The 3-Step Test to See if Your Digital Org Chart is Working

Most digital teams get built one hire at a time. Someone takes over Amazon. Later, someone else owns DTC, then paid media, then analytics. Each hire made was necessary to fill a gap in the moment. But nobody designed how all four functions would work together. The result is an accidental org chart where digital leaders operate as isolated fiefdoms, forcing the CMO to act as the bridge between them.

When the VP of Amazon at our client, a wellness brand, unexpectedly left, a closer look at the org chart exposed a critical issue: DTC, paid media, and analytics all reported directly to the CMO. No single leader connected the four pillars. Simply filling the vacancy would have reinforced the siloed structure and continued to overextend the CMO. Instead, the client needed a structural change: appointing one leader to oversee all four digital functions.

“When our client called us to address this sudden departure, our first step wasn’t to pull resumes,” said Eva Scofield, Client Strategy Director at ForceBrands. “We started by reviewing the reporting structure and how the role had evolved. In doing this, we found a workforce architecture challenge that wouldn’t be solved by simply replacing the former employee with a similar profile. In this case, our client needed both a replacement and a leader to unify the digital strategy for the next phase of growth, based on where their brand was heading, versus when the role was originally established.”

Before you treat a key digital departure as a simple replacement search, run the team org chart through this three-part diagnostic framework to ensure your talent strategy matches your growth plan:

Part 1: How many people report directly to your CMO or VP of Marketing right now?

Write down every name. How many people leaders can effectively manage depends on how different their jobs are. When direct reports do similar work, a manager can often oversee 10 or more people because coaching and decision-making patterns repeat. But when direct reports handle very different functions, the effective span of control drops to three to seven.

In our client’s case, oversight of Amazon, DTC, paid media, and analytics covered four distinct operational areas, each with its own platforms, key metrics, vendor relationships, and risk profiles. When all four report directly to a CMO, that executive is managing four separate tactical areas, pulling focus from broader strategic responsibilities.

Eva explains why evaluating span of control matters: “This is a common challenge at fast-growing consumer brands. We consistently see CMOs stretched thin. When an executive goes straight from analyzing retail trade margins in one meeting to reviewing performance marketing metrics in the next, they end up spending all their energy managing daily traffic instead of driving long-term marketing strategy.”

Part 2: When a key digital team member departs, do you pressure test assumptions about what they managed?

Job descriptions are written on day one and rarely updated. But as a company scales, people naturally absorb the responsibilities that come with that growth.

To illustrate how this shows up in practice, Eva says, “We recently worked with a growing consumer brand where the job description on file just listed basic channel management. But over three years, the person had taken on full P&L ownership, retail partner negotiations, and promo planning. If the founder had just reposted the old job spec, they would have hired a mid-level manager for what was actually a Director-level job with pivotal decision-making authority.”

Before initiating a search, audit what the person has been managing over the last six months to ensure you are hiring for today's operational reality while keeping an eye on tomorrow's growth.

Part 3: Is the digital role you’re replacing matched to the stage of the business?

As Eva points out, “Teams don't scale on a smooth curve. They get rebuilt at specific revenue thresholds.” Early on, a company relies on a few generalists who wear multiple hats. But once revenue reaches eight figures, that scrappy setup stops working. When every channel needs dedicated, full-time attention, holding on to an outdated structure slows decision-making and stalls growth.

At scaling consumer brands, where everyone is hyperfocused on milestones, losing a key digital leader creates immediate pressure. The default move is to dust off the job description and post quickly to replace them. But if recent digital hires have felt reactive, it may be a sign to examine the structure so that your talent strategy aligns with reality and tomorrow’s goals. Let’s talk about how your team is set up and map out what comes next.