Organizational design rethought

Many companies are looking for an optimal organizational structure. As numerous exemplary approaches already exist, most people responsible for organizational design are guided by models that have already been tried and tested. Very few companies proceed in such a way that they invent a completely new structure for themselves in order to be able to operate optimally. Spotify, on the other hand, has done just that! Here you can find out what this company’s organizational model is like and what you can learn from it for your company.

The Spotify model is an agile organizational structure developed by the Swedish music streaming platform Spotify to promote collaboration, flexibility and innovation within the company. It is based on the principle of agile working, which is based on continuous collaboration, feedback and experimentation in order to be able to react quickly to changes in the market and customer needs.

The structure of the Spotify model is organized into Squads, Tribes (departments), Chapters and Guilds. Squads are small, autonomous teams that focus on specific tasks or products and work in an agile way to deliver results quickly. They are part of a tribe that comprises several squads and has a similar business strategy or product line. They correspond most closely to departments in the conventional economy. Chapters, on the other hand, are specialized groups that focus on specific skills, such as design or development, and share and develop these skills within the squads. Guilds are informal groups made up of employees who share a common interest or passion that is not directly related to their work.

The Spotify model is designed to have a flat hierarchy and a collaborative work culture that allows employees to move freely to work on different projects and expand their skills. It has several advantages for companies looking to implement an agile organizational structure:

Overall, the Spotify model provides a modern and flexible organizational structure that helps companies adapt quickly to changing market conditions, increase employee engagement and foster creative thinking and innovation. Its implementation requires careful planning to ensure it is implemented successfully. Here are some steps that companies need to go through to implement the Spotify model:

Identification of business goals and strategies
Identify your business goals and strategies so that the Spotify model is tailored to your specific needs.

Establish squads
Set up teams of employees who work in small squads to work on specific tasks or products. Each squad should consist of members with different skills so that all necessary aspects of the product or service are taken into account.

Creating tribes
Your company’s squads should be organized into larger units that work on similar business goals and strategies. Tribes should have a clear governance structure so that all squads within the tribe work in a coordinated manner.

Set up chapters
Specialist groups have specific skills that can be shared within the squads. Chapters should meet regularly to share best practices and knowledge.

Guilds form
The informal groups are designed to give employees the opportunity to pursue their interests and passions and get involved in areas such as art, music, sport or other activities.

Create an agile working environment
Ensure that your working environment is flexible and agile to enable squads and tribes to react quickly to changing conditions. This may include the introduction of agile processes and technologies, such as Scrum or Kanban.

Introduction of KPIs and their measurements
Introduce KPIs to measure the success of the Spotify model and ensure that it is in line with business goals and strategies.

The use of innovative software solutions can be helpful in an organizational design, for example in the Spotify model. The aim here is to visualize the status quo of your organization, initiate analyses based on this in order to be able to simulate and ultimately implement optimizing measures.