Basing charts on results has value for firms of all sizes
My business is so small right now. I’m going to wait to create my organizational chart until my business has grown and I really need it.”
This type of thinking often comes from entrepreneurs, even in medium-sized companies. Yet there is a proven case for having an organizational system in place right from Day One. But how to convince the owner or the CEO?
The solution is to rethink the traditional organizational chart, to think of it, not as a set of people or job descriptions, but as a set of results. What CEO wouldn’t respond to the need for a structure designed to help the organization achieve its goals?
The org chart is the system that sets the stage for all other management systems, which define accountability. It is therefore worth spending the time to get it right.
Achieving an organization’s goals is the CEO’s main focus, and what she is accountable for, so when you approach the org chart in this way, you’ll automatically have her attention.
Employees will also respond to this approach because it is empowering. It lets them know that they’re accountable to results, rather than simply being accountable to their managers. Studies have shown that employees are least happy at work when they don’t know what they’re expected to achieve. Putting their results onto the org chart as critical elements gives them power and motivation.
How, as an HR manager, can you create this new type of system? It’s not as simple as taking out a ruler and redrawing some lines. It is nothing less than a rethink of the organization’s structure and accountabilities. Here’s a process for developing the new org chart and making the shift in thinking.
•Review and re-affirm the company’s strategic objective, the CEO’s vision of the business, its goals, vision and milestones.
•Create a draft of the new organizational chart, with the strategic objective at the top.
•Draw a box for each major department and divide the largest functions of the business into smaller, more manageable sub-systems. Organize the subsystems into work groupings — managerial and non-managerial jobs — that can be performed by real people. Group the work according to skill category and skill level.
•Create position titles (remember: positions, not people). Transform the work groupings into position titles that are simple, meaningful, and appropriate.
•Evaluate, revise and finalize the organizational chart, double-checking to make sure all business activities are represented.
Once the organizational chart is in this format, each position is given a results statement. The statement covers why the position exists, how the company benefits from the position, what should come from the position and why, and the role each position plays in moving the company towards its strategic objective.
Next, look at the people currently in the organization and determine new position assignments for current employees. After that, an initial hiring plan can be drawn up to cover off any positions not assumed by existing staff members.
A key component of the rethinking process is the position contract, which outlines each employee’s work in a very specific way. Employees’ tasks are categorized into three work-type areas: entrepreneurial, managerial and technical. Work that requires vision or higher-level strategic thinking is entrepreneurial. Tasks that involve getting something “done” are managerial. And tasks in which the employee is actually doing the work are technical.
Each employee agrees to be accountable for certain results, work and the standards necessary to produce the results. The contract is signed by the employee and the manager.
Rethinking the organization’s organizational chart and contractually confirming the results expected from each employee create a direct link from the work being done and the company’s strategic objective. The process clarifies the organization’s reporting structures and the way in which work is organized. And it provides clarity and stability for the employees who are now aware of exactly what is expected of them and how they will go about achieving the necessary results.
It also creates an obvious path for employee advancement — a path each employee can clearly map out for himself. And it makes hiring decisions faster and more efficient in the future.
And that’s something the CEO would certainly buy into.
Jeff Burrows is a life coach, entrepreneur, lecturer and co-author of Myth to Reality, The Spirit of the Entrepreneurial Adventure. His Web site is www.thunderlightresources.com.
This type of thinking often comes from entrepreneurs, even in medium-sized companies. Yet there is a proven case for having an organizational system in place right from Day One. But how to convince the owner or the CEO?
The solution is to rethink the traditional organizational chart, to think of it, not as a set of people or job descriptions, but as a set of results. What CEO wouldn’t respond to the need for a structure designed to help the organization achieve its goals?
The org chart is the system that sets the stage for all other management systems, which define accountability. It is therefore worth spending the time to get it right.
Achieving an organization’s goals is the CEO’s main focus, and what she is accountable for, so when you approach the org chart in this way, you’ll automatically have her attention.
Employees will also respond to this approach because it is empowering. It lets them know that they’re accountable to results, rather than simply being accountable to their managers. Studies have shown that employees are least happy at work when they don’t know what they’re expected to achieve. Putting their results onto the org chart as critical elements gives them power and motivation.
How, as an HR manager, can you create this new type of system? It’s not as simple as taking out a ruler and redrawing some lines. It is nothing less than a rethink of the organization’s structure and accountabilities. Here’s a process for developing the new org chart and making the shift in thinking.
•Review and re-affirm the company’s strategic objective, the CEO’s vision of the business, its goals, vision and milestones.
•Create a draft of the new organizational chart, with the strategic objective at the top.
•Draw a box for each major department and divide the largest functions of the business into smaller, more manageable sub-systems. Organize the subsystems into work groupings — managerial and non-managerial jobs — that can be performed by real people. Group the work according to skill category and skill level.
•Create position titles (remember: positions, not people). Transform the work groupings into position titles that are simple, meaningful, and appropriate.
•Evaluate, revise and finalize the organizational chart, double-checking to make sure all business activities are represented.
Once the organizational chart is in this format, each position is given a results statement. The statement covers why the position exists, how the company benefits from the position, what should come from the position and why, and the role each position plays in moving the company towards its strategic objective.
Next, look at the people currently in the organization and determine new position assignments for current employees. After that, an initial hiring plan can be drawn up to cover off any positions not assumed by existing staff members.
A key component of the rethinking process is the position contract, which outlines each employee’s work in a very specific way. Employees’ tasks are categorized into three work-type areas: entrepreneurial, managerial and technical. Work that requires vision or higher-level strategic thinking is entrepreneurial. Tasks that involve getting something “done” are managerial. And tasks in which the employee is actually doing the work are technical.
Each employee agrees to be accountable for certain results, work and the standards necessary to produce the results. The contract is signed by the employee and the manager.
Rethinking the organization’s organizational chart and contractually confirming the results expected from each employee create a direct link from the work being done and the company’s strategic objective. The process clarifies the organization’s reporting structures and the way in which work is organized. And it provides clarity and stability for the employees who are now aware of exactly what is expected of them and how they will go about achieving the necessary results.
It also creates an obvious path for employee advancement — a path each employee can clearly map out for himself. And it makes hiring decisions faster and more efficient in the future.
And that’s something the CEO would certainly buy into.
Jeff Burrows is a life coach, entrepreneur, lecturer and co-author of Myth to Reality, The Spirit of the Entrepreneurial Adventure. His Web site is www.thunderlightresources.com.
