Organizational Structure & Management at Thomann.io

Organizational Structure

Our organizational structure is designed around clearly defined responsibilities within units. While not every unit includes all levels, we align with common structures in the industry.

Overview

Each role is responsible for the accountabilities of the next level up. Some units may add specific responsibilities depending on their context.

Role Responsibilities

Individual Contributor

• Executing assigned tasks effectively and efficiently
• Collaborating with their team members and other teams within the organization
• Reporting their progress and providing feedback on ongoing projects
• Continuously improving their skills and staying updated with industry trends
• Adhering to company policies and guidelines

Manager

• Guiding teams on functional choices
• Overseeing the value stream
• Facilitating personal growth of their team members
• Collaborating with other teams, such as product management and quality assurance
• Taking care of disciplinary matters, like salary and vacation

Director

• Sharing the organizational mission and answer questions in regard to it
• Ensuring the alignment of division objectives with the organization's overall strategy
• Managing budgets, resources, and unit leads
• Collaborating with other divisions and business units

Chief Digital Officer

• Developing and implementing a cohesive digital strategy
• Overseeing technology investments and innovation initiatives
• Ensuring cross-functional collaboration to promote digitization
• Identifying areas for digitization and automation
• Managing digital partnerships and alliances

Management

At Thomann.io, managers are essential for:

1. Making the company successful - setting goals, driving outcomes, providing expert input
2. Taking care of their people - building high-performing teams, developing individuals, supporting autonomy

Making the company successful means delivering on company goals.

A manager has to deliver results with their team. They have to set the right context for their team. The other nature of your role is being a consultant for the company; when you are an Engineering Manager, you get questions about engineering and need to be able to have or get the answers.

Taking care of their people is the other part of the role.

You can have great goals, but what are goals without a team to help work towards them? As a manager, you have to build and retain a performing team by growing individuals, fostering collaboration, and recruiting talent. Taking care also means affording the team enough freedom to do their best work.

Success and care are interdependent: results are the why, people the how. Neither thrives without the other.

We recommend a manager has no more than 8 direct reports over time to maintain trustful relationships.

Management Career Path

Manager Stage 1 Transitioning from contributor to leader: oversee daily operations, address skill gaps, and improve delivery through agile practices and structured feedback.

Manager Stage 2 Strategic leadership: shape team growth, align improvements with company direction, and adapt leadership styles across individuals and teams.

Senior Manager Lead multiple teams: balance strategy and execution, enable long-term development, and drive organization-wide initiatives.

Leadership Learning Path

To ensure our managers are well-prepared for their roles, we offer an internal leadership training program. This program consists of five modules designed to build essential leadership knowledge.

• Module 1 covers the foundations of classic management 3.0 and is currently conducted externally.
• Module 2 focuses on employee communication and team leadership, including communication essentials, practical exercises for handling difficult situations, and guidance on structuring 1:1 meetings.
• Module 3 explores the entire employee lifecycle, providing a solid understanding of attraction, recruiting, onboarding, retention, growth, and offboarding, along with relevant resources.
• Module 4 delves into labor law and HR essentials, covering key legal principles while specifically addressing the manager’s responsibilities.
• Module 5 focuses on self-management, resilience, team performance, and maturity. It provides resources, tools, and methods to help managers build high-performing teams.

Participation is expected for all managers.