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Planning: The Difference Between an Organisation Chart and a Succession Plan

There are two places within the web site where you can view an organisation chart: the organisation chart for you people and the organisation chart for a succession plan. On the surface the two organisation charts look very similar but there are some subtle differences between the two.

The organisation chart for your people works on the simple model that each person in your organisation reports to another person. The chart is drawn by choosing a person to start with and listing all of their staff. This is the simplest way to model the structure of your organisation and, in most cases, the most suitable. It is probably the same model that your own interal HR database uses.

There is only one organisation chart for your organisation.

A succession plan uses a more advanced model where a position (or a job that a person does) is seperate from the person themselves. A succession plan shows which positions report to which other positions and seperately, which people hold these positions.

This model allows you to succession plan for a position rather than a person, plan for vacant positions, have more than one holder of a position and much more.

You can have as many plans as you wish, even for the same part of the organisation. Each plan can be completely different; some may show the current state of affairs, others may show the past or even what you intend for the future. You can even use plans to remodel your organsation as part of a restructuring process.