Good afternoon,
When a team’s responsibilities expand or priorities shift, knowing what everyone is working on can be critical. Today we want to share a tool the OE team uses to identify roles and responsibilities when starting a large project or building a new team.
The “RACI Matrix” is a structured approach to help identify all of a team’s tasks and how everyone on the team is contributing to their completion.
- R — Responsible for contributing or completing a task
- A —Accountable for making sure the task is complete. A lot of times the owner of the task is also contributing to the completion of the task. In that case, it would be labeled “A/R.” Only one person should be accountable per task. This allows the team to clearly assign responsibility for the organization of task completion.
- C — Consulted for input or feedback.
- I — Informed
To utilize this technique, simply ask your team a few questions.
- What do you do on a daily/weekly basis?
- What do you do on a yearly basis?
- What does the team ask for your feedback on?
Then, group the responses by category and identify the tasks that overlap. Make sure that only one person is accountable for each task. Using this strategy allows you to assign ownership and set clear expectations.
Recently we used a RACI matrix to help the Innovate Carolina team define the team’s expanded responsibilities to identify what positions were needed to support the operations of the new innovation hub, Innovate Carolina Junction. How do you see yourself using the RACI matrix in your work at Carolina?
Finally, I’m excited to welcome Benny Klein to the Operational Excellence Team as our new student assistant. Benny, a Morehead Cain Scholar ’25 from Durham, NC comes to OE with an interest in transformation management and already embraces the mindset of continuous improvement. Benny, we’re so excited to have you on our team! Welcome aboard!
Please feel free to share this email with your colleagues. You can also visit our website to learn more about Operational Excellence, read my previous updates, and submit feedback. If you have any questions, please reach out to me at wernoski@email.unc.edu. I read every email.
Best,
Rick