Org chart examples by department (with the reporting lines that usually go wrong)

Operations Director
├── Regional Manager — North
│   ├── Crew Lead (x4)  →  Technicians (4-8 each)
│   └── Scheduler
├── Regional Manager — South
└── Safety & Compliance Manager  (dotted line to every crew lead)

The line that goes wrong: technicians recorded under the regional manager rather than their crew lead, because payroll groups them by region. The chart then shows a span of 40 where the real span is 6.

VP Sales
├── Sales Manager — SMB  →  Account Executives (x6)
├── Sales Manager — Enterprise  →  Account Executives (x3)
└── Sales Operations  (supports both, reports to VP)

The line that goes wrong: SDRs listed under marketing in payroll but managed day-to-day by a sales manager. Pick the management line, not the cost centre, and note the other relationship as a dotted line.

Controller
├── AP Specialist
├── AR Specialist
├── Payroll Administrator
└── Office Manager  (often reports to the owner in practice)

The line that goes wrong: the office manager. On paper they sit under finance; in reality they report to the owner. Record what actually happens or nobody will trust the chart.

HR Director
├── Recruiter
├── HR Generalist  →  HR Coordinator
└── Training Lead

The line that goes wrong: fractional or contract recruiters left off the chart entirely. Include them with a title that says contractor — an incomplete chart gets corrected in someone's head, not in the file.

Owner / CEO   (the only row with an empty manager column)
├── Operations Director
├── VP Sales
├── Controller
└── HR Director

The line that goes wrong: more than one person with an empty manager, which produces several disconnected trees instead of one chart. Exactly one row should be blank.

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