Business Organizational Chart

You want your business to be organized. An organized business runs more efficiently, and efficiency means you save more money. A business organizational chart is a tool your company could utilize to introduce your business structure to potential clients and new employees. If you’re trying to improve your company structure, making and analyzing an organizational chart can help you develop innovations that could streamline your production processes.

A good business organizational chart can help improve core aspects of your business, as the central principle of the chart is communication. When you know how your business is organized you have a better understanding of the chain of command. Then you’ll be better able to understand and relay individual responsibilities. This makes core communication better and increases the speed of employee responses, and helps you communicate your goals and needs to current and potential shareholders.

Read on to learn how you can make your own business organizational chart.

What Is a Business Organizational Chart Template?

A business organizational chart depicts each one of your key employees in a diagram that shows who is responsible for what, and how all the positions work together. When you use a business organizational chart template, you’re finding a pre-formatted skeleton that you use to create a custom organizational chart that fits your business. It will have all vital information, like position, title, department, and contact information, quickly available for reference.

The template is simple to refer back to and replicate. It’s also easy to update and keep accurate to help introduce new employees to your business with all the information that will make their entrance into your organization easier.

Many businesses don’t see the value in crafting an organizational chart themselves. Coming up with a format and carefully inputting all the necessary information can be time-consuming. A chart template gets rid of the tedious work of making a chart yourself. A template is easy to adjust and change to your growing business, you won’t have to make a new chart from scratch whenever you make a new position or hire a new employee.

Do You Need a Business Organizational Chart Template?

Making your own business organizational chart can add a unique flavor to your organization’s internal documents. Making your own business organizational chart can be a worthy undertaking, especially if you’re in a business with a unique structure. By making a completely new and striking organizational chart, you can stand out amongst your competitors.

You don’t need a template to start making your own business organizational chart. But if you choose to make one, you will need to set aside a lot of time and energy. This is still a good option if you have the necessary graphic design and web design skills, you’ll be well equipped to make your own organizational chart. However, if you don’t have the graphic design skills, it might be best to find a template that suits your needs.

When you need to make a lot of charts, it can be a lot of work to make each one individually. You may need one for every sector of your business for the most convenient delivery of information. A template helps you complete those charts faster and more consistently. With a template, you won’t have to worry about considering the design after you’ve picked your style—it’s already all crafted for you. The only thing you’ll need to worry about is correctly supplying all the employee details that will fill the chart.

The 4 Kinds of Business Organizational Charts

There are many kinds of business organizations out there, but most templates you’ll find will come in these four basic structures. Each template can be changed to better fit your business, but it’s optimal to pick a form that best suits your needs so you don’t need to waste time with extensive edits.

 

Functional Top-Down Hierarchy. This hierarchy describes the most traditional business structure. It keeps the command structure of your business at the top and breaks the rest of your employees up into the sectors and departments they work in. In each sector be sure to list the highest-ranked employees first, starting with any senior managers down to the fresh-faced junior staff. This hierarchy’s final form will look like a pyramid.

These kinds of charts are very easy to read and are generally well understood by most people. However, when your business is built with several equivalent chains of command, this chart may not accurately describe your business. You also may not appreciate the traditional pyramid orientation of this chart and may want to choose a different one.

 

Matrix Organizational Chart. This chart is best suited for a business where the employees often work for more than one department or sector. This is also suited for companies that have multiple management members who are shared across the business. Other more unorthodox internal relationships will also be best described in the matrix chart.

A business that works across departments often has better communication skills and can utilize more innovative thinking to solve problems. However, it can be difficult to map out exactly how employees relate to one. This may translate into an issue with management, as it may be hard to understand who is supervising what.

 

Flat Organizational Chart. This is most often used by small businesses with few employees. It’s similar to the top-down chart but has fewer levels and divisions. It’s often split into two parts; one is the administration area, the other belongs to the workers.

In this business structure, there is often more shared responsibility between members of the team and management. There is often more employee autonomy, as well, and everyone must work closely together to ensure the business is running smoothly. Any internal conflict will likely create a large disruption because the workplace is very small.

 

Divisional Organizational Chart. This kind of business structure is usually best suited for a business that is organized not by departments, but by individual product or geographic lines. A divisional chart will clearly articulate how each group functions independently and for the larger organization. Like the hierarchal chart, it will begin with the highest level of management, like the CEO/CFO, but then have divided sections for each line of business.

This kind of business structure often has many of the same departments, which can create costly redundancy.

Writing Your Own Business Organizational Chart

Many websites can offer you a business organizational chart template for free. You may still want to make one yourself and there are still some options for you, even if you’re not a master web designer.

Slide Presentation Software. You would be shocked to explore your favorite slide presentation software. There are often inserts and special formatting options that can help you make your own business organizational chart template. You can find ways to build hierarchal relationships with slides and special inserts.

 

Word Processing Software. Using word processing software you can make similar hierarchal inserts in a document as you can in a slide presentation software. You can also insert elements into most of these programs and then build the organizational structure you prefer by moving all the individual inserts.

Both of these options are harder to complete on your own and will be less visually appealing than most templates you can find online for free. However, they are always an option.

Tips For Success

Now you know the value of the business organizational chart. If you’ve decided to make your own business organizational chart template from scratch, use third-party software, or you’re picking from an available template, here are some tips for picking the best chart for you.

Well Sized. If your chart is too large, it may contain too much information. It might be best for your business to use several charts when mapping out your organization instead of trying to shove too much information onto one screen.

 

Consistency. Be sure that all-important formatting is consistent across your chart. All employees, like managers, line-workers, and designers, should have consistent colors and shapes associated with their positions to cut the confusion. Consistency allows for easier referencing later and helps you brand the departments in your business.

 

Relevancy. Always make sure that you add in necessary contact information, specialties, location, and any other valuable information your employees may need to reference in the future. Try not to add too much information to avoid overloading your chart and thus overwhelming the reader.

Using a Business Organizational Chart In Your Business

An organizational chart will help improve your internal communication, improve efficiency, and help you explain your business to new employees and shareholders. Enjoy a well-organized business when you ensure your business structure with a business organizational chart. If you choose to make your own chart or pick one from one of the many templates available online, enjoy having a better understanding of your business.