Dotted Line Reporting: Understanding Its Role in Modern Organizations

A well-defined structure of roles and responsibilities where employees report to a single manager is intuitive and can make life easy. But that doesn’t mean it’s better.

Instead, dotted-line reporting might be the best choice for your organization.

What is dotted line reporting?

Dotted line reporting is when an employee reports to a secondary manager in addition to their main boss. This secondary manager gives input on the employee’s work, but the main boss has the final say. It facilitates open communication and collaboration across different departments.

Curious to learn more about dotted line reporting? Keep reading to discover the pros and cons of this unique management style, with best-practice tips to help you integrate it into your organization.

Dotted Line Reporting vs Solid Line Reporting

The easiest way to understand the difference between dotted line reporting vs solid line reporting is to visualize an actual line. The traditional style of reporting where each employee has a direct manager is best represented with a solid line. The direct manager might then report to their manager, and so on, and the line remains unbroken.

In contrast, dotted line reporting involves an employee sharing information with their direct manager and at least one other manager. The line between an employee and a secondary manager is dotted instead of solid because only pertinent information is being shared with each party instead of all information being shared with just one person. The solid line remains between the employee and their direct supervisor, who ultimately has the final say.

These designations are reflected in how org charts organize relationships. Solid lines indicate a relationship with a direct manager, while dashed or dotted lines indicate a relationship with a secondary manager.

Benefits of Dotted Line Reporting

There are some serious advantages of a dotted-line reporting relationship between employees and managers.

A few include:

• Increased cross-functional collaboration
• Smoother knowledge sharing
• Flexibility in management
• Efficient use of talent

Increased collaboration

Dotted line reporting has the potential to increase collaboration. Employees can communicate directly across different departments, teams, and projects, which can support greater problem-solving.

It can also create a more integrated organizational structure where each person knows how they impact their team as well as others. It makes using some review strategies, like 360 feedback and continuous feedback, even more impactful.

Flexibility in management

Dotted line reporting can make your team more nimble. For example, getting work done while a manager is on vacation or away at a conference can be tricky if employees can’t get their questions answered. With a dotted line manager, there is someone else they can ask.

It’s also a great way to harness the right expertise. With a flexible management situation, employees can communicate with a different manager who has the most expertise in a certain area.

Efficient use of talent

Dotted line reporting can make it easier to split employees across teams to complete projects. This comes in handy when you don’t have enough employees to occupy dedicated roles within a team or while a team member is on leave or vacation.

It can also ensure you’re able to utilize the expertise of your employees where it’s most needed. For example, if an employee on another team has graphic design knowledge, they can contribute their expertise to a content marketing team that could use their help.

Challenges of Dotted Line Reporting

Although dotted line reporting has plenty of pros, there are some cons you should keep in mind before deciding if it’s right for your organization.

They include:

• Confusion in reporting structure
• Potential conflicts of interest
• Resource allocation
• Accountability issues

Confusion in reporting structure

A dotted-line reporting structure has the potential to get confusing. It usually means employees are managing multiple workstreams, trying to figure out what to report to which manager along the way. The more managers employees report to, the easier it is for things to fall through the cracks.

Things can get even more confusing if those managers aren't communicating well with each other. It can leave employees wondering what to do, how to do it, and who to ask to get the answer, which ultimately wastes time, causes stress, and impacts the quality of their work.

Potential conflicts of interest

Conflicts of interest are a real threat to dotted-line reporting. A request from one manager could conflict with another, which can be stressful. Things can get even more stressful if each manager attempts to prioritize their particular projects. Employees may put in overtime to please both managers. Over a long enough period, that can lead to burnout.

Accountability issues

A dotted-line relationship has the potential to suffer from accountability issues. With more than just one manager, it can be difficult to figure out which manager is in charge of which task and which employee is responsible for completing the task. Because communication can get muddied, managers may not communicate with each other about what needs to get done, and employees may not know what they’re responsible for completing.

Best Practices for Managing Dotted Line Reporting Relationships

The potential cons of dotted-line reporting can be mitigated with the right strategies. Here’s how to get the most out of a dotted-line reporting relationship:

• Clear communication
• Strong time management
• Define roles and responsibilities
• Regular check-ins

Clear communication

Clear communication is key to supporting an effective system of dotted-line reporting. Employees should know exactly who to report to about what and when.

There should be clear communication between managers so the right day-to-day tasks get prioritized and everyone is on the same page about who is responsible for that task and when it’s due.

Part of supporting clear communication is fostering a feedback culture. That way employees and managers are encouraged to be open and honest about what’s working and what isn’t.

Define roles and responsibilities

Everyone in the dotted line reporting relationship should know exactly what their roles and responsibilities are. That means managers are clear about who their direct reports are, what they're responsible for, and how to conduct performance appraisal meetings to ensure everyone is on the same page.

Those roles and responsibilities should be clear to everyone else on the team too. That way, no one wastes time approaching the wrong person about a task or a question that has to be forwarded to someone else.

