Which tool provides the easiest way to create and insert an organizational chart into a presentation?

Microsoft offers a wide variety of solutions for making organizational charts. Organizational charts are effective because they help us identify where we sit in an organization and the different levels of management that can help support us in our daily functions and needs. Organizational charts can also be powerful tools when you need to escalate an issue or request through different levels of management.

Whether using PowerPoint, Word, Excel, or Visio, there are tons of ways to create an organizational chart that is effective, useful, and well organized.

Microsoft offers a powerhouse of options that make it easy to create an organizational chart. One of the quickest and easiest ways to create an organizational chart in Microsoft is by using a tool called “Smart Art” available in PowerPoint, Excel, or Word. This article will also provide you with some tips needed to access organizational charts in Microsoft Teams, Outlook, or SharePoint. These solutions provide you with interactive features to accompany your organizational chart needs.

PowerPoint, Excel, & Word:

Let’s first dive into creating an organizational chart in Word, PowerPoint, or Excel.

To do this, you will want to create a bulleted list of your org structure on your document. For your first bullet, have the highest level manager (or CEO) at this level, then cascade each level lower by using an indent. Once you have the structure of your organization bulleted out, you will cut the data, so you have a blank screen.

From the main toolbar ribbon, select the Insert tab and click on “Smart Art.” From Smart Art, there will be multiple options for creating and diagraming. Select the option labeled Hierarchy. This will display several different styles and layouts of charts that can be utilized. The style and layout of your organizational chart can always be changed later on, so select the chart that makes the most sense for you, we can format it differently after adding in our data.

Once you have selected the chart of your desire, a small hierarchy chart will appear with the option to enter text either directly on the chart or type your changes to the right side in a bulleted list, in a “Type Your Text Here” box. You can easily paste in the data that was written on your sheet into this box and once this information is pasted, a new organizational chart will appear with all listed individuals previously identified.

When editing your chart, you can promote an individual by reversing the indent on the list using Shift + Tab. Additionally, you can demote an individual by selecting a tab or indenting inwards once on the list. If you want to change the arrangement of names, use Shift + Alt + Up or Down Arrow to reorganize the order of names.

Additionally, in the Ribbon toolbar above, you can use the promote or demote tools and the move up or down tools to offer the same functionality. You can also change the layout’s view by selecting the Layout tool. Otherwise, it will default to Standard.

Layouts can also be changed using the toolbar ribbon, and photos can be added. Colors, line widths, gradients, and more can be utilized. You can also add any shape or object using the standard tools available in all Microsoft products to create dotted line relationships and reporting. This is recommended to be completed at the final stages of the org chart to ensure it does not affect last-minute formatting or changes.

Microsoft Visio:

Microsoft Visio on the web provides tons of tools and options to create a working organizational chart. To enter Microsoft Visio on the web, route to Microsoft.com and enter your Microsoft credentials to log in. Select the nine-dot application launcher in the corner, then select the application called Visio.

Upon entering the web-app, you can select from the templates at the top “Organizational Chart” to get started, or select more templates to find additional options. Scroll until you find the section for Organizational Charts and then you can select from different template options.

On the right-hand side, there are five different stencil types including Basic, Medal, Pinboard, Badge, and Rollout. Determine your favorite type or mix and match styles depending on role in the hierarchy.

When you start, you can select based on what level of the role the individual is at in the organization, be it an executive, manager, staff, consultant, assistant, or vacancy. To add to the board, drag and drop the stencil onto your canvas. Use the green alignment tools to evenly space and arrange your shapes.

To change the name of the individual at each level, double-click on the object to modify the text. To connect individuals, hover over the shape, and arrows in each direction will appear along with box or line tool options. Click and drag the arrow from one shape to another to connect the individual's name.

After connecting lines, it may feel that your organizational chart is not very organized. Select the Organizational Chart tab from the Ribbon toolbar, and you can change the layout to reformat the organizational chart. If you’d rather change the theme or design colors, select Design from the Ribbon Toolbar.

Upon completing the design, select the file to save as different file types. You can share or print out to provide copies among the staff.

Visio & Excel:

In Excel, you will select Insert from the top Ribbon toolbar and locate the “Add Office Add-ins” tool. Search the Office Add-ins for the Microsoft Visio Data Visualizer and select continue. By selecting this, you can insert a Visio object directly into your excel spreadsheet. The organization chart is the last option on the list — select the layout to choose you like the most.

This will insert a table and an organizational chart into the slide. Updating the table will update the organization chart, upon using the Refresh tool. To add more employees to the organization chart, start in the data list and enter an Employee Unique Identifier (employee ID number). Add the Name, title, Manager ID, and Role Type.

One drawback of using this tool is the only way to update the organizational chart is by using the data table. In order to customize the organizational chart in excel, you will need a Visio license, which is often a separate purchase from Microsoft 365.

If you’d like to save, print, or share your Visio/Microsoft Excel work, select the three ellipses and select “Open in Web”.

Azure Active Directory:

Building an organizational chart in Azure Active Directory will make it available to use in Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Office.com, and the entire Microsoft suite of apps.

From office.com, type in the name of a colleague, and select show organization. This will show the entire organizational chart and will be entirely interactive to continue to drill lower or higher in the organizational chart and provides all their contact information and details.

To build this, you will need Microsoft Admin Access. Once you enter the Admin portal, select Users and click Active Users.

Under Active Users, find the individual’s contact you wish to edit or change. When the individual is selected, it will open up a pane on the right-hand side. There, you can see who the individual’s manager is and make changes to this individual.

In the main pane, you can also update the contact information of the individual, such as name, display name, job title, and all other information that shows up on your card.

Want to learn even more advanced techniques for creating organizational charts? Head over to Kevin Stratvert’s last video and learn how to use your administrative controls to create an interactive organizational chart in Visio!

Kevin Stratvert is a popular YouTuber who specializes in showing all the latest Microsoft and Office innovations. Providing expert tutorials and powerhouse solutions, Kevin’s channel can help you solve it all.

Learn all this and more, by following the link above and checking out Kevin’s latest upload on How to Make Org Charts!

Closing Thoughts:

Microsoft offers a wide variety of solutions for organizations of all sizes, big or small. When you experience your next challenge, consider all the ways the solutions may exist right under your fingertips in a program or software you already know how to use!

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