7 tips on RevOps org structure more helpful than an org chart
Revenue Growth Guide - June 2023
Last week we kicked off another cohort of RevOps Accelerator, and as luck and meticulous planning would have it, Week 1 is org structure week. Thus, I am feeling especially fresh and inspired on the subject which, let’s be honest, can get a little dry sometimes.
And that’s not because building teams and figuring out how all the pieces fit together is boring, but rather because we often focus on the wrong thing. As our CEO, Jen, often asks, when is the last time you made a decision based on an org chart? As a matter of fact, when is the last time you even looked at one?
When it comes down to it, there is no one right way to structure your organization; the best way forward will always depend on your business's size, maturity, and high-level goals. So, instead of thinking about org structure in the traditional sense, let’s think about what goes into building, growing, and running a high-performing revenue org.
1. Find your purpose
If you’re going to build a team that meets the needs of your business, the first step has to be to define what your goals are. Think about your OKRs and where you want the business to be in the next 2-5 years. Can your current structure support those goals or do some things need to shift? Once you know your North Star, you can better evaluate what’s standing in your way.
2. Collaboration counts
We’ve worked with teams that think they need a reorg when what they actually need is better communication and more collaboration. If you’re feeling the pain of functional silos, you should start by evaluating how teams are (or aren’t) working together. Are there tech silos making it difficult for data to be shared across the org? Are there processes that need to be put in place to encourage better collaboration?
3. Define roles & responsibilities
Job titles and org charts won’t do anyone any good if you haven’t done the work to clearly define the roles and responsibilities of the people who work within your organization. Who owns what and what should successful ownership look like? This goes for teams, too, not just individuals. If there’s no clarity across the org as to what each team is accountable for, things will fall through the cracks.
4. Push authority outward
Another mistake we’ve seen lots of teams make is building based on hiring decisions rather than the needs of the business. If all the authority sits at the top of your organization with your executives and senior managers, think about how much harder it’s going to be to make decisions or drive any kind of meaningful change.
Being more intentional about how you’re sharing decision-making power (like in the figure on the right) will allow your org to run more smoothly, be more agile, and see more innovation than if you lean on hierarchy alone.
Of course, you still have to make sure the business is protected, which is why we use the waterline framework to gauge whether or not something needs to go up a chain of command before being acted upon:
If damage occurs but it’s above the waterline, the ship (your org) can keep sailing. If the damage is below the waterline, the ship could sink. Decisions below the waterline should still be approved by senior leadership, but people throughout the org can feel free to act on things below the waterline.
5. Integrate & enable
In any business, technology plays a huge role in collecting and disseminating data, carrying out processes, and enabling teams to meet the needs of your customer. Regardless of how your org is structured, if your tools aren’t doing what they’re supposed to, you’re going to have a mess on your hands.
First, make sure any tools you’re implementing are addressing a real problem that exists. More often than not, adopting tools just for the sake of it will leave you with tech and data silos that make it difficult for everyone to do their jobs.
If you have an established tech stack, do a tech audit. Are you using everything you’re paying for? Do your tools integrate well with one another? Is your data clean and consistent?
Making smart decisions about your tech stack up front will save you a lot of lengthy and potentially expensive migrations and implementations down the line.
6. Find your change agents & champions
Not all problems can be fixed with tools and systems. When what you need is a cultural shift, it’s good to know who your promoters are within the org. Top-down change is often difficult to drive, so having people who will adopt those changes and inspire others to do the same is a huge advantage.
7. If you build it, they will come.
As your company scales, is your enablement strategy scaling with it? Institutional knowledge is only beneficial to the people who can access it, and lots of teams forget to stop and document along the way, especially when experiencing hyper-growth. Invest the time you need to create an accessible knowledge library that covers things like SOPs, core processes, onboarding information, and anything else that will help your team answer their own questions and solve their own problems more easily.
Until next time,
Kristi