Growth is the goal for most businesses, but growth without structural adjustment creates its own problems. When a business doubles in headcount over two years, the informal structure that worked at the original size usually does not survive the transition. This article covers the practical steps of organisational redesign for a business in that position.

What fast growth does to structure

When a business grows quickly, roles tend to expand informally. People take on responsibilities because they are available and capable, not because those responsibilities have been formally assigned. This works in the short term. Over time, it creates a structure where accountability is unclear, where the same task is being done by two people who do not know about each other, and where gaps exist in areas that nobody thought to claim. The org chart, if one exists, no longer reflects what people actually do.

Mapping current responsibilities against actual work

The starting point for organisational redesign is not drawing a new org chart. It is mapping what people actually do against what they are formally responsible for. Hilt Core Vault does this through a combination of role interviews and work-flow mapping. We ask each person to describe their actual week, not their job description. We then map those descriptions against the business's core processes to identify where responsibilities are duplicated, where they are absent, and where they sit with the wrong person given the current structure.

The redesign proposal

The redesign proposal is a document that sets out a revised structure: revised role definitions, a revised reporting structure, and a phased plan for moving from the current state to the proposed state. The phasing matters. Structural changes that happen all at once create disruption that is hard to manage. A phased plan allows the business to make changes in a sequence that minimises operational risk and gives people time to adjust. The proposal is always presented as a recommendation, not a prescription. The client knows their business and their people better than we do.

Implementation and embedding

The redesign proposal is the beginning, not the end. The structural changes need to be communicated clearly, implemented in the agreed sequence, and then monitored to check that the new structure is actually working as intended. Hilt Core Vault offers implementation support as part of organisational design engagements. Typically a series of monthly check-in sessions over the three months following the proposal, to catch problems early and make adjustments before they become embedded.

If your business has grown past its original structure and the cracks are starting to show, an organisational design engagement is likely to be the most direct route to a structure that works. Get in touch to talk through the specifics.