What Is an Org Chart?
An organizational chart is the visual representation of an organization's hierarchal structure. It clearly illustrates the relationships between departments, teams, and individuals within the organization. This includes outlining reporting relationships in order to understand how the organization distributes work.
Hierarchical Organization Chart Template - Excel
Most org charts plot hierarchical organizations, which means they can also be hierarchical and show reporting relationships up the chain. Use this template to show the structure of a company, division, team, or other group, a view of who reports to whom, the title for each position, and the name of the person currently in each role.
Download Hierarchical Organization Chart Template - Excel
Hierarchical Org Chart with Pictures Template - Excel
This template is similar to the hierarchical organization chart template above, but you can also add an image for each person listed. Adding a picture to the chart is useful to help new employees become familiar with the people they see around the office and their roles.
Download Hierarchical Org Chart with Pictures Template - Excel
Matrix Org Chart Template - Excel
In matrix organizations, employees can report to more than one boss — therefore, they tend to be more fluid than hierarchical organizations because of changing reporting relationships. Typically, each individual contributor has a resource manager and a functional manager. The functional manager changes as a contributor moves from project to project throughout an organization. Use this template to keep track of the assignments if you work in a matrix structure.
Download Matrix Org Chart Template - Excel
Horizontal Organization Chart Template - Excel
The horizontal chart is good for process-focused organizations. It shows the flow of work on a product or service as it moves from one person to the next. If your organization is based on linear processes, use this template to track how products or services are created, so that you can identify areas for improvement.
Download Horizontal Org Chart Template - Excel
Horizontal Org Chart Template with Pictures - Excel
Horizontal org charts are useful for illustrating the flow of work from position to position in process-focused organizations. Similar to the horizontal org chart template for Excel listed above, this chart provides a space to add pictures of the employees working on the product or service.
Download Horizontal Org Chart Template with Pictures - Excel
Origin of the Organization Chart
In its modern form, the organization chart is attributed to engineer Daniel McCallum and artist George Holt Henshaw. Their chart illustrated the hierarchy of the New York and Erie railroad and showed both the positions and locations where each person worked.
In the first part of the 20th century, the name “organization chart” made its way into the English vocabulary, with its use peaking in the 1960s. However, the term continues to be in regular use, according to the Google ngram viewer.
Utility and Benefits of an Org Chart
Today, company staff can use org charts to determine who reports to whom, who fills a role, or who is responsible for a particular task or project. New employees may use an org chart to familiarize themselves with the structure of their team, department, or other parts of the company.
You can also use an org chart to help with planning projects (by showing the people available for deployment), estimating workload for teams, as a roadmap for growth (by identifying where you can create new positions), or to help find and map inefficiencies in a workplace (by illustrating areas of redundancy).
What Org Charts Can’t Do
While org charts are handy tools to answer certain questions, they don’t do everything. You can’t suss the following information out of an org chart:
- Budget-related information
- Operational details
- The complexity of interoffice relationships
- Any informal communication channels
Also, if temporary employees and contractors have a high rate of turnover, keeping track of them requires frequent updates.
How to Create an Org Chart
The SmartArt feature in Excel has some basic formats that allow you to create simple org charts. However, depending on your preference, you can also create an org chart in Microsoft Word, Visio, LucidChart, and other programs. Visit our article to learn how to create an org chart and what should be included.
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