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How to formalize an organization?

​By Mansour Baker, SHRM-CP

Posted: 15 June 2020

​Each area addresses the activities necessary to formalize an organization.

What is your current company situation?

• Support functions do not fully support core businesses, leading to some core businesses building their own support functions.
• Lack of documentation of key policies and procedures leads to redundancies and mission overlap.

What will tomorrow look like for your company?

• Streamlined structure effectively facilitates company’s mission. Core business areas have clear mandates and support services are structured to provide strategic value-add services.
• Company has clear documentation for all policies and procedures, increasing understanding of roles and accountability and removing unnecessary mission overlap.

Exhibit 1

The 3 activities necessary to formalize an organization

​Optimize Core Structure

Near Term (1-6 months)

• Undertake benchmarking to identify relevant best practices
• Undertake structural assessment to ensure optimization for achieving company’s mission and alignment with best practices
• Incorporate findings into updated core business structure
• Define and document roles, responsibilities, job descriptions, and mandates for all core departments

Medium Term (6-12 months)

• Create and stand up functionally focused sections within all departments and appoint manager for each section
• Complete stand-up of the organization including migration of staff to new structure

Optimize Support Structure

Near Term (1-6 months)

• Define and document roles, responsibility, job descriptions, mandates for all support departments
• Recruit and hire seasoned operational
• management to manage all support functions, and coordinate with core department oversight committee, to ensure alignment with core business needs

Medium Term (6-12 months)

• Create functionally focused sections within all departments and appoint team leader for each section

Optimize Core and Support Department Structure Initiative 

​To undertake an international study tour, benchmark review, and company leadership workshops to facilitate development of clear mandate, structure and documentation and the removal of unnecessary mission overlap for all company core and support departments.

Objectives

• To develop a streamlined structure that effectively facilitates company’s mission
• To provide all core departments with clear mandates and structure support services to provide strategic value-add services
• To develop clear documentation for all company departments, increasing understanding of roles and accountability and removing unnecessary mission overlap

Key Activities

• Undertake benchmarking review for organizational structures
• Conduct company leadership workshops to review outcomes of benchmarking and recommend framework for revised company organizational structure
• Develop and finalize report of recommendations for core and support department structure
• Define and document roles, responsibilities, and mandates for all departments

Document Policies & Procedures

​To develop company’s policies and procedures manual based on focus group output and assessment of current policies and procedures against best practices.

Near Term (1-6 months)

• Organize focus groups to identify and review documentation requirements
• Assess existing documented policies and procedures and identify gaps

Medium Term (6-12 months)

• Develop policies and procedures manual which documents all key company processes and procedures
• Communicate to and train staff on policies and procedures

Objectives

• To develop clear documentation and clarity for all company policies and procedures
• To increase understanding of roles and accountability and remove unnecessary mission overlap

Key Activities

• Plan and carry out focus groups of company staff to identify and review needed policies and procedures against baseline 
• Incorporate focus group feedback into needs assessment
• Assess current company’s policies and procedures to identify gaps and needed improvements
• Develop Policies and Procedures Manual

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