Scaling a business: when roles and responsibilities begin to break down

Some companies grow without realising that their previous ways of working are no longer sustainable. At first, things still get done: clients are served, deadlines are met, and the founder can still step in when something gets stuck. This is precisely what makes the problem difficult to see.

Signs of a structure under strain

Then the signs begin to appear. A decision passes through too many hands; two colleagues are convinced they are both responsible for the same task; a new hire discovers their role on paper does not match what they have the authority to decide. The founder remains involved in operational matters they thought they had already delegated, and long-standing employees become the go-to for every exception.

At this stage, the temptation is often to add a procedure or redraw the organisation chart. This can help, but it is rarely enough. First, it is necessary to understand where responsibility truly lies: who decides, who executes, who must be informed, and which steps exist only because ‘that’s how it’s always been done’.

Power dynamics and long-standing employees

The most delicate part concerns these dynamics. Those who joined the company at the beginning have often carved out a scope for themselves over time that is much broader than their formal role. Growth brings specialists, managers and new functions. Some activities change ownership, and not everyone experiences this transition in the same way. If the founder tries to structure the organisation without genuinely altering these dynamics, the new arrangement will exist only on paper.

The employment relationship must be realigned

There is also a second aspect that should not be deferred: the employment relationship itself. If a person’s duties and responsibilities, autonomy or the weight of their role genuinely change, it is important to verify that their contractual level (livello, the grading scale set by the applicable national collective bargaining agreement or CCNL), remuneration, any variable pay, and documentation are all consistent with what the organisation is asking of them.

Which question to start with

This is why an effective reorganisation does not necessarily start with the organisation chart. It starts with a more concrete question: which decisions currently lack a clear owner, or keep coming back to the same few people?

From that starting point, it becomes possible to redesign roles and processes realistically, avoiding the creation of a formally ordered structure that in practice continues to operate as before.

To connect these signs to choices about decisions, people and processes, our guide on how to organise a growing company offers a comprehensive overview, including a self-assessment of how the business truly operates.