In Defense of Org Charts and Job Descriptions
I know, I know… org charts and job descriptions can be real turn-offs for more progressive business leaders, founders, and executives. I think I understand why: employees who can work successfully without a clear lane are considered to be more innovative, resourceful, and entrepreneurial. And what’s more exciting than hiring people you don’t have to manage?!
Alas, manage you must… always… somehow and in some way. I don’t mean micromanage, and I don’t mean “command and control”. I simply mean guidance, development, and accountability to one another as employer and employee. When a company opts out of clear organizational structure and job accountabilities and has not done the heavy lifting of learning how to effectively run a flat organization, then things will get confusing, employees will become disengaged, and culture will become toxic. This may not happen all at once, in fact it may take a handful of years, but it will happen; and it may not bring down the company, but it will require some reverse engineering of company operations and culture if you’re building to scale.
How do I know it’s important?
First, some data. According to Gallup, a gold standard resource for building and managing teams, “I know what’s expected of me at work” is one of just twelve engagement data points that are measured as part of their Q12 survey. And, guess what: less than half of employees know what’s expected of them at work each day. It stands noting that this survey was developed over more than a decade of researching and surveying millions of American workers to arrive at the twelve most reliable engagement data points. That’s not a lot of markers so they really carry a lot of weight.
In another study, less than half of companies surveyed failed because of their product, which implies various types of mismanagement and I’d put my money on the mismanagement of people being one of them. Why? Because the old cliché exists for a reason: “People don’t leave jobs, they leave managers.” I’m pretty sure that they’re leaving in search of a better manager, rather than having no manager at all (although that’s very likely, too).
The slippery slope is this: if someone doesn’t know what’s expected of them or how they are contributing to the company’s strategic objectives, then they will be disengaged, feel undervalued and underutilized, and will perceive that they’re being mismanaged and then they will very likely leave.
What’s my experience?
Some of the companies I’ve worked for and with have been reluctant to use org charts and job descriptions for a myriad of reasons and the impact is felt by employees in just as many ways. If you’ve ever worked for a startup or a company that is establishing or re-establishing itself I bet you know exactly what I’m talking about and what the experience is like. For many employees, it’s not great!
If you’re open to giving org charts a chance or you’d like to update / improve one you already have, start by revisiting your company’s strategy. The org chart is merely a configuration of talent that has been or will be hired in order to carry out that strategy. If you understand exactly what you’re trying to do and a bit about how to get it done, you’ll know who to hire and how to shape teams optimally for success.
Job descriptions for each person on the org chart will ensure that you’re bringing in the right strategists, individual contributors, and project managers to get the job done within each strategic domain of work.
It’s really as simple at that!
Who do you need to make these decisions?
Your executive team members should be best positioned to know the strategic needs of their domains of work. They are, after all, your in-house experts in finance, marketing, product, revenue, HR, and so on.
If you have yet to make these executive or other decision-making hires or find these advisors, an experienced HR professional will be able to help you scope and recruit them. Remember: your head of HR and / or People is your talent expert! Capacity for understanding your business is part of their expertise such that they can help you find the best leaders and advisors to stack your team with the exact right talent at every level to achieve your business goals.
BuildRise can help you put this concept to work at your company. Set up a time to meet with us HERE.