7 Org Chart Examples You Need To Check Out [Definition + Templates]

Ever wondered how your company is actually structured? It’s not as simple as it sounds. An organizational chart is like your office’s family tree, showing you every member’s rank, responsibility, and relations. It acts as a visual representation of your company’s, project’s, or business unit’s internal structure. Org chart examples can range from a straightforward pyramid to a complex web, depending on the company’s size and industry. 

Org Chart Explained

Org charts, like trees, are spread out into supplementary branches and leaves that define each individual’s role in a company. Org charts have a variety of uses and can be structured in many different ways. They might be used as a management tool, for planning purposes, or as a personal directory.

Organizational Charts are also known as Organograms, Organogram Charts (sometimes spelled Organigrams), and Hierarchy Charts. They’re all the same thing.

What Is An Organizational Chart Used For?

There is a multitude of benefits to creating an org chart for a business of any size.

First and foremost, it establishes authority and strictly enforces the expected communication routes within the organization. This prevents miscommunication and helps employees understand where they are in the hierarchy of the company.

When it comes to organizational charts, there is complete transparency and 100% clarity for everyone in the company to be on the same page in terms of who is responsible for what, and how should be the information flow within the organization. Documented organization structures also double as a roadmap for current employees to see where their next promotion maybe, improving employee motivation. 

Additionally, companies that restructure their hierarchy owe it to their current employees to be transparent and upfront about changes in communication and authority by illustrating those changes with a new org chart.

Often, small businesses choose not to create an organizational chart because the employee count is low, or because it seems like a waste of time in comparison to core business functions. In reality, organizational charts for small businesses are a way to future-proof your business as it scales, ensuring consistency and a concrete document to refer back to in case of confusion. 

Let’s take a look at some good orgg chart examples to inspire you.

7 Types Of Org Chart Examples You Should Know

1. Line Organizational Structure Chart 

Also known as scalar-type organization structure, this organizational chart example shows how the authority flows from the top-most position to the lowest. One of the major disadvantages of the Line Organization structure is that it usually suffers from a lack of expert advice. If the line manager has trouble making a decision, there is no expert staff that he can turn to. Also, the line organization is usually rigid and inflexible. Therefore, typically Line Organization structure is useful where the scale of business is small and the number of subordinates and superiors are few or they are found useful in organizations where primary work is routine in nature which could be highly automated environments where specialized skills are not needed.

Line organization structure chart tends to simplify and clarify responsibility, authority, and accountability relationships. In a line organization, authority follows the chain of command.

2. Staff Or Functional Authority Organizational Structure Chart

A functional Organisational chart is one of the organizational structure types that organize staff based on their specific skills and knowledge. In a functional organization structure, the entire organization is divided into smaller departments based on their specialization. Functional org chart examples can show an organization structured around functions that will have a finance department, an IT department, a marketing department, etc. The departments are managed by experts in that area. This allows for greater efficiency in the work of the employees.

So every department has its own head or executive. And the reporting structure can also differ from department to department.

3. Line and functional Organizational Chart

Most large organizations belong to this type of organizational structure.

Line and functional organization is a combination of line organization structure and functional organization structure. The line Organization structure focuses excessively on authority, and the functional organization divides the firm into various functional departments. To avoid the limitations of both the structures, most of the organizations follow the line and functional organization structure.

In this structure, the authority flows from the top down. The line manager is the one in charge. He is the one with the authority to make all the important decisions of the company. The functional managers are the expert in this scenario. They have the knowledge and expertise of their field and are there to assist their line managers. They have an advisory role in the firm. One of the main advantages is that line managers receive expert advice from functional specialists. So they can leave the planning and research to the experts and concentrate on the execution of the plan.

In a line and functional organization structure, both the line managers and the functional managers have their own important roles to play.

4. Matrix Organizational Chart

Matrix organizational structures are quite popular, as they emphasize efficiency, creativity, and innovation. They combine two or more organizational structures.

Matrix organizational structures are so named because reporting relationships resemble a grid (or matrix) rather than the typical hierarchy. This structure can be thought of as a combination of the functional and projectized approaches of organizing employees in the company. Typically team members report to more than one boss: the head of their department, and the project manager charged with overseeing a specific initiative. RACI chart templates are a popular organizational matrix.

One of the major advantages of this organizational structure is the ease of communication between various departments which often leads to more collaboration, and better, stronger organizations.

Also, matrix organizational structures foster employee development as employees work cross-functionally with various departments so are exposed to multiple project types and ways of thinking.

5. Divisional Organizational Charts

The divisional organizational structure organizes the activities of a business around geography, market, or product and service groups. Large corporations, especially large multinational corporations, utilize a divisional structure. This approach is useful when the company has multiple regions or products. The divisional organizational structure provides a great deal of flexibility because each division operates separately and focuses on the most pressing issues facing it rather than being trained by a central authority.

For each division, there is advertising, sales, production, clerical, accounting, and development staff of its own. This gives a very brief view of the organizational structure.

6. Project Organizational Charts

A project organization structure facilitates the coordination and implementation of a specific project or product activity. This design uses teams of specialists from different functional areas in the organization which helps in achieving specific results.

A project team chart is a visual diagram to show the team members their roles.

It helps to understand the relationships between team members, the structure of the project organization, and their relative power positions.

7. Committee Organizational Charts

A committee organizational structure chart can be defined as a group of members who discuss and develop strategic solutions to problems.

The objective of setting up the Committee is to develop broader organizational goals, finalize plans, and policies for the organization. Such committees are important as the members of the committee bring rich experiences, expertise, diverse perspectives, and information which are not one man’s job.

Good Organizational Chart Examples To Inspire You

An org chart slide can be a valuable tool in many industries to visualize structure, roles, and responsibilities. Let’s check out some of our best organization chart examples for different use cases to help you better understand how to structure and create an org chart. We’ve listed down an organizational chart example for each industry:

1. Finance Organizational Chart Example

These can be used to represent the structure of a bank, investment firm, or insurance company. An organizational chart of a company example can be:

2. Corporate Org Chart Example

Corporate org chart examples can be used to outline departments like finance, operations, and marketing.

3. Manufacturing Org Chart Example

Manufacturing org chart examples can be used to define roles, improve communication, visualize the production process, identify bottlenecks, and showcase the company’s structure to stakeholders, for example, by outlining departments like production, quality control, and supply chain management.

4. Marketing Org Chart Example

As one of the most commonly used examples of organizational chart, marketing org chart examples can be used to define roles, improve collaboration, onboard new hires, and showcase the team’s structure to clients, partners, and investors, for example, by outlining teams like digital marketing, content creation, and brand management.

5. HR Org Chart Example

HR org chart examples can be used to outline teams like recruitment, employee relations, and compensation & benefits.

You can also check out our collection of org chart slides for a more varied choice:

Those were some of our best org chart examples. Remember, the easiest way to find org chart examples that are unique is by checking out SlideUpLift’s wide range of org chart templates.

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