Organisation and roles work gives your business a structure that matches the work it actually does, with one named person accountable for each outcome and clear limits on who decides what. In most owner-led companies the chart on the wall, if there is one, describes titles rather than responsibilities. The result is that decisions drift back to the owner, two people half-own the same task, and new managers cannot act.
What it is
The service produces four practical documents.
- Accountability chart. Functions, not names first: sales, delivery, finance, people, and so on, each with the three to five outcomes it owns. Names go into the boxes afterwards.
- Decision-rights table. For recurring decisions (discounts, hiring, purchases above a set amount, scheduling, refunds), who decides, who must be consulted and who is informed.
- Role outlines. One page per key role: purpose, outcomes, measures, and the decisions the role may make alone.
- Hiring sequence. Which two or three roles to add next, in what order, and the work each would take off someone else's desk.
Who it is for
This service is designed for companies of roughly 8 to 80 people where the owner is the bottleneck, where managers were promoted for technical skill and were never given authority, or where the business is preparing for a partner, a successor or a sale. It also helps after rapid growth, when the structure from three years ago no longer fits.
What's included
- Interviews with the owner and each manager, online by video call or in person.
- Owner-hours audit: a two-week log of how the owner's time is actually spent.
- Current-state map of who really does and decides what.
- Draft accountability chart and decision-rights table.
- Workshop with the leadership group to test and adjust both.
- Final documents and role outlines.
- Hiring sequence with an estimate of the hours each hire frees.
A worked example
Imagine an owner of a 30-person company who logs 55 hours a week. The two-week audit shows that 22 of those hours go to scheduling, approving small purchases and answering routine customer questions. If the owner's time is worth $150 an hour in higher-value work (pricing, key accounts, strategy), those 22 hours represent $3,300 a week, or about $165,000 a year over 50 weeks, spent on tasks someone else could do.
Moving purchase approvals under $2,000 to the operations lead, and scheduling to a coordinator, could return 12 to 15 of those hours. Our accountability chart guide shows how to run the same audit.
Timeline
A typical project runs four to six weeks. The owner-hours audit runs in parallel with interviews during the first two weeks, the draft and workshop take place in weeks three and four, and documents are finalised after that.
How results are measured
Three measures are agreed at the start: owner hours per week on work that belongs elsewhere, the number of decisions escalated to the owner per week, and how long routine decisions take. We record the starting values from the audit and check them again 60 to 90 days later. Those measures can sit on your KPI scorecard.
Mistakes to avoid
- Designing around current people. Start with the work, then see who fits. Otherwise the chart preserves today's gaps.
- Giving titles without decision rights. A manager who must ask before every purchase is not managing.
- Two names in one box. Shared accountability usually means no accountability.
- Hiring a senior manager first. Often a coordinator who absorbs routine work frees more owner time, for less money.
- Skipping the conversation. The workshop is where managers accept the new boundaries.
Start here
Text (604) 632-4959 or email Ali@Sedighi.ca with your headcount and the decisions that keep landing on your desk. The free initial consultation will tell us whether to start with this project or a business diagnostic. If you need help putting the new structure into practice, see implementation support.
Frequently asked questions
Is this an HR service?
It is organisation design, not HR administration or employment law. We define structure, accountabilities and decision rights. Employment contracts, terminations, compensation compliance and workplace policies stay with your HR adviser or employment lawyer.
We only have 12 people. Is that too small?
No. Ten to forty people is often exactly when structure starts to matter, because the owner can no longer see every decision. A simple accountability chart at 12 people prevents most of the confusion that appears at 25.
Will you tell us who to let go?
No. We design roles around the work the business needs, and we show where current people fit and where gaps exist. Decisions about individuals are yours, made with proper HR and legal advice.
How long does it take?
Typically four to six weeks for a single-location business: interviews, a draft structure, a decision-rights workshop and final documents. Multi-location businesses take longer.