How to Prepare a Company Organizational Chart

Organizational charts are useful for identifying a company's structure.

Whether small or large, many businesses create and maintain organizational charts. These charts display at a glance the hierarchy in the organization's structure in a format that can be easily changed when employees come and go. There are a number of software packages that you can use to create charts. A simple and popular option is Microsoft PowerPoint.

Things You'll Need

• Microsoft PowerPoint

Instructions

1. Open Microsoft PowerPoint. A new presentation will open. The default layout for a slide includes two text boxes: one for a title, another for a subtitle. Type the name of your company in the title box.

2. Enter the department name in the "Subtitle" box, or delete it by clicking on the border of the box and pressing the "Delete" button on your keyboard.

3. Click the "Insert" menu, and then click on "Diagram." Select the organizational chart image; this will insert a chart into the slide showing two levels. In the top box, enter the name of the most senior individual in your organization. Move onto a line below by pressing the "Enter" key on your keyboard, and type in the individual's job title.

4. Type in the name of the people who report directly to the most senior staff member on the second level of the chart. To add more boxes, right-click on the last box and select "Coworker." A new box now appears.

5. Create lower levels by right-clicking on the last box on the lowest row and then clicking on "Subordinate." Another row will appear, and you can insert the names and job titles of those who report to the most senior member's subordinates.

6. Add hyperlinks to each person's name to bring up his bio or a profile, if you wish. Right-click in the text box to which you wish to add the hyperlink, and select "Hyperlink." Enter the address of the link that points to the profile of the individual.

Tips & Warnings

• If you work for a large company, it is best to split your charts into departments. This will avoid huge and potentially confusing diagrams.

References

• Microsoft: About Organization Charts