I read a lot of HR blogs that talk about alternative reporting structures. It’s good to see that with HumanConcept’s latest release the features in the technology are keeping track with shifting business norms.

The best way to understand it is to show it in action – so here we go:

Auxiliary Reports and The Beatles

Start with a simple data file. Here we have five (famous) employees. Note the auxiliary reporting relationship defined in AuxReportsTo.

A simple import produces a chart like the one below. Note the dotted line – OrgPlus has automatically recognised the hierarchy in AuxReportsTo.

Too Easy, but potentially very useful for managing complex relationships… Time to get even more complex.

Auxiliary Reports and Matrix Organisations

The new auxiliary reporting features can be used to build almost any chart direct from your data set. An ambitious example is a matrix organisation, where employees report up to their head of department, but also report to their project head.

New to matrix organisations? Read more here.

Again we start with a data file, this one more complex. Note the AuxReportsTo column, Departments and Projects. Our matrix organisation has department leaders, project leaders, and a number of employees who report to both.

See Jim Turner for example, an IT consultant in Project Alpha he reports to both Simon Dugas (Senior Consultant) and also George Creston (Project Leader on Project Alpha).

Complex? No worries! An import, some chart rules and conditional formats later, and we have this chart which explains it all easily.

Every employee reports up and left to their managers. Your matrix is decipherable at a glance.

Does your organisation have some complex relationships? Tell us your examples below…

Or if you’re interested in seeing how our Matrix chart was made, click through to page 2.

While text-heavy organisational charts will give you what you are after, they are often hard to analyse at a glance.

Mapped fields allow you to replace text on your org chart with images. This will increase the legibility of your chart, which makes it easy to identify employees who meet certain criteria, without having to study each box in depth.

In this example we will show you how to increase the legibility of an org chart by replacing two text fields with images. The fields are:

• Rating Trend – This field shows whether the person has increased or decreased their rating over the last year.  The values will be replaced with images of arrows pointing up or down depending on their rating trend.

Eg. 

• Rating – This field shows the persons current rating which will contain values from Significantly Below target to Significantly Above target.  The values will be replaced with a meter.

Eg. 

Below is a text heavy chart that we are going to modify to allow users to visualize the data.

Create the Rating Trend using Mapped Field

Starting with the above chart, we will remove the text fields and replace them with images, making the chart easier to read.  To do this we are going to replace the field Rating Trend with the following images:

Where the rating trend has gone up from the previous year

Where the rating trend has gone down from the previous year

Where the rating trend remained the same from the previous year

To create a mapped field go to Data -> Define Fields and click Add Mapped Field. A new field will appear at the bottom of the list which you will be able to name and set the type to Picture.

Next we have to create the mapping between the values in Rating Trend and the images we want to assign to them.  To do this click the field in the Options column and the Mapping screen will appear.

Choose the field you want to map the images to in the drop down box at the top of the screen called Map Using, in this case we will use the field Rating Trend.

To add mapping, click the Add button and choose the value of the field you want to map from in the Value column.  Then choose the image you want to map to by clicking in the column Maps To and browsing to where the images are saved.

Repeat this step for all the different values you have for the field.

Once you have mapped all the values for the field, simply add it to the boxes in the chart or a profile like you would any other other field and the image will appear.

Create the Rating Meter using Mapped Field

Instead of showing the Rating field as text, we can display it as a meter, Eg. .  This is also done using mapped fields and the following images.
Where the rating is Significantly Below Target
Where the rating is Below Target
Where the rating is On Target
Where the rating is Above Target
Where the rating is Significantly Above Target

To create a meter for the rating, follow the same steps as for Rating Trend to create a mapped field except this time map using the field Rating and link to the meter images

Once you have mapped all the values for the field simply add it to the boxes in the chart or a profile and the meter will appear.

Conclusion

Mapped fields can be used to show anything from flags to represent country of origin, to symbols for gender, employee type, or anything else you can think of.  All that is needed is a field that has some standard values and some images to map to. OrgPlus comes standard with a whole library full of commonly-used images.

By using mapped fields rather than text fields, charts can contain more information and allow for data to be more easily identified at a glance – which ultimately makes your workforce planning faster and easier.

If you’d like help setting up mapped fields on your org chart, give us a call at Navigo in Melbourne on 03 9879 4060.

This is where OrgPlus Premium comes in.  OrgPlus Premium, the latest release in the OrgPlus Desktop product suite, assists with this issue by tracking changes you make to your organisational charts.  Each change is recorded as it happens, appearing on the Track Changes panel.

Once you’ve finished remodelling your organisation you can use the Track Changes functionality to manage the actual change; create Personnel Action Notices, export a summary of the changes, send the chart to management for approval plus many more options.

To track your changes in OrgPlus Premium:

1. Click on the Show Track Changes icon on the toolbar at the bottom of your screen.
   
   NOTE: This icon will only be available if you have purchased OrgPlus Premium
2. Click on Start tracking Changes text in the middle of the panel
   
   
3. This will open the Track Changes panel, which shows you all of the changes you have made to the chart
   
4. Using the toolbar on the left hand side you can add, relocated and remove subordinates, managers, co-workers and assistants as required.
   
