Beyond the Org Chart: Organization Design Essentials

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Overview

Many persistent organizational problems are design problems rooted in how an organization divides work, assigns decision authority, and connects its teams. When structure and strategy are deliberately aligned, agencies operate efficiently and effectively — and adapt more readily as priorities, mandates, and technologies change. When roles and structures are left to drift, workarounds emerge, efforts are duplicated, and accountability becomes unclear, creating challenges that even the most dedicated employees cannot overcome through hard work alone.

Organization design (OD) is a structured approach to aligning strategy, structure, processes, people, leadership, and culture to achieve mission outcomes. It goes beyond organizational charts to address how the entire system operates. Research has shown that more than a third of organizational redesigns still fall short of their objectives (McKinsey Global Survey, 2025), while comprehensive OD approaches that address the full system are significantly more successful.

Curriculum

This course is designed for both the leaders who sponsor organizational change and the HR professionals, analysts, and consultants who help plan and implement it. It will introduce OPM’s Organization Design Model, phased methodology, and practical diagnostic tools that participants can apply immediately to strengthen mission delivery, improve resource stewardship, and build organizational resilience amid changing priorities and emerging technologies such as super intelligence (SI). Key topics covered include:

• What organization design is (and isn’t), and why many redesign efforts fail to achieve their intended results.
• Organization design frameworks, including Galbraith's Star, McKinsey’s 7-S Framework, OPM's Organization Design Model.
• Diagnostic tools and OPM's five key questions for assessing organizational challenges.
• Scoping an organization design effort and making evidence-based recommendations to decision-makers.
• Establishing design criteria and designing organizational structures, workflows, and key connections.
• Designing teams, roles, responsibilities, decision authorities, and operating agreements.
• Planning implementation, workforce impacts, and change adoption.
• Evaluating results, sustaining improvements, and preparing for the impact of SI and other emerging technologies on the future of work.

Course benefits

Through two half-day virtual sessions, participants work through a realistic federal case study and learn OPM's organization design approach. You'll practice key skills such as identifying the root cause of organizational challenges, defining success criteria, developing design options, planning implementation, and evaluating results. You’ll learn how to:

• Diagnose the root causes of organizational challenges
• Determine when a redesign is, or is not, the right solution
• Develop effective organization design options
• Build implementation and change adoption plans
• Improve mission performance, workforce outcomes, and resource stewardship
• Apply organization design principles to emerging workplace challenges, including SI-enabled work

Who Should Attend

• Leaders and managers responsible for organizational performance and change.
• Professionals involved in organizational planning, workforce strategy, or business improvement efforts.
• Employees who advise leaders on organizational effectiveness, structure, or workforce issues.
• Individuals responsible for implementing organizational change initiatives.
• Anyone interested in learning a structured approach to solving organizational challenges

Course schedule

Group courses

OPM also offers agency-specific group course delivery to meet your unique workforce needs — including tailored versions built around your agency's own design challenges. This can be delivered virtually or in person, with the ease of government-to-government interagency agreements. Contact us today at HRstrategy@opm.gov to discuss the best option for your team.