Questions

We have 3 very different business units (B to B services, B to C events and web-based retail)...but overall our business is still very small (revenues around $1.1M). I've been struggling for a while now trying to design an organisational structure because due to the size of the business everyone always seems to be wearing multiple hats...should they wear a "Marketing" hat but covering all different biz units - or better to be a "business unit" manager and try to span both marketing and operations? We are wanting to totally re-design our structure at the moment because we have lost all our staff - so it's a great time to be able to re-design from ground-zero with no restrictions. We also want to include some virtual staff in the mix to try and give us room to grow - until now we've been "busy" all the time and I get the feeling that being less "busy" would give us more scope to grow. What I'm looking for is a framework or thought structure or process that will help to develop an answer to this problem. Or someone who can help talk this through! Many thanks, David

David,

First, I highly recommend that you pick up the book, EMyth Revisited. This is the best place to get a solid foundation of what you're wanting to do.

Functionally, if you have employees that span over one or more companies that you operate, the best solution is to build individual org charts for each company based on what it would look like if you had individual employees first. Then once the org chart is created, then you apply the names of people to the roles that they are filling in each company. What this will likely look like is one name on several org charts and potentially in several different roles.

The goal to this strategy is that you have an outline of what your company will look like when you're at 10MM, and you fill the positions with the people you have at 1.1MM. This will map out your staffing strategy when you grow, but also give your employees a full view and understanding of their role and place in each company.

I hope that helps.
Kyle


Answered 10 years ago

Unlock Startups Unlimited

Access 20,000+ Startup Experts, 650+ masterclass videos, 1,000+ in-depth guides, and all the software tools you need to launch and grow quickly.

Already a member? Sign in

Copyright © 2024 Startups.com LLC. All rights reserved.