Descriptions for Company Positions

7/31/2019 Descriptions for Company Positions

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The Working Smarterwith SmartDrawSeries

Working Smarter withOrg and Team Charts

What youll learn:

1. Howorganization

charts are

used

2. How to createan

organization

chart

3. How teamcharts are

used

4. How to make ateam chart

In many companies, employees are organized in two parallel ways:

1. In a top-down hierarchy of reporting relationships2. In teams focused on completing a particular project

Both are valuable tools for showing and describing different things, yet there is a difference between

the two.

1. How org charts are usedTop-down organization

A top-down organization is easily represented by the classic organization chart:

Note, in the organization chart above, that the title of the position comes first, and the incumbent

(the person filling this position) second.

Sometimes a person may fill more than one position, particularly in a smaller organization. For

example, the CEO may also fill the role of CFO. If this is the case, two positions will have the same

incumbent.


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You should think of your organization as a collection of positions, not a collection of people. Taking

this approach leads to a much more logical organization than starting with people.

Each position should be defined with a title and job description that describes:

The goal of the positionWhy is there such a position? What do you want the incumbent to accomplish?

The responsibilities of the positionWhat activities is this position accountable for? For what activities is this position the go -to-

guy if something goes wrong?

What position this position reports toWhen this seems unclear because a position may be directed by several different managers,

ask who sets this positions salary?

The top-down organization and accompanying job description is an invaluable tool for assigning

accountability in your organization. An organization chart is the ideal way to communicate it.

2. How to make an organization chartCreating a top-down organization chart is very easy if you have software designed for this purpose.

Step 1: Begin with the top-level position

Add the box for the top-level position and type the title and name into it.

Step 2: Add the positions that report to the top-level position

Add a box for each of the positions that report to the top-level position and type the title and name

of the incumbent. Connect the boxes with lines representing reporting relationships as shown below

(good software will automatically draw the connecting lines for you).


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Step 3: Repeat for each position.

Add boxes for each of the positions that report to the second-level positions and so on.

3. How team charts are usedTeam organization

Like the company as a whole, teams work more effectively when the roles and responsibilities of each

member are clearly understood. The best way to make this absolutely clear is with a team chart:


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The person with overall responsibility for the project is the center. The other team members

surround him, each with a set of their own responsibilities.

Teams working on a specific project are often drawn from many different branches of the top-down

organization; this is unimportant. Their role in a top-down organization is secondary to their role in

the team. For example, in the product release team, Carlos Sanchez, the VP of Sales, is responsible for

recruiting resellers under the direction of Jack Cheam, the VP of Marketing, who is leading theproject; even though they are peers in the top-down organization. There may be other project teams

where these roles are reversed.

4. How to make a team chartStep 1: Add a box for the team leader

Place the box for the team leader at the center of the page and type in the title and name of the

person.

Step 2: Add the rest of the team

Add a box for each team member.


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Step 3: Add responsibilities for each team member

Add a box for each responsibility to each team member.

Org and Team Chart Software: What to Look For:

When selecting software to create these charts, make sure the application meets the following

time-saving criteria:

It automatically formats the chart for you drawing lines and adding boxes in response tosimple commands

It allows you to add new positions without requiring you to take your hand off thekeyboard

It allows you to easily move topics and subtopics around with the mouseIn addition to meeting all these criteria, SmartDraw is the only program that allows you to make

both types of charts.Click hereto watch how to make this team chart and organization chart with

SmartDraw.

You can download a free trial copy of SmartDraw byclicking here.
http://www.smartdraw.com/working-smarter/org-charts-screencast.htmhttp://www.smartdraw.com/working-smarter/org-charts-screencast.htmhttp://www.smartdraw.com/working-smarter/org-charts-screencast.htmhttp://www.smartdraw.com/working-smarter/org-charts-download.htmhttp://www.smartdraw.com/working-smarter/org-charts-download.htmhttp://www.smartdraw.com/working-smarter/org-charts-download.htmhttp://www.smartdraw.com/working-smarter/org-charts-download.htmhttp://www.smartdraw.com/working-smarter/org-charts-screencast.htm

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Descriptions for Company Positions