I must say quite a lot has happened recently that has revealed the dire need for schools to operate using a proper business or organizational structure.
It is not uncommon to see educators and other school staff hopping from one school to another without proper induction processes or exit procedures because of a lack of a defined structure in such schools. It's sad, but we can do something about this.
The fact is, the organizational structure an employee finds when he or she joins an organisation determines to a large extent, how such an employee conducts him or herself. No employee gets into a new organisation and sees that it is structured and that things function effectively and then he decides to conduct himself in a shoddy or haphazard manner. Not likely at all!
I have been an employee in a few organisations in my twenty-six years career in the education sector, and I can say that it really helped when I was in an organisation that had structure. It made the decision for me to stay a lot easier, as against when I was unfortunate enough to work in one where the structure was poor and where decisions were taken based on sentiments.
Now, here are a few reasons you need to have a proper organizational structure.
- It makes supervision of the workforce easier and more effective, which in turn leads to better staff performance. When every employee knows who to report to directly, and who he is immediately responsible for, it makes them to rise up to the expectations of their job responsibilities.
- Accountability becomes easier to achieve when there is an organizational structure which is communicated to all stakeholders. Like I stated in the point above, you know who to report to; hence there’s accountability.
- More so, it is easier to have a succession plan for the organisation when there is an organizational structure. Having an organizational structure would imply having a well-defined organizational chart or an orgganogram. This helps you develop an effective career and succession plan for the workforce of the organisation.
- Effective human resource management is certainly easier with an organizational structure. It’s easier to manage the employees and build the individuals into teams when you have a defined organisation structure. It effectively erodes a lot of the confusion that comes from working together and not knowing what to expect at the managemnt level.
- A delineated organizational structure helps to drive the workforce in the same strategic direction for the organisation.
- The presence of an organizational structure helps managers and employees to manage their relationships in a professional manner.
- It also helps in building a sustainable organisation because policies, procedures, ethics, and the organization’s culture can be passed from one set of employees and managers to another.
- It makes communication amongst employees and managers easier as well.
- Employees are more likely to be nurtured and retained in an organisation that has structure. This is because there will be a framework for decision making which will be understood by the employees. This is most likely not going to be the case with an organisation where the decisions are taken out of sentiments.
- Having an organizational structure leads to a healthy competition amongst units and departments which ultimately leads to productivity and overall organizational performance.
- Very importantly, when an organisation has structure, this can influence effectiveness by building in a review process that checks expectations against actual performance. This eventually helps the organisation to achieve its set goals.
I really hope this helps.
Thank you for reading. Please share your thoughts and experience on organisational structure.
Schedule an appointment with Nancy Ekpezu at www.calendly.com/nancyekpezu if you'll need me to work with you and your team in creating a proper organisational structre for your school or small to meduim enterprise.
Or contact her on WhatsApp at +234-8035880367.
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