Regular check-ins

Check-ins are essential to keeping everyone on the same page. They support a culture of clear communication and can help clarify everyone’s roles and responsibilities.

They occur more frequently than formal reviews and feature limited agendas that give employees and managers the ability to speak their minds. It’s a quick and easy way to make sure everyone is on the same page, and adjustments can be made, if necessary.

Examples of Dotted Line Reporting in Organizations

There are a few different ways you can use dotted line reporting in your organization. Three examples include:

• Project management teams
• Matrix organizations
• Cross-functional teams

Project management teams

In some cases, employees from different teams may come together to complete a project. When this happens, each employee still reports to their primary manager, but they will also have a project manager to report to.

They may report to both managers throughout the project, but it may also be the case that the dotted line relationship only exists until the task is done. Once a team member’s contribution is complete, the dotted-line relationship can be terminated.

Matrix organizations

Some organizations operate between departments frequently, so they build a matrix of dotted-line reporting. Employees have a solid line reporting relationship with their main manager, but they may also report to one or more other project managers, depending on what projects they are contributing to.

In this case, most primary reporting relationships relate to certain departments, but most projects are completed outside individual departments because they must collaborate to get work done. The matrix can get complicated, so it’s a good idea to use performance review software, like PerformYard, to keep track of all solid and dotted line relationships.

Cross-functional teams

Cross-functional teams are composed of people from various departments within an organization who work together to achieve a goal. They coincide with project management teams and matrix organizations, but they don't have to. Sometimes they are created with an ongoing purpose, like increasing retention rates. In this case, each member would report to the head of their department, but they would also report to the head of the group.

How to Implement Dotted Line Reporting Effectively

If you want to implement dotted-line reporting in your organization, some best practices will help you get started. They include:

• Organizational readiness
• Training and support
• Monitoring and feedback

Organizational readiness

First, you will want to determine if your organization is ready to tackle dotted-line reporting successfully. For example, you may have a performance evaluation system for appraisals, but performance appraisals are different from performance management. For dotted line reporting to work, you have to have a robust performance management system that bakes feedback into the entire process from start to finish.

Time is also another important consideration when determining organizational readiness within the management structure. Employees have to have the time to report to multiple managers, and managers have to have the time to get on the same page with one another. Some tasks and/or specific projects may have to be cut from everyone’s workload to have enough time to do dotted-line reporting well.

Training and support

It is important to consider training and support from the get-go. You might have to implement a more robust performance management system, and if you’re using ratings during the review process, you’ll want to make sure everyone is on the same page so they are consistent.

You might want to train participants in communication and conflict management to ensure reporting relationships are smooth and productive. Managers may need some leadership training, especially as it relates to managing employees with skill sets that may be outside of their realm of expertise.

There should also be someone employees and managers can turn to if they have questions or concerns throughout the process.

Monitoring and feedback

A system of performance reviews should be implemented to monitor the success of dotted-line relationships over time. That process should also include specific feedback mechanisms that employees and managers know how to utilize, like check-ins and 360 reviews. It gives everyone multiple chances to clarify expectations, bring up concerns, and get back on track, increasing the likelihood that the relationship—and the project—will be successful.

Is Dotted Line Reporting Right for Your Organization?

Dotted line reporting has the potential to increase collaboration among your teams, it fosters flexibility among managers, and it can be an efficient use of talent, as long as you follow best practices and have a strong implementation strategy. It’s also likely to continue rising in popularity in the future as organizations look to remain flexible and agile in ever-evolving industries.

Just make sure you increase your chances of success with the right performance management strategy.

PerformYard offers performance management software that is completely customizable, which means you can modify it to fit your needs, no matter what your dotted line reporting strategy looks like.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between a solid line and a dotted line in an organizational chart?

A solid line in an organizational chart denotes a relationship between an employee and their direct manager. A dotted line indicates a relationship between an employee and a secondary manager.

How can dotted line reporting benefit my organization?

Dotted line reporting has the potential to increase collaboration between employees in different departments or on different teams. It can also encourage your management team to be flexible in managing different employees, and it can be an efficient use of existing talent without having to hire for a separate position.

What are the potential downsides of dotted line reporting?

The potential downsides of dotted line reporting include confusion in the reporting structure. It has the potential to create conflicts of interest, especially among managers, and accountability issues can crop up if roles and tasks aren't clearly defined and assigned.

How do I manage conflicts in a dotted-line reporting structure?

Conflicts can be managed in dotted-line reporting by providing the right training and support to employees. A robust system of monitoring and feedback also ensures the reporting lines of communication remain open so problems can be addressed quickly.

Can PerformYard help with my dotted line reporting? 

Yes! PerformYard is a fully customizable performance management platform that enables you to track, maintain, and support multiple manager-employee relationships. It comes with a range of monitoring, feedback, reporting, goal-setting, and review tools to ensure everyone on the team gets the most out of dotted-line reporting relationships.