For most businesses, the organizational structure grows over time. But for too many, “growth” means adding new branches and leaves to the tree. Unfortunately, this type of mentality creates an organizational structure that doesn’t benefit the customer or the organization.

The world evolves. It changes. In order to survive, so must businesses. The organizational structure that worked 30 years ago cannot possibly be effective today. The world is too different. The way customers interact with your business is too different. Processes are too different. You aren’t doing your customers, or your business, any favors by keeping your organizational structure the same.

Often, while senior leadership is easily convinced to eliminate positions, it generally is hesitant to overhaul the overall structure. The feeling commonly is – I worked my way up, so should everyone else. But very little is linear – in business, in relationships, in life. Just because you spent 30 years working from one job title to another is not reason enough to keep all of those job titles if it means that your organization is not running efficiently. A business that isn’t running efficiently affects not only your Employee Experience, but also your Customer Experience. How can you do more for your customers if you won’t let go of unnecessary steps and processes? You can’t.

Instead of holding tight to the past, uncover what you want your end product to be (both in terms of products and CX) and then work backward from there. Decide what result you want at the end, and then figure out the way to effectively and efficiently create that result.