Our current director handles Finance, HR, and IT in a single combined seat on our Accountability Chart, but we are scaling and critical tasks are slipping. How do we strategically split this seat without offending this highly loyal employee?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When a business scales, combined seats eventually break down. One person simply does not have the physical or mental capacity to manage three major departments effectively. To scale smoothly, you must split this seat, but you must do it with sensitivity and clarity.

Start by looking at the business needs objectively. In a scaling company, Finance, HR, and IT are three separate disciplines that require different skill sets. Create three distinct seats on your Accountability Chart: Finance Director, HR Director, and IT Director. Define the five key roles for each.

Next, look at your loyal director. Which of these three areas do they truly GWC? Most people have a natural preference and deeper competence in one specific area, such as finance or human resources.

Hold a private meeting with them. Frame the conversation around the growth of the business and the physical limitations of any single human being. Explain that because the company is growing, you are expanding the leadership team and need dedicated focus on each department.

Ask them which of the three newly defined seats they are most passionate about and where they feel they can make the biggest impact. Once they select their primary seat, transition them into it fully.

For the other two seats, you can now begin recruiting, either internally or externally. By framing this split as a necessary business evolution and giving your loyal director the first choice of their focus area, you preserve their dignity, keep them engaged, and set the business up for scalable growth.