Being adaptable in a pandemic and being able to react quickly to the new circumstances and changes requires short decision-making paths and fast change processes. A flat hierarchy is certainly an advantage here.
Even in less extraordinary situations, this results in many advantages from which the iXenso Group has long benefited. For many years, the modern organisational structure has been part of the philosophy of founder and CEO Thomas Kleiner. By no means does this correspond to a dictatorship; on the contrary, we rely on a high degree of participation, personal responsibility and agility among our employees. The most important areas of the company are staffed with service owners, so that topics such as processes and quality are anchored accordingly.
Who is responsible? We do not answer this question with a name or a role. Everyone is responsible. There is only a concrete assignment in the internal and external projects. Logically, this can differ from project to project.
Our CEO is supported by a specially installed Steering Board (SB). This is made up of experienced employees from different areas with diverse backgrounds. In the regular meetings, the strategy of the company is discussed together and the company is aligned accordingly.
Since the SB members have not defined a leadership role in their role profile and are all operationally active in the company on a daily basis, risks and opportunities are perceived, conflicts are recognised in time and then addressed in the SB meeting. This means that the managing director does not have to make difficult decisions alone. At the same time, the steering board fills a gap for the other employees: if the boss is not available, important issues can be passed on to a member of the board for discussion.
The composition of the board as well as the length and rhythm of the steering board meeting varies and depends on the content and the current topics.
Participation and co-determination in organisational development, strategy development, discussion and decision-making on important topics are among the core tasks of the Steering Board. This noticeably relieves the management, and the juggling of various balls is distributed among many hands. In addition, the Steering Board makes it possible to implement several important topics in parallel.
Thomas Kleiner is sure that this organisational structure will be found in the management manuals of tomorrow.