Times are changing, and organizations have spent the last decade or so adapting to fit the expectations and requirements of the current largest generation in the workforce: millennials.
Throw in pandemic-inspired remote work preferences and the entrance of Generation Z on the scene (who favor independence more than teamwork-driven millennials), and businesses are quickly realizing that they have to do more to attract and retain the talent they want.
Some research has shown that younger generations value intrinsic fulfillment in their careers even more than they value money. And despite management’s best efforts, younger workers aren’t finding fulfillment from ping pong tables in the breakroom or on-site happy hour once the workday is finished. Instead, they derive fulfillment from the organization’s values, leadership styles, and impact on surrounding communities.
Therefore, business owners and managers who want to create a fulfilling work environment have to start making changes from the inside out. The best place to start is with your business organizational chart.
What Is a Business Organizational Chart?
A business organizational chart is a diagram that illustrates a company’s internal personnel structure with details regarding each person’s role and responsibilities, as well as the relationships between individuals. The chart reveals who reports to who and how different departments are structured within the company.
Traditionally, business organization charts have been pyramidal in nature with leadership at the top and entry-level workers at the bottom. We’ll call this pyramid-shaped business organizational chart “your father’s organizational chart,” because it’s already outdated.
Furthermore, this silo approach with managers at the top is no longer a good representation of how businesses are structured (or should be structured, if they want to stay relevant) to succeed and meet company goals.
Trends Disrupting the Old Business Organizational Chart
Disruptive trends are transforming the way companies do business. As a result, these trends are reshaping the way leadership and functional roles are structured within companies. There are currently four major trends disrupting the traditional business organizational chart:
- Constantly changing environments
- New technologies
- The democratization of information
- The talent war
1. Constantly Changing Environments
Stakeholders’ needs and desires are evolving quickly. Stakeholders including customers, partners, regulators, investors, and employees are reckoning with global shifts in values and priorities. This shift is due to a number of factors, including expanding technology and the democratization of information, but perhaps most importantly is the recent global pandemic.
While investors demand growth, which is resulting in more acquisitions restructuring, employees are demanding more flexibility and worker’s rights. Employee demands are contributing to the difficulties businesses are facing in terms of producing and serving customers at the volume they’re accustomed to. Meanwhile, both customers and regulators are increasingly demanding that companies operate with environmentally and socially responsible practices.
2. New Technologies
Thousands of businesses are continuing to be revolutionized by digitization. Robotics, innovation, and automation are forcing companies to evolve (and quickly). Not to mention, technology has transformed the way businesses communicate and share information both internally and externally.
The use of AI allows companies to scale at previously unimaginable rates. And increased access to customers through sophisticated search engines and social media sites means that businesses have the power to influence consumers and expand their global reach in ways that weren’t possible just ten years ago.
3. The Democratization of Information
Expanding communications technologies has resulted in the democratization of information. Transparency is a leading trend in multiple industries, and technologies like blockchain are forcing companies to distribute more information to end-users. This multidirectional communication is compelling companies to evolve in how they share information both internally and externally.
Additionally, more transparency in information means that employees within a company are on a more even playing field regardless of their role. Transparency of information is a good thing. Information transparency can elevate the business when all employees understand how their work impacts and is impacted by others in the organization.
4. The Talent War
Finally, the talent war is causing rife competition between companies to attract – and keep – top talent. As technology continues to be implemented in all levels of business, companies most value strategic thinking and creative knowledge in the talent they’re seeking. And the diverse generations of millennials and Generation Z expect more from their employers.
With remote work options expanding and the increasing ease to submit online job applications, companies are in no short supply of applicants. They are hard-pressed, however, to sift through those applications and ensure efficient methods of recruiting talent that is a good fit for both parties.
Effects on The Old Business Organizational Chart
Thus, your father’s organizational chart is finding it difficult to stay relevant. As stated above, the classic business organizational chart has the CEO at the top with the organization’s leadership below in a pyramid-style hierarchy. You can see a representation of this below.
Alas, the next generations of professionals – millennials and Generation Z – don’t see their careers like this. And unfortunately, they don’t embrace the idea of “climbing the corporate ladder,” either.
Instead, millennials and Gen Z want to be part of organizations that align both leadership and functional roles with the company’s mission, vision, and values (which they must also buy into). To accurately represent how modern organizations are structured in alignment with the company’s mission, it’s time to throw out your father’s business organizational chart.
Enter the One Mission Wall
The One Mission Wall is a new business organizational model for forward-thinking businesses that are evolving to meet the needs of today’s workers. Businesses have always created mission and vision statements, but then structured their organizations in a way that makes it difficult to align leadership with the functional roles filled by other employees.
The One Mission Wall solves this problem, and is a direct reflection of how companies engage with their mission and their employees.
The One Mission Wall places the company’s mission at center stage. The mission is surrounded by functional leadership, with the CEO or visionary leader appearing at the top. The COO or operations leader appears at the bottom, while important internal leaders like the CFO and HR leader appear to the left. On the right are the important external leaders like the CMO and CTO.
Team members with specific functions are then connected to the leaders that oversee those functions. The One Mission Wall helps companies align by better connecting leadership to the mission and showing functional team members how they are connected to the mission as well.
How Can You Implement the One Mission Wall In Your Business?
It takes time for organization structures to evolve into the One Mission Wall, but it can be done with a strong commitment to align all the company’s employees with the organization’s mission and purpose. To do this, you have to help your employees discover their own purpose first.
The Go Beyond™ process educates your employees to first define their unique life purpose and then understand how to align that purpose with your company’s mission. Through our process, your company will enable employees to pursue their purpose, while you reap the financial benefits of retaining talented, fulfilled employees.
Learn More About the Go Beyond Process
At Go Beyond, we know that future generations are demanding more from the companies they work for. Fortunately, their demands aren’t unreasonable and can actually benefit the organization as a whole. We work to help leaders of such organizations flourish by fulfilling the needs and desires of the next generations in the workplace.
To see if we can help you streamline your journey to a thriving organization with fulfilled, committed employees, give us a call at 678-680-3985, send us an email at hello@trygobeyond.com, or click here to schedule a conversation today.
Keep Learning