Org Chart Software

Create Org Charts in Minutes

Design, manage, and share your organizational structure with Creately’s org chart software.
Visualize roles, responsibilities, and relationships within your organization with ease.

Try Our Org Chart Software

Multiple free org chart templates to design team structures
Automatically generate org charts from CSV files, Google Sheets, and Excel files
Collaborate in real-time with teams anywhere using our org chart creator

Over 10 Million people and 1000s of teams already use Creately

2024 G2 Best Software Awards

Automatically Create Org Charts with the Org Chart Generator

Import org chart data from your HCM or as a CSV/Excel to map out org structures instantly.
Build org charts based on Department, Experience levels, Designations, performance & more.
Dynamic org chart views that auto-update whenever the central data changes.
Show and filter additional data on the org charts as needed and run conditional formatting to highlight people based on data using Creately’s org chart generator.

Design and Perfect Org Structures

Get a head start with free premade org chart templates.
Visualize large, complex org charts on Creately’s infinite canvas.
Drag and drop employee images from your device or inbuilt Google image search.
Highlight reporting relationships & levels of management with custom color themes.

Centralized Data Management for Your Org Chart

Visualize OKRs, connect them to KPIs and co-ordinate efforts better with the org chart creator.
Capture personal summaries, goal trees, 1:1 meeting notes in the org chart database inside Creately.
Each person shape in Creately is linked to the same data, so wherever you make changes, it syncs to every other location.
Add notes, additional data, and attachments to any person on your organizational chart to keep everything in the same place.

Org Chart Software to Streamline Collaboration

A shared workspace to collaborate in real-time on making collective decisions.
Fine-grained access control to ensure only those with access can see the relevant data fields.
Export org charts in multiple formats to embed in documents & share across platforms.
Add context to conversations with pinpointed comments and live cursor views.

Adapts to Your Ways of Working

Flexibility to change anything manually as you prefer as your team grows & personnel changes.
Present sections of org charts or plans with the in-build Slides features.
Generate living org chart views that get auto-updated based on your own search criteria.
Enable central notes and comments beyond what your HRIS/HCM platform offers and keep it central.

Powerful Data Driven Org Charts

Go Beyond Org Charts with Your HR Database

Run workflows and processes with people in Kanban boards

Do performance, retention and skills analysis with 2x2 grids

Directly integrate into your HCM / HR platform

Do current vs future state org charts with real data

What is an Org Chart?

An org chart is a diagram that shows how a company or group is set up. It outlines who is in charge of what and how different roles are connected. The chart helps everyone see who reports to whom and how different teams or departments work together. It’s a clear way to understand the structure and flow of responsibilities within the organization. Using an org chart builder or an org chart generator, you can easily create and customize charts to fit your organization’s structure. It’s a clear way to understand the structure and flow of responsibilities within the organization.

Brief History of Org Charts

The organizational chart was first introduced in the mid-19th century when Daniel McCallum created a diagram for a railroad company to show how it was organized. As businesses grew larger in the early 20th century, these charts became more important for showing who reports to whom and how different parts of the company fit together. Management experts like Frederick Taylor helped spread the use of these charts as businesses aimed to be more efficient.

Over time, organizational charts became standard tools for helping companies plan and communicate their structures clearly. Today, they’re used by many organizations to see and understand their internal setup.

An organizational chart typically includes the following components:

Positions/titles

Each box or shape represents a role or title within the organization, such as “CEO,” “Manager,” or “Team Leader.”

Names

The names of the individuals holding each position are often listed within the boxes.

Lines/connectors

Lines or arrows link the boxes to show the reporting relationships and how different roles are connected.

Departments/teams

Groups or divisions within the organization might be shown to highlight different areas of responsibility.

Authority levels

The chart displays different levels of authority, from top management to lower-level employees, illustrating the chain of command.

Roles and responsibilities

Sometimes, a brief description of each role’s responsibilities may be included to clarify what each position entails.

Additional information

Some charts might include extra details like contact information, key functions, or specific projects associated with each role.

Components of an Org Chart

Benefits of Org Charts

An organizational chart offers a clear view of a company’s structure, improving communication, management, and planning. It helps define roles, streamline workflows, and support better decision-making.

Clarifies roles and responsibilities With an org chart creator, it becomes easy to visually map out who is responsible for what, helping everyone understand their own roles and the roles of others within the organization. This clarity leads to better accountability and reduces confusion about job duties.

Enhances communication By using org chart software, managers can visualize reporting relationships and workloads, allowing them to oversee teams more effectively. The software helps them adjust workflows, delegate tasks appropriately, and manage team dynamics more efficiently.

Streamlines management It helps managers oversee their teams more effectively by visualizing the reporting relationships and managing workloads.

Supports planning and decision-making It aids in organizational planning and strategic decision-making by providing a clear view of the current structure.

