An org chart, short for organizational chart, is a chart that shows the structure of an organization from the top down. Such a chart not only offers a graphical representation of how a company or organization is structured but also indicates how one department or division relates to the others.
Why Use an Org Chart?
While some may find creating an org chart to be an unnecessary process, org charts are a useful tool for everyone in the company. They can help employees to readily identify who is in charge of what within the organization. This helps to reduce the amount of time anyone has to spend on figuring out where information needs to be sent.
Org Charts Highlight Structure Gaps
If there’s a gap within the structure of the organization, an org chart can help you quickly figure that out. The visual representation of the personnel your company currently has and who is in which departments can quickly highlight any holes within the structure where the company is missing certain skills.
Org Charts Define Responsibilities
Confusion over who is responsible for what can lead to butting heads or missing tasks. With an org chart, who is responsible for departments and tasks is clearly defined, which can eliminate overlapping duties.
Org Charts Show Workloads
An org chart can also be helpful in showing what each employee’s workload looks like so that adjustments can be made as needed. It may be tempting to give more work to top employees, but unfairness between employee workloads can lead to resentment. Additionally, if employee workloads are too heavy, that’s a sign the company needs to hire before employees seek out other opportunities with fairer workloads.
Org Charts Prevent Conflicts
By showing exactly where each role begins and ends, an org chart can help to prevent conflicts that could arise. Employees know exactly where responsibility lies for all functions within the organization. With clear definitions and delineations between roles, there isn’t overlap or confusion over who’s got final approval.
Org Charts Can Help Organizations Grow
Org charts may be more common in larger organizations, but the information they provide is useful for businesses of all sizes. In fact, org charts can even help companies to grow. In addition to highlighting where the company needs additional skillsets and when departments need more help, the clear delineation can help avoid problems that reduce productivity.
Org Charts Help Employees Grow
Having an org chart can also help employees grow within their careers and help organizations with succession planning. When higher-level positions open up, it’s readily clear who is eligible to be promoted from within.
Why Use HR Software to Create an Org Chart?
HR software makes creating an org chart a lot easier. In many cases, some HRIS platforms will create an org chart automatically for you based on the profiles of the employees defined within the software. With software, it’s easy to create new positions and have them added within the correct division of the company.
