Table of Contents
- What Is an Organizational Chart?
- Key Takeaways
- Understanding Organizational Charts
- Hierarchical Organizational Chart
- Other Types of Organizational Charts
- What Should an Organizational Chart Show?
- Why Is an Organizational Chart Important?
- What Are the Most Commonly Used Organizational Charts?
- How Do I Make an Org Chart?
- What Are Lesser Known Types of Org Charts?
- The Bottom Line
What Is an Organizational Chart?
Let me explain what an organizational chart is—it's a graphical way to show an organization's structure, laying out the roles, responsibilities, and relationships between people in the company. You can think of it as a map that connects everyone from top management to entry-level staff.
Key Takeaways
An org chart conveys the overall structure of your organization, highlighting jobs, departments, and how responsibilities link employees to each other and to management. You might see broad charts for the whole company or focused ones for specific departments or units. Most use a hierarchical model, with high-ranking officials at the top and lower-level employees below. Other types include flat, matrix, and divisional charts—I'll get into those later.
Understanding Organizational Charts
Organizational charts can cover the entire enterprise or zoom in on a single department or unit, giving you a visual of bureaucracy in action. They display an employee's status relative to others, using simple symbols like lines, squares, and circles to connect job titles. For instance, an assistant director appears right below a director, showing who reports to whom. No matter the structure, these charts are invaluable if you're thinking about restructuring your workforce or management setup. Most crucially, they let employees see clearly how their roles fit into the bigger picture.
Hierarchical Organizational Chart
This is the most common type, with the highest-ranking people at the top and lower ones positioned below. Take a public company as an example: shareholders sit at the very top, followed by the chair of the board, vice-chair, board members, CEO, and other C-suite executives connected horizontally. Below them, you have titles like president, senior vice president, vice president, assistant vice president, senior director, assistant director, manager, assistant manager, full-time employees, part-time employees, and contractors. Many organizations, from corporations to nonprofits, governments, schools, universities, and even the military, follow this hierarchical setup and can be charted this way. There's no one right way to make an org chart—what matters is that it identifies members, departments, functions, and how they interact.
Other Types of Organizational Charts
Beyond hierarchical, you have the flat org chart, also called horizontal, which puts individuals on the same level or just a few levels, suggesting more equal power and room for autonomous decisions unlike strict hierarchies. Then there's the matrix chart, which is more complex—it groups people by skill sets, departments, and reporting lines, often connecting employees to multiple managers, like a software developer linked to both a team manager and a product manager via vertical lines. Finally, the divisional chart breaks the company down by criteria such as product lines or geographic regions, for example, an auto manufacturer organizing by product type.
What Should an Organizational Chart Show?
Your org chart should visually depict the hierarchy and relationships among employees—for example, placing an assistant director directly below a director to show reporting lines.
Why Is an Organizational Chart Important?
Org charts make the structure clear, identifying seniority and authority lines that need to be followed. If structured around projects, they show who's responsible for specific tasks, reducing ambiguity and boosting communication.
What Are the Most Commonly Used Organizational Charts?
The hierarchical and flat formats are the most common. Hierarchical ranks people in descending order by role, while flat places everyone on few levels, promoting autonomous decision-making.
How Do I Make an Org Chart?
You can use software, online templates, or even draw one by hand. The goal is to depict the structure, starting with senior positions at the top and subordinates below, grouped by division or department. Make sure it reflects the real-life organization, no matter the complexity.
What Are Lesser Known Types of Org Charts?
Matrix and divisional charts are less common. The matrix connects workers by skills, departments, and multiple managers, creating a web of reporting lines. Divisional ones organize based on criteria like products or regions.
The Bottom Line
Organizational charts help you visually grasp a company's structure and hierarchy, showing how information flows in settings like government departments, schools, nonprofits, corporations, or the military. Senior positions are usually at the top with subordinates below, and the chart adapts to the organization's size and role arrangements.
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