Problems created by informal groups and how management should deal with them

Informal groups

Alongside the chart of posts and reporting lines, every workplace has a second, unwritten organisation. It grows out of the contact people have with one another beyond what their jobs require: colleagues who commute together on the metro, share an office WhatsApp group or cover for each other on a busy shift come to like or dislike one another, and small groups form that management never designed. Inside such a group, what counts as proper conduct is set by the members' shared expectations rather than by the rule book; news moves along whatever paths the members choose; and the group's shape shifts over time, with no settled structure. The group picks its own leaders, who may or may not hold a managerial post. Informal groups also help the organisation, by spreading information fast and meeting social needs, but the question asks about the problems.

Problems informal groups create for the organisation

1. Pressure to conform. The group expects its members to fall in line with its ways, and that pressure works against the organisation whenever the group's norms clash with organisational interests, for instance an unwritten understanding that output stays below the standard.
2. Group interest before organisational interest. The group may give priority to its own interests.
3. A second centre of influence. Because informal leaders are chosen by the group, workers may follow them rather than their supervisors when the two disagree.
4. Rumours. A rumour passed round the group can do real damage, turning the informal organisation into a force that works against the formal one. Grapevine messages spread fast, are sometimes distorted on the way and are hard to trace to a source, and at times they can upset the work environment.
5. No one answers for distorted information. It is not possible to fix responsibility for what the informal channel carries.
6. Resistance to change. Where the group sets itself against a change, management may be unable to put the change into effect, and the firm's growth can be held back or slowed.

How management should deal with informal groups

• Work with both organisations, not against the informal one. Fighting the groups gains little; the better course is to draw skilfully on the formal and the informal organisation together so that work goes on smoothly, letting informal channels supplement and strengthen formal communication.
• Counter rumours with facts. Managers should analyse what the informal channel carries and clarify it, to reduce its adverse effects; they can also use informal channels themselves to pass on information and learn how subordinates react.
• Test reactions through them. Employees' reactions to plans and policies can be tested through the informal network before a change is announced.
• Know the groups. They cannot be abolished, so management does better to accept that they exist and to find out which member plays which part in each.
• Win them over rather than suppress them. The groups voice feelings their members share; management should steer these towards the organisation's objectives instead of stamping them out, and what it learns about the groups can be used to gain their backing.

In a Ludhiana hosiery unit where a group of senior knitters distrusts a new incentive scheme, the manager who meets the group's informal leader, explains the scheme and corrects the rumour that it will cut pay is likely to win the group's support; one who ignores the group or punishes its members is likely to harden its opposition.

Conclusion

Informal groups create problems of rumour, resistance and divided loyalty, but they are a permanent part of every organisation. Management deals with them best by recognising them, keeping them informed and harnessing them for the organisation's goals.