In today’s dynamic work environment, organizations face the constant challenge of keeping teams aligned, informed, and connected—especially with remote and hybrid work models becoming the norm. Understanding “who’s who” within an organization is no longer just an HR function—it’s essential for collaboration, productivity, and onboarding.
At this point, an org chart in SharePoint becomes extremely useful.
What Is a SharePoint Org Chart?
A SharePoint org chart is a visual representation of the hierarchy within an organization, often created using data stored in SharePoint lists or user profiles. It aids users in comprehending departmental, team, and role structures by displaying the reporting relationships among employees.
Unlike traditional static documents, current Microsoft organization charts in SharePoint are dynamic, interactive, and automatically updated when employee data changes.
Why Do Organizations Need an Org Chart?
For enterprises using Microsoft 365, an org chart in SharePoint serves multiple purposes:
- Collaboration: Makes it possible for staff members to interact with the appropriate individuals from various departments and teams.
- Transparency: Makes internal structures clear and accessible.
- Onboarding: Helps new employees get up to speed by showing them who does what.
- Efficiency: Reduces the need for HR or managers to explain reporting structures repeatedly.
Whether you’re a budding startup or a big corporation, having a live, accessible Microsoft org chart is now considered a recommended practice in digital workplaces.
How to Create an Org Chart from SharePoint List?
Making an org chart from SharePoint list data is the most effective approach. A custom list can be created using columns like as:
- Employee Name
- Title
- Manager Name (or Manager ID)
- Department
Once your list is organized, you can view it as an organizational chart using a SharePoint web part. This solution ensures that the chart gets updated as employee records are edited.
Benefits of having a SharePoint org chart for your organization:
A SharePoint organizational chart has the following advantages for your company:
Outlining responsibilities and roles
An Office 365 organizational chart helps staff members understand their rights and duties. New hires get to know their departments and reporting managers.
This aids in their comprehension of the roles that are expected of them. Even current employees are quite aware of their duties and responsibilities.
Reorganizing
Any corporation, no matter how big or little, will eventually have to restructure or reorganize its teams.
An org chart in SharePoint is a smooth method for expanding companies to determine how to combine smaller teams into larger ones for increased productivity and improved management.
Additionally, it provides a rapid overview of which department has more resources and can be transferred to other teams according to project requirements and staff talents.
Outlining the structure for reporting
The hierarchy or rating of every team member is shown in a standard Office 365 organizational chart. It establishes the Head, the teams that report to them, and the reporting managers.
It outlines how tasks like supervision, coordination, and task delegation are focused on achieving corporate objectives.
Workers are able to identify who to report or seek assistance from and can assess whether they are on par with, below, or above their teammates in terms of rank.
Resource planning
Determining where a team could require more resources is not always simple. Simply listening to a team lead or one member should not result in the addition of more members.
An organization can quickly identify resource gaps that cannot be filled with other qualified resources if it has a clear Office 365 organizational hierarchy.
Any individual who works under numerous leads or is visible in multiple departments would require extra assistance.
The same is true if a manager appears more than once in the organizational hierarchy. On the other hand, if businesses choose to reduce their resource expenses, they can also prepare a successful plan for terminating additional staff.
Visualizing remote teams or multi-location teams
Many companies have many locations and are geographically distributed. This can make it difficult to see the composition of teams, such as the duration of team members, responsibilities, and current projects.
Business executives can add additional information to modern Office 365 organizational charts, allowing others to see the geographic distribution of teams throughout the company.
Decision-makers are better equipped to make well-informed choices when they have access to more information.
By being able to see how their teams are divided, where skills lie, which projects are in flight, and which resources are devoted to them, leaders have the transparency they need.
Things to Consider When Setting Up
Before adding an org chart to your SharePoint site, keep these points in mind:
- Data Accuracy: Make sure your SharePoint list is up-to-date.
- Permissions: Control who can view or edit the chart.
- Design: Match the chart layout to your intranet’s design language.
- Scalability: Consider future growth and how easily the chart can evolve.
With the right planning, a Microsoft org chart in SharePoint can become a reliable tool for HR, team leads, and employees alike.
Limitations of Default Microsoft Organization Chart Options
While Microsoft 365 offers some basic views of organizational structures via Delve and Teams, these are often limited in functionality and customization. These views don’t allow for complex filtering, custom layouts, or integration into dedicated intranet pages.
To address these gaps, many organizations turn to third-party solutions that offer more flexibility for managing a SharePoint org chart.
Introducing the Organization Tree Web Part
If you’re looking for a robust yet user-friendly way to create an org chart from SharePoint list data, the Organization Tree Web Part by ProApps365 is worth exploring.
This web part is built specifically for SharePoint Online and Microsoft 365 users. It allows you to:
- Display a fully interactive Microsoft org chart
- Customize layouts to fit your intranet design
- Integrate with existing SharePoint lists or Microsoft 365 user profiles
- Enable quick navigation and search through your organization
It’s designed to be easy to configure, highly responsive, and ideal for enterprises that want a visually engaging way to present their team structures.
Final Thoughts
In an era where organizational agility and clear communication are critical, a well-designed SharePoint org chart isn’t just a “nice to have”—it’s a must-have. From new hire orientation to cross-departmental collaboration, the benefits of having a dynamic, accessible Microsoft organization chart are substantial.
If your organization is ready to enhance internal visibility and streamline access to employee information, the Organization Tree Web Part by ProApps365 offers a simple yet powerful way to build and maintain your org chart in SharePoint—with real-time updates and enterprise-grade customization.
