Exiting Your Business: Step #1, Revisit Your Org Chart

Planning on exiting your business? Let’s discuss the first step you should take when doing so as a business owner: revisiting your org chart. But you might be wondering, what is an org chart, and why is it important?

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What is an Org Chart?

First, for those who need a refresher, what is an org chart? An organizational chart, or org chart, shows the internal structure of an organization or company.

This considered, org charts house a lot of information. Also, there are many different types of org charts. For example:

Hierarchical Org Chart: Hence its name, shows who’s at the “top” of a business.
Matrix Org Chart: Typically used when individuals have more than one manager.
Flat or Horizontal Org Chart: This type of org chart is simple with just two levels: management and the workers. There are little or no levels of middle management in flat and horizontal org charts.

How an Org Chart Can Benefit Your Business

So, now that we’ve refreshed your memory about org charts, how can they benefit your business? As a business owner, there are many benefits to using and maintaining your org chart. An org chart can help…

Illustrate a Clear Reporting Structure

For big companies especially, org charts are extremely useful in illustrating who is a part of the company, who reports to who, who manages each department, and so on.

(Could we say “who” any more times!?)

By using an organizational chart, your company increases its efficiency; employees know exactly who to go to as needed.

Make Onboarding More Efficient

The onboarding process can be a thorn in your side as a business owner. There are so many people for your new hire to meet and remember! Creating an org chart can make your new hire more comfortable and help them put names to faces quicker.

Visualize Reorganization

The fact of the matter is that most of your employees won’t stay in the same role forever. Whether you have individuals shifting from department to department or from role to role, investing in quality org chart software can help you visualize your business’s reorganization with ease.

Delegate Work

A top notch org chart can help employees see their workload clearly. Additionally, an org chart can be helpful to identify when/if department heads need support. For example, are they managing a team of seven when they only have the bandwidth to manage five or six? An org chart can clearly paint this picture to help delegate work.

Increase Collaboration

When you have an awesome org chart, it’s something that can be shared all throughout your business. It then becomes a practical company-wide tool for planning and collaboration. An org chart can be especially helpful when it comes to scaling for growth, restructuring, and workforce planning.

How Org Charts Support Exit Planning

So, what the heck does an org chart have to do with exit planning? Well, we’re glad you asked…

Having an org chart helps you plan for exit. All of these benefits we’ve listed above—illustrating a clear reporting structure, increasing onboarding efficiency and collaboration, etc.—help support a smooth exit strategy.

After all, leaving behind your business takes forethought, and how could you leave behind your business without first identifying its internal structure?

One of the biggest challenges when it comes to exit planning is making sure your business won’t crumble when you leave. Having a powerful, scalable org chart in place is one of the many ways that you can help prepare your team for exit.

Want to Learn More?

So, you’re on your way to having an awesome org chart in place, plus you have a great team of employees! But how does your company fare culture wise? Here are five signs you have a positive company culture.