Part 9: Lines of Authority and Organization Wide Metrics

by | May 10, 2021

By: KHA Consulting Team

The following is part nine of a multi-part series on The KHA Way, KHA Management Consulting’s Integrated Service Offering. This blog series includes the benefits of using KHA Management Consulting Services and the components included.

After we have the organizational chart drawn and the right leadership team with the right skills in place, do we have the right people below them? Also, what is your plan for involving your leadership team in the building of their team?

First, the leadership team must set the parameters and success criteria by role and not by employee. If roles are set by person with current employees in mind, your organizational chart is playing to the lowest common denominator, and you will have a very hard time achieving what you are hoping to.

Yes, sometimes this does require the scary ‘R’ word, reorganization. Most people are turned off by that word but let me ask you this, is it better to save 20 current jobs or hundreds of future jobs? The reality is that if you do not adapt your organizational chart to best meet your organization and market need, there may not be an organization in existence for very long. It is hard facing the reality of a reorganization, but in order to survive and continue to produce opportunities to eventually thrive, reorganization is at times a necessary, and an inevitable step.

Now that we have discussed the negative implications of a reorganization, let’s focus on the positive aspects. A reorganization sends a clear message to both your internal team and external constituents. Your organization begins aligning customer needs along with internal efficiency opportunities to better meet those needs. Your organization has clarity and, if done correctly, should have a more rewarding work experience as much of the unnecessary layers and maneuvering has been removed to allow for ease of completing tasks.

To arrive at the right organizational chart, success criteria of your organization must be defined and clarified. We term this, ‘the organization wide metrics for success’. With these broad terms defined, your organization knows what needs to occur for success to be achieved. Success can then be broken down by department level and role. Knowing this critical information, the revised organizational chart becomes crystal clear and leadership unifies and aligns.

The communication of your organizational chart is the next biggest key. Oftentimes, owners think if the organization chart is done, all the issues will be fixed that have been brewing over time. Rarely is this true as a few employees will fight the newly showcased lines of authority and attempt to revert to old ways. A successful organizational chart rollout begins with proper communication. We work with owners to understand their context and to define what the proper communication should be. Oftentimes, the communication occurs through a town hall type meeting with leaders adding further context in smaller department meetings, with other communications reinforcing the discussions held. Finally, the organizational chart is published and made accessible to all employees oftentimes through an Employee Handbook or similar context which will be discussed next.

At KHA Management Consultants, we work with mid-market industry leaders to identify what makes the organization, its stakeholders, and its’ employees tick. We facilitate the Personnel Positioning process with your organization’s key constituents to ensure buy-in, ownership, and a new way of thinking about the organization and its stakeholders amongst all levels. From a resource perspective, we primarily use our unmatched experience but also tap into the top-level resources such as those made available by Harvard Business Review, Relevant Strategic Management Authors, and MentorPlus. Some of those materials, frameworks, and lessons have been used in authoring this series.

KHA Management Consultants, the consulting department of KHA Accountants, PLLC, based in Flower Mound, Texas, is always looking for opportunities to work with key clients ready to take their organization to the next level. If you have a desire to improve, take the first step toward success with the strategic management experts, and contact us at 972-221-2500.

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