How to Draw an Organisation Chart for a Small Manufacturing Company

How do I draw an organisation chart for a small manufacturing company?

Draw boxes for positions, not for people. Group them in four levels: owner, heads of departments, supervisors and operators. Join each box to one manager above it. Then count how many lines reach the owner. If there are too many, a middle level is missing.

Many MSME plants have no chart at all. The reporting lines live in everyone's memory. When a new person joins, he learns by asking around. When two people disagree, nobody is sure who decides.

A chart is a simple tool. It answers one question for every person: who is my boss, and who reports to me?

What are the four levels?

In a small plant one person can sit at two levels. The owner may also be the design head. That is fine. But the work of each level still has to be done, so write it down for both boxes.

What should the chart show?

• Positions, not names. Write "Stores Head", then the name below it. When the person leaves, the box stays.
• One boss for each box. If two people give orders to one person, he will follow the one who is nearer or louder.
• Vacant boxes. If a position is needed but not filled, draw it with a dotted border. This shows the gap honestly.
• Reporting lines only. Do not mix in salary or grade. The chart is about who reports to whom.

What does the owner's line count tell me?

Count the lines that reach the owner. We often see a chart close to this: the owner at the top, and nine heads reporting directly to him. No works manager and no general manager sits between.

That is the owner-at-every-box picture. Every question comes straight back to him. The chart does not make this problem; it only shows it.

Draw the chart as it is today, not as you wish it to be. The gap between the two is your work plan.

There are two ways to look at it:

1. If the owner has four to seven direct reports, the span is manageable.
2. If he has nine or ten, think of one more level. Perhaps a works manager over production, stores and quality, or a commercial manager over sales and accounts.

Do not add a level just to look neat. Add it only when a real person can do that job.

How to start in your plant

1. List every position in the plant, from owner to helper. Do not write names yet.
2. For each position, write the one position it reports to.
3. Draw the four levels and place the boxes.
4. Count the lines reaching the owner.
5. Mark any vacant or double-hatted box. Note one name for each backup.
6. Sit with each head and check his box and his people. Correct the chart.
7. Write a one-page job description for each box. See job description for a factory role.

Take two or three sittings. Do not rush it in one meeting.

What mistakes should I avoid?

• Drawing names, not positions. The chart breaks when someone leaves.
• Copying a big company's chart. A 40-person plant does not need a ten-department chart. Draw what you have.
• Showing it to everyone before it is agreed. This can create fear or arguments. Settle it with management first.
• Never updating it. Update the chart whenever a role changes. Write the date on it.

How often should the chart change?

Whenever a role changes. A new head joins, a department splits, a person moves from one box to another. Write the date on the chart and keep the old copy. After a year, put the old and new charts side by side. You will see how the plant has grown, and where it still depends on a single person. That comparison is a quiet but very honest review of your own progress as an owner.