Simplifying the organization to streamline decision -making is a recurring temptation in growing businesses. Some structures have made the radical choice to eliminate intermediate hierarchical levels to favor a more direct, more responsibility and faster organization. This approach is not a fashion effect, but a strategic repositioning carried by clear objectives: reducing execution deadlines, promoting initiative, and strengthening the commitment of the teams. Several French companies have experienced this model with contrasting results, but instructive for any decision -maker who envisages a deep transformation of its managerial chain.
Promote operational reactivity
The Teract group, born from the merger between invivo retail and various brands in the agricultural and food sector, opted for a significant managerial simplification from its creation. By removing several intermediate strata within its subsidiaries, the company has accelerated the validation circuits while bringing the site managers closer to strategic management. This choice has resulted in better responsiveness on supply and merchandising subjects, especially in the Jardiland and Gamm Green brands. The abolition of intermediate positions was not conducted as a disguised social plan, but as a complete overhaul of the driving mode.
The SNCF, for its part, has initiated since 2018 since 2018 a deep restructuring of its regional activities, significantly reducing the ladder between train drivers and territorial directorates. The objective was twofold: strengthen the autonomy of field teams and restore the confidence of employees, often stifled by a hierarchy perceived as heavy and distant. This organizational project, gradually carried out, has made it possible to decompartmentalize functions and improve the processing times of operational incidents on the TER network, while limiting structural costs.
Restoring power to local teams
In the distribution sector, Grande Frais made the choice from the origin of a model without traditional intermediate hierarchical structure. Stores are managed as almost autonomous units, where shelves have very wide decision-making latitude on purchases, prices and team management. This reduced architecture allows points of sale to adapt quickly to local specificities, without waiting for the validation of multiple levels. The success of this formula is based on rigorous recruitment and a strong empowerment of field managers, who are considered to be real entrepreneurs.
Brioche Pasquier, a major player in the industrial bakery, has adopted a similar operation in several of its production units. By removing the foreman and by entrusting the teams with the management of the scheduling, the schedules and the quality, the group noted a significant improvement in the performance indicators. The operators’ empowerment was accompanied by a massive investment in training, in order to guarantee the maintenance of security and productivity standards. The success of this model is due to its consistency: it is not a question of delegating without control, but of building a framework of confidence and competence.
Prevent the effects of disorganization
The removal of intermediate levels can also generate imbalances if it is conducted without method. OVHCLOUD, Cloud service provider based in Roubaix, experienced internal voltage periods following the rapid disappearance of several Middle Management stations. The initial objective, which aimed to energize projects and bring the developers closer to strategic decisions, encountered a transverse coordination deficit. Management had to reintroduce certain roles of functional coordination to compensate for the losses of benchmarks and arbitration between the technical teams and the support services. This experience emphasizes that hierarchy is not an enemy in principle, but that its questioning must be accompanied by a robust organizational vision.
The case of Sogilis, a Grenoble company specializing in software development, illustrates the interest of a hybrid model. The company works without fixed intermediate managers, but with rotating roles of referents depending on the projects. This flexible organization allows continuous adaptation to operational challenges while preserving a clear responsibility framework. This self-organization operation requires a strong corporate culture and a rigorous selection of the recruited profiles. The abolition of intermediate hierarchies is only effective if the employees have sufficient maturity to self -drift without drift.
Rethink the culture of piloting
Adopting a structure without intermediate hierarchical levels involves in depth redefining how the company pilots its objectives. Decathlon, in its digital subsidiaries like Decathlon Technology, has gradually integrated a mode of operation where the teams are organized in autonomous “squads”, responsible for a produced segment. Each team fixes its own indicators and presents its results to a strategic body, without going through a hierarchical validation chain. This system, inspired by agile methods, made it possible to speed up development cycles while strengthening the commitment of employees.
The Rocher group, owner of brands like Yves Rocher or Arbonne, has experienced piloting based on collective intelligence within its production units. By reducing the number of hierarchical levels, the group has strengthened the role of transverse operational committees, real horizontal piloting spaces. This device makes it possible to reassemble weak signals more quickly, but also to mobilize the teams around shared objectives, in a less pyramidal setting. Membership of this model required reinforced support for teams, as well as work on monitoring tools, in order to avoid any dilution of responsibilities.
Secure execution in the growth phase
When growth accelerates, the temptation to centralize everything often reappears. But some companies have shown that it is possible to preserve a decentralized operation while mastering execution. Luko, Surtech specializing in home insurance, has maintained a very flat structure even after several significant fundraising. Rather than introducing an additional managerial layer, the company has invested in digital governance tools allowing each team to control its OKR in real time, with total transparency on the results.
In the industry, the Poujoulat group, leader in chimney conduits and biomass heating solutions, has initiated a similar approach on its production sites. By removing the positions of intermediary workshop managers, the company has given team leaders a direct responsibility for industrial performance. To secure this transition, it has set up an intensive managerial support as well as a lightened but rigorous reporting system. This organizational development has made it possible to maintain strong competitiveness, while strengthening the involvement of teams in achieving production objectives.
