Organizational design plays a fundamental role in growth – one that’s easy to overlook when you’re moving fast. It shapes how decisions are made, how work gets done, and how a business evolves. If structure is misaligned with strategy, your ceiling for growth may be lower than you think. Industry leaders – including some of your competitors – take a deliberate, proactive approach in building organizational structures that go beyond names and job titles to reflect how their businesses operate, grow, and adapt. The answers aren’t always straightforward, but the process can be.

Identify Structural Roadblocks

Before you can design a future-facing organization, you need to understand your current state. Many leadership teams operate under the assumption that their structure is “working well enough” – until they reach a point where growth begins to outpace it. The industry has changed dramatically since Covid, but legacy thinking and structures continue to hamper the agility and innovation necessary to keep moving a brand forward.

One of the first things to examine is how leadership responsibilities are distributed. One executive might manage eight or nine direct reports, while another oversees two. An imbalance can lead to inefficiencies in decision-making and coordination, which become more noticeable as complexity increases.

It’s also important to consider whether the organizational structure still reflects where the business is headed. Leadership might be strong, but if people are working within a framework built for a smaller, less dynamic company, it can slow progress. Growth-focused businesses hire not just for current capabilities, but for future adaptability. That includes broadening the lens on what strong leadership looks like and welcoming new perspectives.

In some cases, the structure may only need a few adjustments. In others, it may require deeper evaluation. That’s where parallel and cross-vertical comparisons enter the picture.

Benchmark for Strategic Advantage

Most organizations are built around similar core functions like sales, marketing, operations, finance, and technology. But how companies structure and invest in those areas varies widely. If peer businesses allocate 12% of their workforce to sales and you’re at 5%, that contrast could signal a structural gap.

Benchmarking isn’t a cheat sheet to simply copy industry leaders. It’s a process of understanding the strategic decisions behind their organizational structures and applying those insights in a way that fits your business model, growth goals, and market dynamics.

For example, a global athletic brand sought DHR’s assistance in re-evaluating how its merchandising and technology functions were structured as the company approached a pivotal milestone in scaling. Internally, it was believed that applying an innovation-first mindset to how these functions operated would unlock additional growth.

One company reviewed during the benchmarking process – a leader in premium apparel – integrated technology and data into every business decision. Another – a digitally native retailer – designed its entire structure for seamless physical and digital integration. A third, though smaller in size but bold in brand identity, stood out for its agile marketing function, allowing it to respond quickly to consumer trends and generate real-time demand.

The exercise revealed the athletic brand’s structure was strong on legacy, but too rigid to keep pace with modern demand. Benchmarking brought key differences into focus and challenged long-held assumptions, including from where they hired talent. This prompted a larger conversation about what the brand needed to do to achieve its commitments and meet its future revenue goals.

Effective benchmarking isn’t limited to your industry. Some of the most valuable comparisons come from adjacent or even unrelated sectors. Looking beyond the obvious peer set can spark innovative operating models that help shape a more forward-thinking organization.

Build for Tomorrow

Once benchmarking reveals the gaps, the next step is to define a future-state organizational structure that aligns with business strategy. That often means reverse-engineering the leadership capabilities, talent mix, and structural agility needed to reach the next level.

Take the case of a high-growth consumer brand that scaled rapidly through influencer-driven marketing. After reaching $100 million in revenue, the company recognized that its leadership team lacked functional expertise beyond digital marketing. While that model worked in the early stages, sustaining growth required a more well-rounded executive team – especially in areas like supply chain, product management, and finance.

By benchmarking against companies at the $100 million and $300 million stages, the brand created a clear road map for leadership evolution. The insights highlighted the need for a stronger chief financial officer, the addition of a chief brand officer, and the introduction of a chief technology officer. These key hires helped transform the business from an influencer-driven startup into a scalable, operationally sound brand.

By examining how benchmark companies were approaching technology and merchandising, the athletic brand began to realize their hiring and selection of key executives was overly conventional and relied on hiring executives from similar roles within competitors. The benchmarking highlighted the benefits of hiring outside the sector, bringing fresh thinking and operational excellence not typically found in the sportswear industry. For example, one benchmark brand was significantly more advanced in technology implementation, including investments into augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) start-ups that translated into retail technology that increased online and in-store revenue. They had achieved this by hiring executives from fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and technology companies.

The benchmarking also built a strong case to examine the potential impact of regional merchandising teams on localizing product and range assortments for markets outside the US. Having on-the-ground teams deeply engaged with the local consumer demonstrated a big uplift in sell-throughs and better availability. DHR illustrated how one benchmark company had created five global markets, with Mainland China being a stand-alone territory worth more than $1 billion.

Turn Plans Into Action

A future-state organizational chart only delivers measurable value when it’s put into action. Implementation is where the blueprint becomes reality.

A global fashion brand, for example, had a clear path for growth but lacked the succession depth and structural flexibility in all regions to continue its success in the market. One of the first steps was adding a senior leader to oversee three key international markets – an adjustment that provided immediate support while also building long-term strength in the company’s leadership pipeline. The brand also introduced a hybrid digital transformation and e-commerce leader in a region to bridge functional and commercial priorities in a fast-growing market. The targeted moves created clarity and capacity where they were needed most.

Implementing a new organizational structure doesn’t need to happen at once. The most successful transformations often occur in stages, with check-in points built into the plan to assess what’s working best.

Overcome Internal Blind Spots

Organizational design is a growth strategy in the making. The businesses that treat it as such are often the ones that outperform their competitors. They also recognize that organizational design is an ongoing priority that evolves alongside the business.

The process requires time, critical thinking, and an investigative approach. Benchmarking, in particular, involves deep conversations, careful analysis, and the ability to connect the dots to understand why certain models succeed in specific contexts. That level of insight is difficult to achieve internally, which is why many companies turn to outside consultants who bring objectivity and access to cross-industry expertise. With the right partner, you can gain the clarity, perspective, and actionable insights needed to design an organization that’s built for sustained success.

To learn more about how DHR can help you position your organization for success and future growth, contact us.