How to decide what your departments should be

Departments are the single most consequential setup decision. Here is how to get them right the first time.

The rule

A department should exist when a different group of people answers that kind of question. Not when the question is merely different. If the same two people answer both billing and technical queries, you have one department, not two.

Common structures that work

Small business (3–8 staff): Support, Sales. That is usually it.

Hosting or IT (8–20 staff): Technical, Billing, Sales, Abuse.

Education: Admissions, Accounts, Academics, IT.

Manufacturing: Sales, Service & Warranty, Spares, Accounts.

Signs you got it wrong

Tickets are constantly transferred between two departments — merge them. One department has 90% of the volume — split it by category first and only then by department. A department has one member and they are also in three others — you have made groups, not departments.

Changing later

Departments can be renamed, merged and reassigned at any time without losing history. Every transfer is recorded on the ticket timeline, so restructuring is safe.