In the course of our conversation about growing a business without growing pains, I’ve raised two central topics: processes and roles. I’ve already beaten all of you over the head with article after article on processes so far this month, but if you want a refresher please read “Why Businesses Need Processes.”
I have not talked about the purpose of roles in much detail thus far, so that’s what we’re going to talk about today.
The Need for Roles
Let me put a hypothetical question out there as a preface:
“If my business consists of only myself, do I still need roles in my organization?”
The answer: every organization that intends to grow needs roles. If you do not plan to grow your business beyond being a one-person organization, then you probably do not need roles; however, if you have any intention of growing your business, then roles are a must.
The Dual Purpose of Roles
Most people think of “roles” as job descriptions and responsibilities. This is the human resources half of roles—roles are a means to apportion and assign responsibility for different parts of an organization’s operations. Roles are formally declared in a job description and published in an organization chart in order to allow everyone in an organization to know who is responsible for what.
This capacity of roles (and org charts) is so well understood that the point is almost taken for granted; most employers dutifully roll out job descriptions and update them as job functions evolve. Employers who don’t have a formal method for defining their employees' job functions do not last long.
The second purpose of roles—the one that is less understood—is that roles are a blueprint for the expansion of human resources within your organization. This is why the one-man organization needs roles: because properly defined roles help those employers make better decisions about whom to hire and what sort of candidates to look for.
Over the next two weeks, we’re going to take a closer look at roles and some of the best practices for implementing them. Feel free to leave comments!
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