Most people tik that an organization chart is more like a top-down structure. This structure shows complete staff members of an organization ranging from a CEO to the last level officer. But this example is just one of the org chart examples. There are so many other creative organizational charts that we can create for our small businesses.
An organization chart differs based on factors like industries, business models, and the size of an organization. The difference happens because every organization has different roles and departments. One chart can never work with different organizations. It helps us to make a statement through the design. Therefore, we need to use different org chart examples.
We create organizational charts based on an organization’s values, culture, beliefs, and philosophies. So how to decide the best organizational charts for our company structure? This is what we will discuss today. We will start from the basics of an organizational chart to explain some examples of these charts.
Before we proceed further, it is important to know some general things. When we think of an organizational chart template, we mostly consider a hierarchical one.
But this structure may not work for each and every company’s chain. Therefore, we design each chart differently for different departments or companies. So let’s explore this amazing Guide to Charts.
Table of Contents
What Is An Organizational Chart?
A visual chart that clearly represents the structure of our company is known as an organizational chart. The organization of departments and teams within an organization is shown through an organizational chart. What’s more, we also learn about the reporting structure or reporting relationships across our organization. Organizational charts also give us an overview of the roles and responsibilities of every employee in the organization. In other words, we can also say that an organizational chart helps us view our company’s internal structure. But how do we represent the positions and employees using an Organizational chart? Well, the employees and positions are shown by using photos and shapes. Sometimes, we can also represent all the details using contact information such as page links and emails. Icons and illustrations are also helpful in representing details in an organizational chart. We must know that there are different names used for an organizational chart. An organizational chart is also known as an organogram. Sometimes, it is also known as OBS (Organizational Breakdown Structure). Moreover, organizational chart exists in several types, and some common types are:- Hierarchical organizational chart
- Flat organizational chart (also known as a horizontal organizational chart)
- Matrix organizational chart.
What Is The Purpose Of An Organizational Chart?
There are multiple reasons to use an organizational chart for our company. An up-to-date chart can help us serve several essential functions. We can say that it is a staple corporation document that helps us to highlight several key facets of our organization. We must know that different organizations carry different structures. For executives and staff members to thrive, we should understand the arrangements of a particular organization. We get the necessary insights and many other things by using an organizational chart. We can know the purpose of an organizational chart by knowing the five most amazing benefits. Let’s dig into these benefits.Brand Communication
The structure and arrangement of an organization say a lot about its responsibility, success, leadership, growth, and other values. We can get insights into all these areas by using an organizational chart. It can help us to reveal facets of an organization and its brand. In simple words, we can say that it is an excellent way to communicate our brand.Understanding The Impact Of Changes On Company
Changes might impact our companies in different ways, and there is a need to understand these changes. An organizational chart is a great way to study the impact of changes on a company. When a company grows and turbulences occur, new people join the company, and old ones leave it. All these areas are studied well using an organizational chart.New Employees Find It Easy To Understand The Company
When we hire someone into our company, we expect them to learn everything about the company. All these things are possible easily when our company owns an organizational chart. The employees get oriented quickly. They find it easy to learn and report to the assigned persons in an organization.Understanding The Chain Of Command
The existence of predictable order and cooperation is always necessary for an organization. But when there is a clear visual representation of hierarchy, anyone in the company understands it easily. Understanding the chain of command can leverage personal relationships, strengthen bonding, and so many other things. All of this is possible using an organizational chart.Helpful For Potential Investors
Potential investors and stakeholders want to understand the company before making the decision to invest. This is because a company’s organizational chart can assure them of the chances of success.What Are The Four Types Of Organizational Structures?
As mentioned earlier, there exist many types and examples of organizational charts, but four of Org Chart Examples are:Hierarchical Organizational Chart
- The hierarchical structure org chart is also named a vertical organizational chart.
- A person with the most power is positioned at the top.
- People with the least power are placed underneath the person with the most power.
- It forms the shape of a pyramid.
- An example is given below:
Horizontal Organizational Chart
- The horizontal org chart is also known as a flat organizational structure.
- The middle management has little or no value in the horizontal org chart.
- It contains two levels only in most cases; the workers and the top administrators.
- Here is an example of a horizontal chart:
Matrix Organizational Chart
- This chart combines a traditional organizational structure.
- A top-down vertical organizational chart structure is integrated into this chart.
- Highlights reporting relationships.
- The flexibility of a horizontal organizational structure with cross-functional teams reporting to the project managers.
Divisional Organizational Chart
- It reflects that company is organized along the product line.
- A divisional organizational chart also reflects a company if it is organized along a specific geography.
- For example, we take an example of a car company whose divisions include electric cars, SUVs, and sedans.
What Are Some Examples Of An Organizational Chart?
