How to Use a RACI Grid to Your Advantage

If you aren’t clear about who’s doing what task, clarify before it costs you.   

Change can be difficult and overwhelming. It also signifies opportunity and can produce rewarding outcomes for your organization.  

As a leader of a change initiative, whom we at 18 Coffees refer to as a “Change Champion,” there is a lot to do at the start of a change initiative. You have to first form a strong change team and clarify what your change vision is. Once that vision is clear, you may be tempted to jump right in and start working on tasks. But missteps are more likely if you don’t pause and focus on clarity and organization. A RACI grid can help. 

What is a RACI grid?

A RACI grid, pronounced “racy” and also referred to as a RACI chart or matrix, can be a valuable project management tool when you’re in the early stages of your change initiative. It helps you map out clear roles and responsibilities.

Using a RACI grid can lead to many benefits: a simplified communication process, an avoidance of duplicity, and a strong sense of ownership around tasks. Online collaboration platform Miro also cites deeper engagement, enhanced scalability, conflict resolution, and greater efficiency as additional rewards. The extra effort may cost you a little time, but you’ll be better positioned for success as you move forward. 

How do I complete a RACI grid?

To start, note a specific deliverable or task and then identify four different roles:

• Who is Responsible for the task?: The person who is responsible is the individual who actually completes the task. 

• Who is Accountable for the task?: The person who is listed as accountable owns the task and ensures it gets done and that the final quality is high. The accountable person may be the manager of the person who executes the task, but sometimes, in smaller teams, the person who completes the task and owns the task is the same. It is important to identify only one person as responsible for the task and one as accountable. 

• Who is Consulted on the task?: The individual(s) who is consulted will share valuable information and feedback and will be in direct communication with the person responsible for the task. 

• Who is Informed of the task?: The individual(s) who is kept informed is updated on progress or completion of the task but doesn’t provide direct feedback. It is advisable to keep the number of people who are consulted and informed to a minimum.

Continue by adding all deliverables and tasks related to your initiative and assigning the corresponding responsibilities. The more detailed your RACI grid is, the more useful it will prove to be. 

Who should use a RACI grid?

As the Change Champion, you should work with all the members of your change team to complete one single RACI grid. You gain a lot of value from collaboratively discussing who owns each task or workstream and letting each person weigh in. The activity allows every critical team member to feel invested in the tasks they individually own and in the broader decision-making process. 

In our experience, we’ve found it works best to first align on the As — the individuals driving performance accountability for each task —  and then let the designated As suggest team members for the R, C and I of their respective tasks. 

Ready to turn thought into action? To learn more about the RACI grid and other tools to help you launch your change initiative, check out our Changemaker's Toolkit: Getting Started.