How an Org Chart Can Help Your Business
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Does My Small Business Really Need an Org Chart?
An org chart can help your business if you:
?At first thought, an org chart seems a time-consuming and unnecessary exercise for small business but, the org chart is one of those big corporate tools that actually does help us smaller guys.
An org chart can help you, your employees, and your business. For you, your name is probably in more than just the top central box. It’s helpful to know which boxes your name is in so you can plan for how to get your name out of multiple boxes.
For your employees, everyone wants to know where they fit in and many want to know where they can go… the org chart shows them exactly.
For your organization, an org chart exposes process issues. And since the organization’s structure is ever-changing, you can use a “Future-focused org chart” to meet forecasted growth and strategy needs to predict what positions you’ll need to hire and when.
Let’s look into the benefits in more detail.
Org Charts Help You, the Business Owner
For most small businesses, the owner’s name is in multiple boxes!?That’s normal and it shows why you often feel like you’re drowning. Your org chart shows you all the various functions you’re working in and can be a roadmap for which ones you want to begin delegating. The goal is that your name is only in the top box.
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Org Charts Help Your Employees
Org charts let everyone in the company see at a glance where they fit in and who they report to and this turns out to benefit individuals in profound ways.
Every person on every team since the dawn of time wants to know how they fit in to the team, whether it’s a ball team, a church committee, a social group, a military squad, or a business unit. The well-researched Drexler-Sibbet Team Performance Model is a great tool for leaders to understand the behaviors they see in their team members. The model breaks down the question of fit into stages, each with a central question. These questions, while often unspoken, are on the mind of every member:
?The questions dominate a person’s energy until they’re resolved and left unresolved, result in uncertainty, fear, caution, mistrust, apathy, skepticism, dependence, resistance, conflict, nonalignment, and missed deadlines. If, however, the questions are answered adequately and quickly, the result is trust, engagement, and high performance. Org charts answer these questions clearly and quickly and that frees your employees up to focus their mental energy on being productive.
In addition to answering the questions about “how do I fit in?” an org chart clarifies the question about “who do I report to? And “who do I go to for answers?”
Org Charts Help Your Organization
Org charts increase efficiency by exposing process gaps and overlaps, revealing bottlenecks, and clarifying roles. They also help you identify what functions you want to have on your payroll and what functions you want to outsource.
Another benefit of having a documented org chart is that lenders like to see them. It tells the bank or investor that you’ve thought deeply about the best possible structure required to accomplish your organization’s goals.
A side benefit of org charts is that they track and document the changes in your organization over the years, so they become your company’s historical record. Looking at a 4th iteration of his org chart over a period of 4 years, Sanjay, who owns a manufacturing firm commented, “I would’ve guessed we’d doubled in size but I see from the org charts that we’ve tripled in size!”
Finally, an org chart helps you prepare for your evolution and expansion. Creating your current org chart gives you a starting point from which to make the all-important Future-Focused Org Chart
So, yes, your small business needs an org chart. It’s a tool that will pay you back many times. Call us today and we’ll help you get your org chart drawn.