Question

Different types of organizational charts (structure)

Answer 1

1. Hierarchic

The pyramid-shaped organizational chart we referred to earlier is known as a hierarchical org chart. Each employee should have one supervisor. Most organizations group departments by function—e.g. marketing, HR, sales, etc.—but you could also group by product for larger companies or physical location for international companies.

ProsConsBetter defines levels of authority and responsibilityCan slow down innovation or important changes due to increased bureaucracyShows who each person reports to or who to talk to about specific projectsCan cause employees to act in interest of the department instead of the company as a wholeMotivates employees with clear career paths and chances for promotion Can make employees toward the bottom of the chart feel undervaluedGives each employee a specialty Creates camaraderie between employees within the same department 2. Horizontal or Flat

Try out our template

A horizontal or flat organizational chart fits companies with few levels between upper management and staff-level employees. Many start-up businesses use a horizontal org chart before they grow large enough to build out different departments, but some organizations maintain this structure since it encourages less supervision and more involvement from all employees.

ProsConsGives employees more responsibilityCan create confusion since employees do not have a clear supervisor to report toFosters more open communicationCan produce employees with more generalized skills and knowledgeImproves coordination and speed of implementing new ideasCan be difficult to maintain once the company grows beyond start-up status3. Matrix

Use our matrix org chart template

No, this org chart has nothing to do with Neo. The name describes its structure. A matrix organizational chart looks like a grid, and it shows teams that form for special projects. For example, an engineer may regularly belong to the engineering department (led by an engineering director) but work on a temporary project (led by a project manager). The matrix org chart accounts for both of these roles and reporting relationships.

ProsConsAllows supervisors to easily choose individuals by the needs of a projectPresents a conflict between department managers and project managersGives a more dynamic view of the organizationCan change more frequently than other organizational chart typesEncourages employees to use their skills in various capacities aside from their original roles Tips for any org chart

No matter which of the different types of organizational charts you choose, keep the following principles in mind. (Don’t worry—Lucidchart can help you follow them all.)

Stay organized. An unorganized organizational chart won’t be much help to anyone. For absolute clarity, make your boxes the same size and place them an equal space apart. Keep the chart on one page, if you can, or divide it into different sheets by department. Create your document easily in Lucidchart with auto-formatting and premade org chart templates. (You can even import data from a spreadsheet or CSV file.)

Keep it up to date. Many companies grow quickly or promote employees frequently. Make it part of your company’s onboarding ritual to update the org chart when someone starts a new position—then they’ll know where they fit in right away. Because our diagramming tool lives on the web, you can invite several employees to help out and edit in real time. Just click “Share.”

Create a central location for your organizational chart and share from that location. If you email your employees the org chart as an attachment, the file may quickly go out of date, and you’ll suddenly have inaccurate versions floating around everywhere. Lucidchart can act as your central location. Once you create your document, share a view-only copy with others or publish a live link—when people move in or out or about the company, your published document will reflect the changes you make.

Provide or link to other relevant information in your document. Names and titles aren’t the only details that matter. Add photos, contact information, or other data directly on the chart, or link to that information in Lucidchart so employees can more easily contact each other and collaborate.

Try Lucidchart as you build out one of these organizational chart types, and get your company in sync.