Human Resources Organization Chart: What Is It and How to Create One For Your Business?
Businesses range in size and structure across hundreds of different industries. HR is one of the essential functions in any business, whether there are ten employees or thousands. But to function optimally, there needs to be a clear team structure that enables each individual to cope with the needs of the organization. A human resources organization chart helps HR departments—and your employees—navigate that with ease.
Contents
What is a human resources organization chart for?
Human resources organization chart examples
How to create your human resources organization chart
What is a human resources organization chart for?
A human resources organization chart (sometimes also known as a human resources org chart or an HR organization chart) is a visual diagram of the HR department’s internal structure. It includes names of employees, their primary roles and responsibilities, and the relationships and hierarchy between them. Organizational charts are often used company-wide as well as within specific departments like HR.
The purpose of a human resources organization chart is to help HR, and your entire organization, understand the department’s structure in a visual format. It is clear who reports to who and whom and who takes care of what part of HR.
This makes it easier for business leaders to see whether strategies are being implemented and objectives met, and it helps employees understand their roles in meeting those objectives. An HR organization chart also identifies open positions and potential gaps in the structure.
A sample chart and your own chart can serve as a framework that helps you easily identify how your Human Resources department can grow further.
Human resources organization chart examples
Your HR organization chart will vary depending on the size of your organization. Many organizations will therefore consider their HR to employee ratio before structuring their department and creating their chart.
A high employee ratio (many HR personnel working in the organization) could suggest a low efficiency in how HR services are being delivered. However, the HR to staff ratio can be influenced by many other factors, including technology, the role of HR, budget and budget control, industry, organizational size and unionization, and collective agreements.
In a small business or startup, there might be one person who handles everything HR-related. Whereas in a large organization, each HR team member might have one critical function that they are solely responsible for.
Human resources organization chart: small business
Number of employees: 100 or less.
Key roles
At the top of the chart would be the CEO, or alternatively, there may be an HR director or manager. This person would manage one or two HR team members, such as an HR specialist and a recruiting coordinator. Other functions like payroll may be outsourced.
Human resources organization chart: midsized business
Number of employees: 100 to 999.
Key roles
There will also be a CEO or a vice president of HR who leads the HR team in a midsized business.
Reporting to the VP will be an HR director, who may manage a couple of general HR managers and a compensation benefits manager. These HR managers would be in charge of an HR generalist, an HR specialist, and potentially a payroll specialist.
Also, reporting to the VP of HR will be a recruiting director. This person will manage several recruiting coordinators.
Human resources organization chart: large business
Number of employees: 1,000+
Key roles
A large organization would maintain most of the roles in a midsized business but would likely alter the structure and assign fewer functions to each HR employee.
Additional HR roles in a larger organization may include:
- Chief human resources officer (CHRO),
- Chief diversity officer
- HR business partner (HRBP)
- Human resource information specialist (HRIS)
- Training/L&D director
- Trainer
How to create your human resources organization chart
As we explored in the previous section, the most efficient way to organize an HR team in large organizations is to create separate units dedicated to a different function. There should be a team leader and an HR person responsible for each required role within each unit.
Even if you have a small to mid-sized organization, it’s still practical to have each individual dedicated to and focused on a different function.
Here’s a step-by-step process of how to create your own human resources organization chart.
1. Identify HR functions at your organization
Here are some typical HR functions:
Recruiting & Hiring
These employees are primarily responsible for attracting, screening, and selecting new talent for any vacancies within the organization. They will devise a strategic recruitment plan for the team, look for and identify vacancies, write job descriptions, create job listings, browse resumes, conduct interviews, provide select candidates with a proposed offer and deal with salary negotiations.
Common job titles within the recruiting and hiring function include:
- Recruiter
- Recruiting coordinator
- Recruitment specialist
- HR Assistant
- Sourcers
- Employer branding specialists
- Human resource information specialist (HRIS)
Learning & Development
The learning and development team is responsible for maximizing employee performance by providing ongoing training opportunities to meet KPIs. Training may take place with existing employees as well as newly hired candidates prior to their first day. Responsibilities include developing or finding effective training courses and workshops, creating supporting materials and assessments, and managing any online learning platforms.