   Each change will appear in your Track Changes panel on the right hand side in real time.

   

5. Once you have made all of the required changes you can then perform the following actions:
   1. Accept the changes in the chart
   2. Reject the changes in the chart
   3. Export a summary of all of the changes
   4. Print a copy of the changes
   5. Create Personnel Action Notices for all/some of the changes

This functionality is not only useful to keep track of all the changes you have made but it can also assist in actioning the required changes.

Other ideas to assist with organisational restructures:

• Create some formulas to calculate the Total Salary, Total Headcount & Total Full Time Equivalent for the entire chart and add this information to your summary, watch these values automatically update as you model your re-structure changes.
• Create some formulas to calculate Salary Rollup, Headcount Rollup & Full Time Equivalent Rollup for the current box and its branch and add this information to your boxes or profiles, watch these values automatically update as you model your re-structure changes.
• Use conditional formats to highlight staff performing below average and use this information to deliver a more “targeted” restructure.

For more information on the track changes functionality, or to ask about upgrading your Professional license to a Premium license,  feel free to call me (Belinda) on +61 3 9879 4060.

After the chaotic cutting of the latest recession, many employers are looking at workforce planning software to provide more stability in meeting both their short and long-term talent needs.

Read more in this great whitepaper, re-published with permission from Workforce Management.

Download the PDF

One question I’m often asked during Account Management Meetings with clients is “how can OrgPlus help my organisation identify Baby Boomers easily so we can proactively plan for their retirement by transferring skills and knowledge to Gen-X and Gen-Y staff before they leave?”

The answer is simple, and easy to implement – create an organisational chart using formatting to highlight where the Baby Boomers, Gen-X and Gen-Y staff sit within your organisation.

Implementing this type of chart will provide you with a top down view of each department within your organisation highlighting the Baby Boomers and the Gen-X and Gen-Y staff that work around them. From here you can easily identify the staff who work closest to the Baby Boomers and then pro-actively put a knowledge transfer plan in place or identify if new staff are required.  Simple!

This can be achieved by creating conditional formats in OrgPlus:

First we’ll format a base chart, then we’ll overwrite parts of that with conditional formatting. For convenience, our base chart will be baby boomers.

Step 1: Creating the box properties for the Baby Boomers

1. Right click on any box in your chart -> Box Properties..
2. Select the Box Layout tab
3. Add a new Text Box and add the text BOOMER



4. Ensure that you have the box styled the way you wish the Baby Boomers to appear
5. Click OK

Step 2: Create a conditional format for the GEN-X staff

1. Go to Format -> Conditional Formatting…
2. Click on Add… to create a new conditional format called GEN X
3. Create a condition so that their Date of Birth is after 1/01/1978 and their Date of Birth is before 31/12/1964



4. Click OK
5. Click on Format Box
6. Change the color of the box and the text so that it stands out compared to the Baby Boomers
7. Click on the Box Layout tab
8. Change the BOOMER text to be GEN-X



9. Click OK

Step 3: Create a conditional format for the GEN-Y staff

1. Go to Format -> Conditional Formatting…
2. Click on Add… to create a new conditional format called GEN Y
3. Create a condition so that their Date of Birth is after 31/12/1977



4. Click OK
5. Click on Format Box
6. Change the color of the box and the text so that it stands out compared to the Baby Boomers and GEN X
7. Click on the Box Layout tab
8. Change the BOOMER text to be GEN-Y



9. Click OK

Now you should be able to clearly see where all of the Baby Boomers in your company are and manage succession planning accordingly!

For more information on this chart feel free to call me (Belinda) on +61 3 9879 4060

Note: Date of Birth must be stored within your data extract.

Today’s OrgPlus Tip shows you how to use conditional profile formats, with a real-life example.

Vacant Profiles for Vacant Positions

Take a look at our sample organisation below: The marketing manager has left.

Highlighted vacancies on the org chart

A conditional format called “Vacant” has been set up to highlight this position: The conditional format uses the condition “Full-Name is equal to Vacant”, and formats these boxes in Red.

Conditional format to display vacancies on the org chart

A good solution, however what about the Profile tab? This organisation view displays detailed profiles – Yours may be more detailed still. For vacant positions, these will be empty (or maybe contain incorrect information!). In a perfect solution these would be hidden from view, so using profile conditional formats that’s what we’ll do.

Vacant profiles are messy unless treated

1. Click the “Edit Current Profile” button (located above the profile tab)
2. Click the “Conditions…” button (located under “Selected Fields”)

Since the chart already has a condition set to highlight vacancies on the org chart, we can use this same condition for vacancies on the profile.

