Design: Create New Organizations

Create Optimized Organizations

An optimized organization begins with design. Organizational Design is the science - and art - of creating an organizational structure optimized to support strategic, business or cultural goals. An appropriate org design can serve to improve efficiencies, drive desired behavior, spark innovation and distribute responsibility.

Over the last decades, organizational leaders have tested top-down structures, matrix management, even flat organizations to best meet their individual needs. Leading organizations will continually test and change organizational structures to address current market conditions.

Org design examines strategy, culture, structure, processes and more to craft an organization optimized for its current environment and goals. OrgPlus is invaluable in the 'structure' phase, enabling you to rapidly model options complete with moving metrics that show the impact of proposed changes. With OrgPlus, your organizational design initiatives gain speed and transparency.

• Design entirely new organizations from scratch or start with a baseline current organization and realign for new objectives
• Model options and see how metrics such as span of control or workforce costs change with each option
• Facilitate clear communication from beginning to end of the design process

Design the Hierarchy

Using OrgPlus, HR or executive teams can design the optimal workforce structure. From re-thinking project teams to building a divisional structure for a large multinational, OrgPlus enables you to build a concrete baseline of your current organization, if it exists, and visualize future scenarios.

The only way to get the end product right is to begin with an accurate baseline. With OrgPlus, data from multiple sources can be combined in a single view, so you start with an actual picture of the current plan or structure.

Once the baseline is established, OrgPlus facilitates scenario development through visual org charts. Often, when you see the options instead of just discussing them, you quickly identify strengths and weaknesses. Visualizing options in the familiar context of the org chart leads the discussion to alternatives that may not have been considered initially and, ultimately, drives better decisions.

See Metrics For Each Option

The picture is incomplete without visibility into key metrics. Workforce cost, headcount, layers, Sarbanes Oxley compliance and other factors are all important in evaluating the strength of each option. Dynamic calculations in OrgPlus ensure that the proposed structure meets business objectives, financial goals, cultural goals and regulatory requirements.

Clearly Communicate Throughout the Process

In org design, a picture is truly worth a thousand words. The visual nature of OrgPlus combines complex information to create a simple picture. Positions are pictured along with costs, span of control and structure. Conditional formats can be used to highlight specific information, such as a planned division with too many layers, or a manager without any direct reports. The chart provides transparency into the options so the team can discuss and work out any outstanding issues.

Once the team has agreed to a few potential options, you can publish the chart online, or in PPT, PDF or Word to easily communicate results to employees, board members or other stakeholders.