Common job titles within the learning and development function include:
- L&D specialist
- Trainer
- Training coordinator
- Training specialist
- Training leader
- Training director
- Resource specialist
- HR specialist
HR Generalists
HR generalists are responsible for managing day-to-day tasks, including maintaining and updating any records and databases, filing paperwork, posting job adverts, scheduling interviews, and anything else that is relevant as and when required.
Common job titles within this function include:
- HR generalist
- HR admin
- HR coordinator
Human Capital Management (HCM)
Human capital management is responsible for all the processes related to managing people within the organization in the most effective and efficient way. Tasks include creating and explaining compensation packages, assessing employee ratio, employee performance management, diversity, and inclusion. It is sometimes also HCM’s role to maintain the HR information systems.
Common job titles within the human capital management function include:
- Human capital management associate
- Human capital management consultant
- Human capital management specialist
- Human capital management analyst
- Diversity officer
Employee Relations
Employee relations people exist to manage interactions between employers and employees. This includes anything during the onboarding process, managing employee disputes, and disciplinary issues. They are also responsible for managing relationships with any temporary employees, trade associations, and labor unions.
An employee relations manager will also oversee performance management efforts and recommend any policy changes for approval as and when they see fit.
Common job titles within the employee relations function include:
- Employee specialist
- Labor relations specialist
- HR representative
- Employee relations officer
Compensation & Benefits
The compensation and benefits function exists to develop competitive pay and compensation packages while meeting set budgets and managing payroll. This includes wages, salaries, bonuses, and any benefits (e.g., health insurance, a company car, etc.).
Compensation packages should be compared to similar organizations and adjusted accordingly to ensure it’s attractive and relevant to employees and the new candidates they desire to hire.
It is also their responsibility to ensure all employees and new hires understand their compensation and benefits package and can answer any questions that arise.
Common job titles within the compensation and benefits function include:
- Payroll & benefits administrator
- Payroll specialist
- HR compensation analyst
- HR benefits analyst
- Compensation manager
Health and Safety
The health and safety function exists to ensure the entire organization is aware of and adhering to the most up-to-date health and safety best practices. This includes managing any training required, fire evacuation procedures, and necessary employee certifications.
Common job titles within the compensation and benefits function include:
- Health and safety officer
- Compliance manager
There should be at least one manager and potentially many assistants and specialists who report to them within each core function. Larger organizations may also choose to organize teams and workload based on location.
2. Collect details of your HR staff
The next step for creating a human resources organization chart is to add key details for each HR team member. This may include the person’s name, role, picture, and email address.
3. Use a suitable tool to create your chart
There are several tools you can use to create your HR organization chart. Microsoft Word offers multiple free templates for charts, while Canva is an affordable online design tool with thousands of templates and graphics. There are also specific online software programs designed to help you create an HR organization chart, like Lucidchart.
4. Make it accessible
Once you’ve completed the design of your chart, it’s time to make it visible to everyone within the organization. If you have an online portal accessible by all staff, put it somewhere easy to access and send an email letting everyone know where it is. Include it in welcome packs for new employees.
Your HR organization chart will help your employees know exactly who they need to contact for what, and it will also help your HR team understand their primary responsibilities.
5. Update your human resources organization chart regularly
Don’t create a human resources organization chart once and then forget about it. This document should regularly be updated when HR employees change roles or leave the organization, and new employees are onboarded. You might want to assign this task to a specific team member to ensure it gets done.
An HR organization chart is an opportunity for growth
A clear and detailed human resources organization chart will offer greater transparency to your employees and help you pinpoint crucial opportunities for growth within your current HR structure. If you don’t yet have one, follow our simple steps above and create yours today.
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