3. Select the conditional format “Vacant” on the left to activate it for the Profile tab

Click Edit Current Profile; then Conditions... to access Profile Conditional Formats

4. Click the “Format Fields” button
5. Select the fields you want to hide (in this instance all except Full Name)

Select the fields to hide

6. Click the “Advanced” tab
7. Select “Hide Field” (if multiple fields are selected you may need to click twice in order to select it), then click “OK”

Click Advanced and select Hide Field

SUCCESS! Click “OK” in all open windows and you’re done: You have a perfect Vacant Position organisation chart. When any vacant profile is viewed, only Full Name is shown; all other profile details are hidden.

SUCCESS! Your vacant position on the org chart now has a vacant profile

Other uses

There are many other uses for profile conditional formats, this is just one. Profile formats are nearly as extensible as the conditional formats on your organisation view.

Consider changing the font, colour, alignment, or adding labels to the profiles of people with particular information. Try these ideas out on your own charts, and if you discover a particularly exciting use for this feature, please come back and share your findings as a comment below.

Introduction

When we think of organisation charts, the delivery of analytical and metric information is not the first thing that comes to mind. Instead, we think of one or two page hierarchical charts used to view the reporting structure of a department or two. Usually these charts are in PowerPoint, Visio or similar format. By centralising such information and combining hierarchical data from all departments, many HR and HRIS practitioners are finding that centralised, Web-based organisation charts can deliver value far exceeding traditional expectations.

Many workforce analytics and scorecard systems can cost well in excess of US$4 million and take longer than 18 months to implement. Even with this investment, organisations are frequently left with unfulfilled expectations. For a modest amount of this cost, organisations can achieve a generous percentage of the original goals established for many workforce analytics and scorecard systems. By using a centralised, Web-based organisation charting platform as both a user interface and secure delivery vehicle, they can accomplish many key goals without such an elaborate investment.

The same charts used to visualise supervisory reporting structures at a departmental level can become a convenient launch platform for the delivery of many functions. These include simple reporting, critical data visualisation, organisational modeling, data validation and much more. Many enterprises are finding that Web-based organisation charts provide an effective platform for the delivery and visualisation of analytical data, metrics and organisational information in all forms.

As the structure of the global economy continues to take hold, the sheer complexity of the modern enterprise presents serious management challenges. In order to remain competitive in this environment, an unprecedented level of accuracy is required for a large variety of organisational information. There is no better way to correct inaccuracies than to conveniently and securely expose them to the people with a vested interest in their correction.

Using the unique features of centralised Web-based organisation charting, information can be easily and securely accessed by anyone in the enterprise via the use of just a Web browser and a click on a standard URL Web link. Further, by creating a single centralised platform for enterprise-level organisational charts, implementers create an unprecedented environment for growth, visualisation and accuracy. This strengthens an organisation’s ability to remain competitive in the economic environment of today and beyond.

We do not have to look far to see why this concept works so well. Most often HR analytics and metrics provide information about two things — individuals and organisations. Even when metrics are about individuals, they are best viewed in comparison to an individual’s peers. Additionally, there is not a better place to view organisational metrics than in context with the organisational hierarchy. This natural interface entices even the shortest executive attention span to take a closer look to visualise with a level of accuracy not possible with less intuitive interfaces.

Let’s look at a few simple examples…

OrgPlus voted Best HR Product 2008

HumanConcepts’ OrgPlus Enterprise Blueprint Collaborative Workforce Planning Solution Selected for Coveted Award by Human Resources Industry Experts

HumanConcepts today announced that OrgPlus Enterprise Blueprint, its new Web 2.0, collaborative workforce planning solution for HR professionals and line managers, has been named as one of the “Top 10 HR Products of the Year” by Human Resource Executive® magazine. OrgPlus Enterprise Blueprint is recognised for ease-of-use, innovation and value because it enables HR professionals to proactively model the impact of workforce change spurred by transitions, growth, reorganisations or company mergers.

“Human Resource Executive® has been evaluating HR products and conducting this competition for 20 years,” explained David Shadovitz, editor in chief of Human Resource Executive magazine. “Our goal has always been to identify products and services that clearly offer value to the HR community while demonstrating innovation. With OrgPlus Enterprise Blueprint, we were impressed how the solution easily creates “what if” scenarios to model workforce changes with others in a Web 2.0 environment.”

“We selected HumanConcepts’ OrgPlus Enterprise Blueprint to give us visibility into the impact of workforce changes as we entered into the reorganisation and merger phases of two large departments at the university,” commented Ana Zavaleta, HRIS Manager, University of Southern California. “The solution enabled us to model scenarios and gain clarity into our best options before embarking on significant changes, which saved us time and money and smoothed the entire reorg process.”

“We are excited about receiving this prestigious award from Human Resource Executive magazine,” said Martin Sacks, CEO, HumanConcepts. “The award affirms our vision behind OrgPlus Enterprise Blueprint. Our customers need a way to easily plan and collaborate around workforce changes, to do compensation planning, and to efficiently share results. OrgPlus Enterprise Blueprint drastically reduces the time it takes for our customers to plan, reorganise or to merge organisations, enabling them to quickly realise the business benefits resulting from change.”

The HR Executive award