What is an org chart?
An org chart (short for organizational chart) is a diagram of a company's structure. It shows every person or role as a box, with lines connecting each person to their manager, so anyone can see who reports to whom, how teams are grouped, and where they themselves fit in the organization.
Updated September 6, 2026
What does an org chart show?
At minimum: people, their titles, and their reporting lines. Most org charts also group people into departments or teams. Richer ones add photos, locations, contact details, and open roles, at which point the chart doubles as an employee directory you can navigate visually.
What are the main types of org chart?
- Hierarchical. The classic tree: one person at the top, layers of management below. Most companies are drawn this way because most companies work this way.
- Flat. Few or no middle layers. Common in small companies, where the chart is wide and shallow.
- Matrix. People report to a functional manager and a project or product lead at the same time, usually drawn with dotted lines for the second relationship.
- Divisional. The company splits into units (by product, region, or brand), each with its own internal hierarchy.
What is an org chart used for?
- Orientation. A new hire's most common questions are who is who and who owns what. The chart answers both without anyone having to ask.
- Finding the right person. Working out who owns a decision, or who to contact on another team, is a chart lookup instead of three Slack messages.
- Planning. Reorgs, headcount planning, and span-of-control reviews all start from a picture of the current structure.
- Evidence. Auditors, investors, and insurers regularly ask for one.
Who keeps the org chart accurate?
Traditionally, whoever got stuck with the slide deck, which is why most org charts are months old. The modern answer is nobody: the chart is generated from the manager field your directory or HR system already maintains, the same field Outlook and Microsoft Teams read. When that field changes, the chart follows. How do you keep an org chart up to date automatically? covers the mechanics.
How do you make an org chart?
To draw one right now, the free org chart maker turns a CSV of names and managers into a chart in your browser and downloads it as PNG, SVG, PowerPoint, or Visio, with no account.
For a small, stable team, a slide or a template is genuinely fine, and Sprooster vs PowerPoint and Visio is an honest look at when that stops being true. Past that point, generate it: Sprooster draws the chart from Microsoft Entra ID, Google Workspace, or BambooHR, or from a CSV upload, and keeps it current on its own. Free up to 25 people, flat plans by headcount after that.