Facilitates onboarding New employees can quickly understand the company structure, reporting lines, and how their role fits into the organization. An org chart generator can further streamline the process.

Identifies gaps and overlaps It helps spot areas where there might be gaps in responsibilities or overlaps in roles, enabling more efficient restructuring if needed.

Improves workflow By visualizing the organization’s structure, it helps streamline workflows and ensure that tasks and responsibilities are properly distributed. You can use an org chart creator to effectively optimize operations and improve overall productivity.

Limitations of Organizational Charts

While organizational charts are valuable for visualizing company structure, they come with certain limitations. Understanding these limitations helps in using org charts effectively while acknowledging their constraints.

Static representation: Organizational charts provide a snapshot of the structure at a specific point in time, which can quickly become outdated as roles and relationships change.
Lacks detail: They often simplify complex relationships and may not capture the nuances of day-to-day interactions, informal networks, or cross-functional teams.
Limited flexibility: Org charts can be rigid and may not reflect dynamic aspects of the organization, such as project-based teams or temporary roles.
Potential misinterpretations: The visual representation might not always convey the full scope of responsibilities or the actual workflow, leading to misunderstandings.
Overemphasis on ranking: They focus on reporting relationships and may overlook collaborative and team-based work, which can be crucial for modern organizations.
Difficulty in scalability: As organizations grow, maintaining and updating org charts can become cumbersome, especially in large or rapidly changing organizations.

Who Uses Organizational Charts

Organizational charts are used by various stakeholders within a company, including:

Managers and executives

To oversee team structures, manage workflows, and ensure clear reporting lines.

HR professionals

For planning and organizing staffing, understanding departmental structures, and facilitating recruitment.

Employees

To understand their roles, reporting relationships, and how they fit into the overall organization.

New hires

To quickly get acquainted with the company’s reporting relationships and key contacts.

Business analysts

To analyze organizational structure for strategic planning or restructuring.

Consultants

To evaluate organizational efficiency and recommend improvements.

How to Generate an Org Chart with Creately?

Choose a template or start from scratch

Browse through pre-designed templates available in the org chart generator that suit your organization’s structure. Select a blank canvas if you prefer to build from the ground up. Consider industry-specific templates that may align with your needs

Input employee data (names, titles, departments)

Manually enter information for each employee. Use bulk import features to add data from spreadsheets or HR systems. Ensure accuracy of titles and departmental assignments

Define reporting relationships

Establish the authority by connecting positions. Use drag-and-drop functionality to arrange reporting lines. Clearly indicate direct reports and dotted-line relationships

Customize the design (colors, shapes, layout)

Apply color schemes that match your brand or differentiate departments. Choose appropriate shapes for different levels of management. Adjust the layout to best represent your organizational structure (e.g., vertical, horizontal, matrix)

Add additional information (contact details, photos)

Include employee photos to make the chart more personal and recognizable. Add contact information like email addresses or phone extensions. Incorporate role descriptions or key responsibilities

Review and adjust the automatically generated chart

Check for accuracy in reporting lines and placement. Ensure readability and proper spacing between elements. Make manual adjustments to improve visual clarity if needed

Share or export the final product

Generate shareable links for team collaboration. With Creately’s org chart software you can export your org charts in various formats (PNG, PDF, SVG) for different use cases. Set up permissions for viewing or editing the chart

FAQs About Org Chart Generator

What to look for in an org chart software?

An org chart software is a tool that streamlines the process of creating organizational charts online. These tools offers a variety of ways to design org charts. And some of the key capabilities an org chart software must have,

Premade templates for organizational charts
Standard shapes and connectors to create the chart
Customization capabilities including color themes and uploading images
Ability to migrate and attach employee data to the charts
Options to easily share, embed or publish the chart

How can I add images to my org chart in Creately?

Creately’s org chart generator allows you to customize your charts by adding employee images to each individual shape representing them. Simply select the shape, and click on the ‘Upload Image’ option that appears on the quick toolbar on the top to drag and drop or upload the relevant photo from your device.

How can I add relevant employee data in Creately’s org chart creator?

Creately’s org chart creator comes with integrated notes and shape data to add additional data fields for any shape. You can add all relevant data on employees using notes where you can attach images, certificates, documents, data tables and more. Using additional data field, you can store even more data on employees for reference. You can also migrate CSV files contating employee data and link them to your org charts.

How can I share my org chart in Creately?

You can quickly share your diagrams in Creately’s org chart software using a few ways. If you wish to collaborate on creating an org chart with others in your company, add them as editors or viewers and share the workspace link with them. You can also download your org chart in a preferred image format including PNG, SVG, PDF, or JPEG and share, embed, publish or take printouts. You can also use an embed code to securely embed it in any site or intranet.