What Can You Do With an Org Chart?

Organizational charts have become a popular trend for many modern companies. But is the hype justified? How much difference can an org chart really make for your organization?

As it turns out, an org chart can make all the difference in the world. In this guide, we’re going to look at how an org chart can help you improve your company.

Hiring

The most talented employees know they have options. When looking for a potential employer, they want to make an informed decision. By providing an org chart for job seekers, you can give them a clear picture of how your company is structured and who they’d be working with. This will also demonstrate your commitment to transparency.

Setting up a public org chart can improve your hiring process even more.

Onboarding

When starting a new job, it’s common for employees to feel overwhelmed. Learning the ropes is seldom easy, and meeting a host of new coworkers can be a stressful experience. Keeping track of who everyone is (and what they do) may take a while.

An org chart will help ease employees into their new roles. Because your org chart functions as a staff directory, fresh hires can use it to:

• Put names to faces
• Learn more about their colleagues
• Understand where they fit into the broader structure of the company
• See who they should reach out to with a question or concern

Not only will this make for happier employees, but it will also allow them to ramp up to full productivity much faster.

Team building

New hires aren’t the only employees that can benefit from having a company directory at their fingertips. Even veterans sometimes struggle to remember who’s who. That presents a real challenge for team building — one that an org chart can help solve.

Plus, most org chart platforms let employees include personal information on their profiles. Even a brief “about me” can go a long way toward fostering deeper connections between colleagues. In some cases, an org chart can function like social media within your company.

These team-building features will ultimately lead to more productive teams. The better your employees know each other, the more efficient they’ll be when working together.

Improving company culture

Culture is an easily overlooked aspect of company growth — but an essential aspect. A company with a toxic culture is doomed from the start. Org charts can help ward this off by forcing business leaders to confront:

• How the company is structured
• What hierarchies have been established
• What unintentional biases may be at work in those hierarchies

The transparency of an org chart can lead to deep insights into what roles equality and diversity play in your company.

Optimizing resource efficiency

An org chart gives your leadership team a bird’s-eye view of how your company is using its personnel — and how they might be employed more efficiently. For example, you’ll be able to see which departments are under- or over-staffed. Or, there may be an employee whose true talents are wasted in their current role and would be more useful in another.

And once you spot these problems, an org chart will make it all the easier to correct them and restructure your organization as needed.

Managing remote teams

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies around the world are increasingly embracing remote work. This has created a massive opportunity for growth, but also presents new challenges. Keeping remote teams united and on the same page is often much harder than it would be in a traditional office environment.

An org chart will help remote workers:

• Feel more connected to their team
• See how their work is contributing to the growth of the company
• Gain a sense of belonging within the organization

An org chart will also enhance virtual communications as remote workers use the chart to find and contact the right coworkers with a question or report.

Attracting investors

All of the use cases listed so far will also help make your company more appealing to investors. Anyone considering backing a company wants to see:

• Quality employees
• Strong teams
• High productivity
• Healthy company culture
• Efficiency

And more than anything else, the transparency of an org chart will give investors a reason to trust you.