“In our company we all do a bit of everything.”
Theory and practice
It’s one of the things we hear most often in SMEs, and it’s also one of the main reasons why many companies grow in a disorderly way, creating overlaps, decision-making conflicts and operational inefficiencies.
Because when there are no clear roles, responsibilities and delegation, the same thing always happens: duplicated activities, problems passed from one department to another, slower decisions, disoriented staff, and a business owner forced to step in constantly.
And this is where the organisation chart and job descriptions come into play.
The organisation chart represents the organisational structure of the business, because it defines the company’s Functions: Sales, Production, Purchasing, Quality, Administration, Finance etc., and establishes who oversees each area.
But be careful: the organisation chart alone is not enough, because knowing “who does what” in general terms does not automatically clarify “what each person must actually do”.
And that is exactly what job descriptions are for.
The role identifies the position within the organisation, in other words who oversees a given function.
Duties, on the other hand, define the operational activities, responsibilities, delegated powers, objectives and decision-making areas.
In other words: the organisation chart defines the vertical structure of the business, company procedures represent the horizontal view of processes, and job descriptions connect these two worlds in practice.
Let’s look at a practical example: the job description of the Sales Manager in an SME.
Sales planning
The Sales Manager works with senior management to define the company strategy and draws up the sales Budget, planning the activities needed to achieve the objectives.
Sales
Handles the negotiation of sales contracts, especially with strategic customers, constantly monitoring the progress of the offers sent out and checking the effectiveness of the sales process.
Orders and deliveries
Ensures that orders are correctly recorded in the company ERP system and monitors order trends and turnover weekly, coordinating the sales office to guarantee the highest level of customer service.
Customer relations
Develops business relationships with existing and prospective customers, identifying new business opportunities and loyalty strategies.
It sounds simple, but in reality many companies do not formalise any of this.
And the result is that people work “out of habit”, responsibilities become blurred, objectives cannot be measured and every problem lands back on the business owner’s desk.
A well-constructed job description isn’t there to make the company more bureaucratic but to create organisational clarity.
Does your business have formalised roles and responsibilities, or does it still rely on informal balances built up over time?