand-off. This includes coaching about providing contextual information or supporting documentation.
Make expectations clear: at the onset of the project, the Accountable person should be clear about what success looks like and how it is measured. Creating a rubric or setting and tracking indicators can make sure success is clearly defined and nothing is left to ambiguity.
Separation is mandatory: There must be clear separation between who is Responsible and who is Accountable. They cannot be the same person so the person Accountable maintains an objective quality standard.
Who is Consulted?
Those who are Consulted are typically subject matter experts (SMEs) who have direct experience in the project at hand and can provide valuable expertise before the project work begins.
Remote team tips for managing those who are Consulted:
Establish clarity on what, where, when, why, and how: be clear on what the ask is, by when input is needed, why they are being tasked, and how they should compile the information. It is easy to focus on the “what” exclusively and gloss over important context.
Input, not approval: those who are consulted can provide input, but it should be clear they do not have veto power. This can prevent opinionated parties from derailing and delaying the project.
Who is Informed?
Those who are informed are stakeholders who have a high degree of interest in the task or project. While they may not complete project tasks, they should be informed about the progress and important updates should be shared with them.
Remote team tips for managing those who are Informed:
Be clear that no reply is required: communication to those who are Informed is one-way. The goal is transparency, but they are not expected to reply, acknowledge, or provide input.
Reduce noise: for both Informed and Consulted parties, consider moving to an opt-in model for updates. Instead of posting updates in a general channel, consider creating a project-specific channel that involves only those who are Responsible and Accountable. Bring in those who need to be Consulted on an as-needed basis and have those who are Informed opt-in if they want the updates and will not be disruptive to the process. This will prevent information overload for those who are Consulted and Informed.
Determine cadence of informing: generally, informing these individuals should take place at the beginning and/or end of the project. They generally do not need to be involved in the daily or weekly informational updates reserved for those working on the project and updates to them should focus on the final outcome and impact.
Using a framework like the RACI matrix prevents vague tasks from being dropped and ensures clarity around roles and accountability of tasks on your remote team.
Does your team struggle with workflows and managing tasks? Contact us for a workshop to set performance metrics or reset how your team communicates with each other.