It's the fourth quarter, and that means it's time to finalize budgets for 2017. One of the budget considerations is determining what staffing will be required to carry out next year's goals. This planning process has caused me to stop and consider: does my current organizational structure make sense?

In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we will look at three key organizational structures and considerations a small business should take into account when determining the right structure to achieve its business goals.

Business writer Kristie Lorette says that a small business can achieve both efficiency and effectiveness by implementing one of three primary organization structure options: functional, divisional or matrix.

Functional: A functional organization is one in which the hierarchy of the business is based on the job role of each employee. The structure features groups of employees who are focused on a common goal. For example, all accounting roles would be on an accounting team. Even if you only have two or three employees who fulfill the marketing role of your small business, you would structure it so one person is in charge, such as the vice president of marketing. His team would consist of a marketing manager and a public relations manager. This is a traditional organizational structure.

Divisional: The divisional organizational structures place specific roles within divisions or business units, products or regions—decentralizing specific functions. For example, you could divide the United States into four divisions: north, east, south and west, and each division would have its own specialists, such as a marketing director. Each division would then have its own employees.

Matrix: A matrixed organizational structure is a hybrid of functional and divisional organizational structures. The matrix organizational structure works more like a team. Instead of department heads, each team has a leader. Matrix organizational structures bring together employees who focus on a project, but fill different roles from across your business. The matrix organizational structure often works if your business serves different geographic regions.

If you have a small business, how do you take in elements of these organizational structures? It depends on your growth. For example, says Lorette, if your business starts out by only serving the local city where the business operates, but eventually serves the state, you might start with one structure and change to another one to better fit the needs of your business and its customers.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution, no right or wrong. Try elements of each of these structures to see what works best for your business.

Source: Kristie Lorette is a marketing copy and content expert who works with small business owners and entrepreneurs who struggle to market their business effectively to attract the right clients on a consistent basis. What separates her service from other marketing professionals is that she only works with small business owners and only specializes in creating marketing content and copy. Because of this, Lorette's clients receive proven, effective and extremely specific step-by-step information on exactly what they need to do to attract clients with their marketing. As a result, those who work with her attract more clients and make more money than that would have on their own.

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