We have learned enough about organizational charts. Now let’s look at some organizational chart templates we can make for our business. It is interesting to know that most hierarchical org charts can be redesigned into other organizational charts.Team Organizational Chart
A company chooses a team organizational structure when it aims to work towards a specific goal. The team aims to achieve a common target while it keeps working on individual tasks. This chart has higher flexibility with less hierarchy. Team organizational structure eases teamwork, decision-making, and problem-solving. This structure has changed the way different companies work independently. It promoted globalization that allowed the production of goods in companies cooperatively.Product Organizational Chart
Product organizational structures visualize an organization in a way that each division focuses on a particular product. The divisions can also be done according to the geographical area or the customers that each division has to deal with. It consists of several layers of managers and employees. Each layer comprises a separate marketing team. This organizational structure is most suitable for large companies having two or more markets, strategic customers, or product lines.Editorial Department Organizational Chart
When we think about the editorial department’s organizational structure, we must learn about the newspaper editorial department. The whole success of a newspaper department depends on the editorial department. And a well-structured editorial department can lead to a higher level of progress. This chart is mostly designed for newspaper organizations.Small Photographic Organizational Chart
A small photographic organizational structure is helpful when you want new employees to learn about your company faster. We hear the sentence “A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words” multiple times in our lives. In the same way, a small photographic organizational structure can help us take our org chart to the next level. This chart can also be a handy tool for our customers, vendors, and job applicants.Project Team Organizational Chart
As we know, the project team or project managers play a huge role in the success of a project. If a project team is misaligned, it can negatively impact our project. Therefore, we can create a project team organizational structure to avoid any negative outcome of our project. We define the responsibility of each team member and report relationships using this chart.Small Business Organizational Chart
This type of chart is perfect if we own a small business. This chart follows a structure that is much similar to hierarchical org chart examples. The owner or the business leader is placed in the top position. There are managers and assistant managers that are following the business owner.Cross-Functional Organizational Chart
A cross-functional organization works better when a team has multiple responsibilities and diverse talents. This kind of chart is also preferred when we have different teams, business units, or departments. We can help all our teams and departments work together using a cross-functional organizational chart template.Law Firm Organizational Chart
A Law firm organizational structure or chart is more suitable for law firm owners. We can efficiently structure the hierarchy of command by using law firm organizational structures. A law firm’s organizational chart consists of a legal manager, president, board of directors, treasury officer, non-legal manager, general secretary, and many others.Police Organizational Chart
A police organizational structure chart is more suitable for police departments. There are many issues, and the public needs guidance to consult the right police officer. A police department makes its organizational chart to give clear visibility to the public. We can help the public to visualize the whole reporting structure using this chart.Restaurant Organizational Chart
Just like many other organizations, restaurants also need an org chart. It helps us to align jobs with essential tasks. But we must know that different restaurants operate differently, so the org chart may also vary accordingly. In such a case, we may need to create a customized chart.What Are Use Cases For Org Charts?
Here are some main uses of an org chart.New Hire Onboarding
The onboarding process is mostly slow when the company starts hiring new employees. The new employee may find learning about everything in our office difficult. According to some research, learning about coworkers and their positions in an office is the most challenging situation. Being introduced to several people daily can be frustrating and overwhelming at the same time. To ensure an easy onboarding process, org charts are very helpful.Engaging Remote Employees
With time, companies are allowing more and more people to work remotely. This situation has greatly dispersed the workforce structure. Remote employees may find it difficult to walk into the office and appear as a part of the team. Organizational structures or charts can help companies to bring virtual teams together. Every employee can quickly contact the others and know what they work on using an org chart template.Boost Workforce Productivity
Commonly, most employees waste their time finding the people in the office and their contact information. Time wastage may affect workforce productivity. To avoid time consumption and increase productivity, organizational charts are helpful.Boost Productivity And Employee Joy
According to recent research, good workplace relations can increase employees’ productivity. It also makes them the happiest. While org charts make it easier for employees to find information and build happy relations easily at the workplace.How To Draw Your Org Chart With FusionCharts?
FusionCharts comes with 100+ creative charts and 2000+ interactive maps that we can use for our company. We just need to find our desired chart template on the FusionCharts website and follow the step-by-step tutorial. The best part to know is that there are several frameworks available on the FusionCharts website. We get tutorials in each of those frameworks with steps for creating graph charts. The org chart templates available on the FusionCharts website can be easily edited, labeled, and visualized. The clear documentation, customization choices, and a standard API makes it easy to create an org chart using FusionCharts.Org Chart Examples: Conclusion
Organizational charts play a huge role in the success of our organization. What’s more, it eases the work for employees and boosts productivity. An easy workplace with less time wastage and fewer complications produces good results. We can also see the progress of operations being carried out in an organization using an org chart. The above-described org chart examples are enough to get an idea of a good org chart.Org Chart Examples: FAQs
What Are the Four Types of Organizational Structures?
- Flat organizational structure
- Multidivisional Organizational structure
- Matrix organizational chart
- Functional org structure