How to Create an Org Chart

Using an organization chart can help visualize a management structure.

An org chart, or organization chart, is similar to a family tree except that it shows the structure of an organization instead of a family. It usually includes the departments in the organization, the employees that work in them and their reporting responsibilities with the management of the organization. Org charts can be created by hand, but this can be hard work and very time consuming, or by using computer software.

Instructions

1. Writing on a sheet of paper the name of the person in charge of the organization, his job title and any additional information such as a telephone extension. Underneath, write the names and details of everybody who reports to that person. Continue by recording the names and details of everyone in the organization and the person to whom they report. This helps you visualize the management hierarchy and will establish whether the diagram will fit on a single page.

2. Start a new page and draw a rectangle with a heavy border and a drop shadow at the top to represent the person in charge. Enter the person's name and details into it. If you are doing it electronically, start with a rectangular manager shape and add text to it. Draw a horizontal line drawn beneath the first shape and connect the shape to it with a vertical line.

3. Add another row of rectangles with heavy borders but no shadows under the horizontal line to represent the senior management tier and fill in the names and details for each person. Connect each shape to the horizontal line above and make sure there is enough room to add enough additional shapes under each one.

4. Draw additional rectangles with lighter borders to represent the remaining positions in the organization. Connect each shape to the one above with horizontal and vertical lines and add shapes representing the next level underneath them. Enter names and details in each shape.

5. Place shapes that represent subordinate positions below their superior shape, but make sure that shapes for positions of equal status are placed on the same level and connected by horizontal lines. Connecting lines can include right angles to help the shapes fit on the page. Shapes that refer to individuals who belong to the same team or report to the same manager can be enclosed in a dashed outline to indicate their grouping.

6. Add continuation sheets if the diagram is too big to fit on one page and use linking shapes to indicate that the diagram extends to other pages. Adding color coding to department or position shapes helps to visually segregate them.

Tips & Warnings

• Some diagramming software packages used to create an organization chart feature an import wizard that allows data saved in another format, for example a spreadsheet, to be imported directly and converted to an organization chart. An advantage in this approach is that the organization chart will update if the underlying data changes.

• Organization charts can become very large. Calculate the amount of data you need to display before starting the diagram's construction. Popular diagramming software allows you to link multiple pages together so that in a large organization you could display separate departments on individual pages and link them to a central page that represents the entire organization.

References

• Investorwords: Organizational Chart
• The Free Dictionary: Organization Chart

Resources

• Free Management Library: Guidelines for Organizational Design