Page : 1 of 4

Issuing date : December 2012

Version :1

SGS ORGANIZATION CHART POLICY

HUMAN RESOURCES ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN Author : Corporate HR Team

Approver : D. Ben Dhaou

1. OBJECTIVE

The primary objective of this policy is to provide clear guidelines on the process for publishing,
updating and communicating organization charts throughout SGS Group.

Organization charts are a key instrument for internal and external communication and provide a
clear image of how the company is set up and how each role fits into the overall structure. As such
they are the visual representation of our organizational design.

Organization charts are also embedded in other processes such as talent acquisition, succession
planning, job grading and evaluation, budget & planning and learning & development.

Finally they are used by different parts of the SGS Group as supporting documents. It is therefore
essential that an organization chart follows some guidelines to ensure consistent and clear
communication within the Group.

2. SCOPE

This document applies to all organization charts published at Corporate, Regional and Country
levels.
As general guidance, organization charts should be updated every time there is a change. As this
is general guidance, please use a timeline that is suitable for your operations; however all updates
must be made prior to the start of a new month.

3. REFERENCE MATERIAL

The SGS Staff Announcement Policy is used as reference material to this document.
Organization charts should be published using the corporate organization chart templates to
ensure consistency within SGS Group (Section 8).

4. GENERAL PRINCIPLES

• Human Resources is responsible for updating and communicating organization charts for SGS
Group.

• Managing Directors, country HR teams and business managers need to have at all times, in their
internet/intranet favorites the link to organization charts as they show in SGS.net:
http://sgs.net/portal/Knowledge/Pages/KNW_CRPDOC-Organization charts.aspx

 2012 SGS Société Générale de Surveillance SA - All rights reserved

 Page : 2 of 4
Issuing date : December 2012
Version :1

SGS ORGANIZATION CHART POLICY

HUMAN RESOURCES ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN Author : Corporate HR Team

Approver : D. Ben Dhaou

• New direct reports to Operations Council members joining SGS Group must be given the link to the
organization chart intranet page where organigrams are published, as well as an updated copy of
the Operations Council chart during the first days of them joining SGS.

• New employees, whether regular appointment or joining SGS through acquisitions need to know
during their first month with SGS where to find the organization charts on the intranet.

• Should organization charts be sent outside of the SGS network (e.g. customers during a business
tender process), the Adobe / .pdf version should be sent out, and not the PowerPoint /.ppt version
to avoid changes being made outside of SGS control and/or used abusively.

When organization charts are sent outside of SGS Group, the following disclaimer should be added
to the document, at the bottom of the page/slide:

“This information is the exclusive property of SGS and protected by copyright or other proprietary
rights. Nothing contained in this document may be reproduced, distributed or edited in any manner
without the express written permission of SGS.”

5. RESPONSIBILITIES

• Human Resources is responsible for updating and publishing organization charts. The head of the
organization chart is responsible for reviewing and approving the document.
It is also recommended that updates are processed by a designated member of the HR team, to
ensure there are not multiple updates being made to the document.

• Corporate HR is responsible for updating the Corporate and Regional Organization Charts, i.e.: all
Geneva global headquarters, corporate businesses, corporate functions and direct reports to the
Chief Operating Officers. The update is done on the basis of the input from corporate businesses,
functions and Regional management and can also be made based on information from corporate
staff announcements.

Corporate HR updates changes in Organization charts once per month, at the end of each month
reflecting changes which become effective the following month. Should changes to organization
charts require immediate attention, this will be done on an ad-hoc basis.

Corporate organization charts and regional charts appear automatically on the intranet home page
of the respective business or region.

• The country Human Resources manager is responsible for ensuring that the country organization
charts are kept up to date at all times. Country organization charts of the Managing Director and
his/her direct reports are posted by default on the country intranet home page. Country
organization charts can also be published on other tools as per local practice and legal needs.

 2012 SGS Société Générale de Surveillance SA - All rights reserved

 Page : 3 of 4
Issuing date : December 2012
Version :1

SGS ORGANIZATION CHART POLICY

HUMAN RESOURCES ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN Author : Corporate HR Team

Approver : D. Ben Dhaou

6. GUIDELINES FOR BUILDING AN ORGANIZATION CHART

Layout
The following data should appear on each organization chart:
• Exact title of the department/region/business/country (avoid abbreviations)
• The organization chart itself as per the corporate template (See section 8)
• The month when the organization chart becomes effective
• The SGS logo

Structure
• Organization charts should have a clear vertical and horizontal structure. They should be
easy to read and understand, and give a good visual representation of the organization at a
glance.
• The organization chart has a pyramidal shape showing the person in charge at the top.
• The complete hierarchy starts with the highest level (Chief Executive Officer if corporate
organization chart, Chief Operating Officer for a regional organization chart or a Managing
Director for a country) to the lowest.
• Within each box of the organization chart, the position title should appear on the first line,
then the name of the person, then the country where the person is located (if not obvious).

Reporting lines
• Solid line means direct reporting to the manager who sets the employee’s objectives and
manages his/her performance on a regular basis (and usually pays for the employee’s
cost).
• Dotted line means functional reporting to a manager having a stake in that person’s
performance and results, but who doesn’t bear the primary management responsibility.
• A person holding one position cannot have two solid reporting lines as it should clearly
specify who bears the responsibility of managing this person.

Temporary/interim/casual employees normally do not appear on an organization chart unless they

have a long term relationship and role with SGS Group.

7. DOCUMENT UPDATE & SAFEKEEPING

If required, the Company can modify and update this policy and guideline as it sees fit.
This policy and its guidelines are under the safekeeping of Corporate HR and are shared on the
Corporate HR intranet for all to use as reference.
No updates should be made to this document without obtaining prior approval from the Human
Resources Senior Vice President.

 2012 SGS Société Générale de Surveillance SA - All rights reserved

 Page : 4 of 4
Issuing date : December 2012
Version :1

SGS ORGANIZATION CHART POLICY

HUMAN RESOURCES ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN Author : Corporate HR Team

Approver : D. Ben Dhaou

8. ATTACHMENTS

• Template—Country Organization chart

• Template—Corporate Business Organization chart
• Template—Regional Organization chart

 2012 SGS Société Générale de Surveillance SA - All rights reserved