All groups require structure. So too with organizations. The right structure is essential for organizations to grow, achieve their goals and move towards profitability. A defined org structure is essential to guide all the resources present within the organization to meet the long-range plans of the business. Getting the org structure right, therefore is one of the most crucial steps in helping a business to achieve and sustain its goals.
An organization’s structure will define the following aspects –
- Communication – Flow of information is critical to an organization’s success. Top down and bottom-up flow of information are both vital in ensuring the right mix of directions and insights keep the wheels of the organisation running. At the same time information must also flow between lateral teams to ensure there is collaboration on projects and deliveries.
- Reporting relationships must be clearly defined with no room for ambiguity. This ensures there is accountability and that tasks are driven to completion without room for uncertainty. Supervisors know how and who to manage and employees know who to go to for support. Stepping outside one’s purview and boundaries is minimised as a result.
- Agility and expansion – A sound org structure ensures there are the right number of people in the right roles. Most importantly as the organization grows the structure must evolve with it. Given the rapidly changing environment that any business witnesses, agility is a key factor which org structures must fulfil.
- Culture consists of a shared set of beliefs, values, and ideals. The structure of the organization defines the ways in which these shared ideals come together for executing the common goals of the group. Organizational culture defines the organizational structure of an organization, but the structure also defines the culture.
There are many ways in which an organization can be structured, with every model having its own unique benefits and pitfalls. The early industrial age may have seen organizations successfully navigating course with the hierarchical structures but today times are not as simple as back then. The work environment is dynamic, the workforce is multi-generational with completely differing needs and expectations, competition is stiff, customer loyalties are slim and there are many different stakeholders and therefore differing obligations. Every organization needs to constantly evaluate if their structure is responding to the multiplicities and enabling it to not just survive but to thrive.
In today’s fast-paced business world, organizations must constantly adapt to stay competitive. One way to do this is by re-evaluating the company’s structure. This process involves analysing the current organizational structure and making changes to improve efficiency, productivity, and overall performance.
Godrej Capital’s journey started about 3 years ago. When we began our ascend, our priorities were setting up – building the team, putting in place the products, processes, and systems, establishing a presence in the market and creating our customer base. A regional structure that started from the Head Office and spread to the major metros and the tier one cities was right as we began with a handful of products and a modest team size. As we chose to grow to more geographies, venturing into a segment that would enable us to build a portfolio of multiple products and expand our employee base, it was clear that the organization structure would need to evolve.
While our incumbent structure was good for getting us to where we were, to propel our growth to achieve our long-range plan for the next 2 to 5 to 10 years and beyond, we needed to revisit our org design. Growth was not just visualised for the business but also to respond to the needs of the market and most importantly our people, who were now aspiring for growth.
Re-evaluating the structure of an organization can be a complex and challenging process. It requires careful analysis, planning, communication, and collaboration among all stakeholders – internal and external. One approach to re-evaluating an organization’s structure is to conduct a thorough analysis of the current structure. We did this by reviewing job descriptions, evaluating workflows, and assessing the effectiveness of communication channels. Based on this analysis and placing them against the key org priorities showed the path to the new, desired structure.
Another approach is usually to involve employees in the process. This can help to ensure that the new structure is aligned with the needs and goals of the organization and its people. This also helps in fostering a more collaborative and inclusive environment.
Involving an external research and consulting agency also helped us develop the intended visuals of the ideal structure. With the use of design principles, we were able to prioritize, what as an organization was to be our USP and what we will be hygiene on. There was a clear intent of what our legacy was to be in the market and what we stood for as an organization. The most important consideration was cost – with a clear resolve to break even and turn profitable, we realised that the ideal state was to emerge as a product led structure.
Since, we were still in the initial stages of our evolution, we did this quickly and seamlessly. All the national product-based teams in the regions folded up into one vertical aligned by the nature of the product. Communication was consistent and repeated – in any change scenario overcommunication always supports the cause rather than cause fatigue. Townhalls, smaller forums, org-wide leadership communications and seamless transition enabled our people to flow into the new state very readily.
While it is still early days for our organization in its new avatar, the ease of transition assures us that it will be a change that is the harbinger of positive outcomes. Growth for people, product, and efficiency in processes, promises to thrust the organization into a new phase of growth.
The success of a re-evaluation of an organization’s structure depends on the company’s ability to adapt and evolve. “An organization is on the road to success when change is part of its nature.” (Pearl Zhu, Digital Fit: Manifest Future of Business with Multidimensional Fit) By embracing change and being open to new ways of working, organizations can create a structure that is flexible, efficient, and responsive to the needs of the business and its stakeholders. In conclusion, re-evaluating the structure of an organization is an important process that can help companies stay competitive in today’s fast-paced business world. By taking a thoughtful and collaborative approach, organizations can create a structure that is aligned with their goals and values, and that supports the success of their employees and the business.
Ruhie Pande 