How an Org Chart Helps You Build a Better Company Culture

Culture is one of the most important aspects of any company. Great company culture makes for a great company. Poor company culture, well…you get the idea.

But culture is also one of the most overlooked aspects in building a company. That might be because business leaders view it as out of their control. After all, culture just happens, right?

It is true that a company’s culture arises organically. But for that to happen, you have to put the right foundation in place. There are steps you can take to foster a better culture. By skipping those steps, you’re asking for trouble.

Fortunately, creating an org chart for your company can help you build a better company culture.

For a deeper dive into how org charts work, check out this guide:

What Is an Organizational Chart?

Why Company Culture Matters

There are several key benefits to building a strong, unified culture in your company.

Identity

Culture has a major impact on the values and identity of your company. For example, if you encourage a goal-oriented, ambitious culture, it will spread throughout the company and become an identifying feature. By maintaining certain standards, you can keep the values of your company consistent.

Productivity

Happy workers are productive workers, and a healthy company culture can make all the difference in boosting morale. Give your employees an environment they can thrive in, and they’ll repay you through more motivated output.

Employee Retention

The right company culture will attract the right talent, and more importantly, retain it. When employees feel like they really belong in your company’s culture, they’re much more likely to stick around long-term. In order to make that happen, you have to have the culture in place first.

Image

A company’s culture is never a private matter. How you treat your employees—and how they treat each other—will make an impression on your customers and the world. What image do you want to present? Fun-loving and relaxed? Serious and professional? Start with the company culture.

Each of these factors is only more essential in the world of startups, where a company’s “personality” can do as much to impact your perceived value as output does. The new crop of top talent employees have certain expectations for their work environments, and so do modern customers. Brand loyalty requires a powerful brand, and culture is at the heart of it all.

See how you can create a culture of transparency to help build trust with your employees and customers:

How Do I Make My Company More Transparent?

But beyond the benefits of getting company culture right, there are serious hazards if you get it wrong. A toxic workplace will promote division, hurt morale, and hinder productivity. You’ll probably see employee churn speed up as growth falters.

The good news? You can influence the culture of your company. You can establish the principles, values, and styles of communication that make a healthy culture flourish.

And an organizational chart will help you get it done.

How Does an Org Chart Help Build a Better Company Culture?

It Helps Attract Better Employees

Because most companies are competing for their attention, the most talented professionals have the luxury of being picky about where they work. That means they’re more likely to take every factor into account before deciding which job offer to accept.

An org chart could be the difference that makes your company stand out from the competition.

Your org chart will show them how your organization is structured, what team they’d be joining, and what responsibilities they’d have. And since most org charts include a profile picture and brief description for each employee, candidates will even be able to learn about their potential coworkers.

In some cases, you can even use your org chart as a job posting board. Here on The Org, for example, you can add open positions right into your chart. Then, job hunters can apply for the position directly from the listing.

By making it easier for candidates to send in an application, you’ll increase the chances of the right person giving it a go.

Bringing in talented, motivated, and professional employees can only improve your company culture. Then, that healthy company culture will make your business all the more appealing to other top-tier candidates, maintaining a virtuous cycle of growth.

To learn more about how org charts help you hire top talent, see here:

Attracting Talent with a Public Org Chart

And for further tips on how to streamline your hiring process, check out this guide:

The Org’s Guide to Hiring

It Helps You Implement Diverse and Equitable Hiring Practices

Biases and unfair hierarchies can creep into any business, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Confronting and repairing those tendencies often takes deliberate forethought.

Having a visual layout of your company gives hiring managers a clear picture of the hierarchy and diversity of your whole organization. That makes it easier for you to implement initiatives for a more equitable and unbiased workplace. This will lead to greater diversity in backgrounds, perspectives, and input—all of which will fuel innovation and help build a better company culture.

It Promotes Deeper Coworker Relationships

Org charts can function as a kind of employee directory—or even a social media within the company. At the click of a button, employees will have a list of all their colleagues, generally with at least a name, job title, and profile picture for each.

Those details alone could help improve interpersonal relationships by putting faces to names and establishing where everyone fits into the organization.

But most org charts provide even more info than that. Many companies encourage their employees to add a brief description of themselves. This can include things like:

• Backgrounds
• Interests
• Hobbies
• Pets
• Favorite food, movies, musicians, etc.

Any of these facts could help break the ice between coworkers, starting a deeper, more personal relationship. For example, if several people all share a love of woodworking or listen to the same pop star, that will give them something to chat about and bond over.

Communication is key to building a better company culture, and by creating an org chart, you can make it all the easier for your employees to get along.

Want to learn more about the importance of communication in a company? Just read this guide:

How to Improve Communication in the Workplace

It Gives Employees a Better Understanding of Their Roles

With a blueprint of the company’s structure close at hand, employees will be able to see exactly how they fit into the big picture. This will make it easier for them to understand how their team is driving growth and contributing to the overall trajectory of the business.

That sense of purpose will spread through the whole company, motivating teams and bringing them closer together.

It Makes Employees More Productive

Org charts help reduce the information gaps and workflow bottlenecks that often form in professional settings.

For example, let’s say someone in sales has a question for a coworker in product development. In the standard corporate labyrinth, they could easily spend the better part of a day trying to track them down. They may call around only to get sent from team to team—often being put on hold for long periods—all in hopes of finding one person.

By the time they find who they’re looking for, they’ve lost hours they could have spent in more useful ways.

With an org chart, they’ll have every department and every team laid out right in front of them. Locating the right colleague will be a breeze. Then, since most org charts include contact information with each employee icon, they can email or call with their question right away.

Naturally, cutting out the headaches and hassle of professional life will lead to happier, more tranquil employees. And on top of that, by allowing your workers to maximize their productivity, you can instill greater pride in them.

Both of these improvements will cultivate the kinds of employees who help build a better company culture.

For more on how org charts boost productivity, see here:

Why Companies Should Have a Public Org Chart

Or, if you’re ready to start taking advantage of the many benefits of a public org chart, click here to sign up on The Org.