Why Span of Control is Important
What is span of control?
Simply put, span of control refers to the number of employees under a manager’s direct control (i.e. a manager with five direct reports has a span of control of five). When examining organisational structure, span of control is an important metric to understand. With clear visibility of this metric, decisions can be made on whether individual managers have too many or too few direct reports.
How many direct reports should a manager have?
What’s the optimal number for span of control? Consider the nature of the work of subordinates and the level of attention each requires. For example in a call center, the span of control could be over 100, while executive functions with high degrees of collaboration and interaction—can rarely tolerate more than three or four. So, the complexity of the work performed and how much oversight a role requires governs the ideal assignment of personnel to a manager and can’t be generalised for any particular industry.
An executive team structure with a ‘narrow’ span of control
A call center organisation showing a ‘wide’ span of control
Expanding on the concept of span of control
Let’s broaden our understanding of span of control in the context of the hierarchical structure of the entire organisation.
Organisations can be described in terms of width and height. Organisational structures with large spans of control are wide and those with smaller spans of control are narrow. Companies with many levels of management, or hierarchy, can be described as tall and those with fewer levels as flat.
While there are pros and cons to both tall and flat structures, a company’s structure must be designed to suit the business (customer and markets) and in a way that fits with the workforce’s capabilities.
Tall vs. flat organisational structures
Tall vs. Flat Span of Control
Typical characteristics of flat organisational structures (wide span of control)
Strengths
Weaknesses
Typical characteristics of a tall organisational structure (narrow span of control)
Strengths
Weaknesses
The best way to visualise organisational structure is with OrgChart. Whether it’s OrgChart Now (Cloud) or OrgChart Platinum (Desktop) both give the ability to automate the modelling process. As we’ve demonstrated, an organisation’s structure dictates the width of span of control assigned to managers. Selecting a tall or flat structure should depend on the business and the customers being served. Start a free trial of OrgChart today or schedule a demo with one of our experts.