For many family business owners the answer is “What do we need an Org Chart for? Everyone here knows who does what. That is just for big corporations like IBM. Besides, we don’t have time for that sort of thing…it’s a wasted effort”
In our experience the number of family owned businesses that have written and functional Organizational Chart is very small. An Organizational Chart is more prevalent in larger family owned businesses but even there we find that companies with more than 25-30 employees and large sales volumes do not have one.
At Family Business Centers we believe that the lack of a written and functional Organizational Chart means that the organization is dysfunctional and this is a major reason for the failure rate in passing a business from generation to generation. In fact, in crafting a succession plan, it is essential that one is developed for the company before even attempting to design a plan.
In fact, a written functional Organizational Chart…….
· is a tool for determining skills, roles, and job descriptions for family and non-family executives and managers.
· can bring to light ways of more effectively organizing the structure of the business to improve efficiency.
· can reveal weaknesses and pitfalls in the way the business operates.
· can help illustrate time sensitive events such as retirement or other events from a planning perspective.
· can highlight contingencies for which plans need to be crafted in advance.
And most importantly…….
· needs to change to reflect the Third Dimension which is time.
In any business and most especially one that is family owned, people are the most important key to success. A written and functional Three Dimensional Organizational Chart is a powerful tool to provide the vision for the future of the company from a people standpoint.
Family Business Centers has extensive experience and skills in this process.
