In an effort to thwart Amazon’s bureaucracy, CEO Andy Jassy announced in mid-September that the percentage of individual contributors in management will increase by the end of the first quarter of 2025, according to an internal memo. announced plans to increase the amount by at least 15%. obtained by business insider.
This largely has to do with Amazon’s disdain for inefficiency and involving too many stakeholders in decision-making.
“In reality, [senior leadership] A spokesperson confirmed that Jassy answered employee questions about Amazon’s strict return-to-work policy during an internal call this week. luck. “One of the reasons I’m still here is because this is not a place of politics or bureaucracy.”
An Amazon spokesperson said: luck This initiative is not necessarily aimed at reducing the number of administrators. Rather, it aims to reduce the number of layers between employees and leaders. The decision comes in the wake of Amazon’s massive hiring efforts since the pandemic.
To increase the ratio of individual contributors to managers, Amazon is considering expanding the size of its teams and having managers fill other roles, the spokesperson said.
Mr. Jassy and his senior leadership team were so intent on reducing Amazon’s bureaucracy that they introduced a “bureaucracy mailbox,” he said. The company said it allowed employees to raise concerns about excessive processes and rules that needed to be addressed. Business Insider. Jassy has already received over 500 emails, and the company has responded to about 150 of them.
Is increasing the employee-to-manager ratio a good idea for Amazon? Experts weigh in
Management experts agree that reducing the number of administrators can be a slippery slope, especially at large companies like Amazon.
“Large companies need a certain amount of bureaucracy to manage and coordinate their operations.” Moshe Cohensaid the senior lecturer in management and organizations at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business. luck. “Too little management results in confusion, poor coordination, subordinate decision-making, and insufficient attention to team members.”
But Cohen agreed that too much bureaucracy can slow decision-making and disconnect people from a company’s mission. “The challenge is to find the right balance and create a management that optimizes the positives without burdening the organization or its employees,” he added.
Lauren Margolis, Founder and CEO Coach TLS reader The Stony Brook University leadership professor said there are only two conditions under which Amazon should consider reducing the number of managers. The first is whether the manager is underperforming. This includes micromanaging, not coaching, and not empowering employees to work independently, she said. luck. Another condition Amazon should consider reducing management positions is whether it needs to remove some layers to reduce costs and increase agility.
However, Margolis advises against cutting middle management positions just to eliminate red tape.
“Companies need to be acutely aware that if you eliminate middle managers, they may leave the company without important knowledge,” she says. “Middle managers are key to a company’s success because they empower the front lines and support senior management.”
Margolis suggests managers ask current Amazon employees who are worried about losing their jobs as much as possible about processes, key decisions, and influential leaders within the company. .
Newsletter for the boldest and brightest leaders:
CEO Daily A weekday morning resource on the news, trends and chatter business leaders need to know.
Sign up here.
