Hot tips for creating an org chart
Simply put, an org chart shows a clear picture of your organisation’s chain of command, but there’s more to it than just mapping lines of authority from top to bottom. Here’s 3 tips to keep in mind when creating an org chart.
| Tip 1 | Less is more |
| Tip 2 | Visualise and highlight |
| Tip 3 | Group your data |
1) Less is more
Org charts are meant to be simple and clutter free. But sometimes, it’s important to display lots of information in one place. And while this may work for charts designed for a small team (we actually recommend it), it’s not the best set-up for large groups or charts for the entire organisation. Consider displaying a maximum of three or four relevant fields in your employee boxes. You should also include a profile panel that includes all the additional details that are important to keep handy. This way, your chart is neat and allows you to display more records, but not at the expense of accessible information. Designing org charts for specific purposes will also optimise the use of space and how it’s interacted with.2) Visualise and highlight
Colours and other visual cues are a great way of delivering information without adding more fields into your charts. These rules can also include changes in box design, borders, highlights or additional icons. A chart with vibrant visual cues can help viewers to quickly spot trends, such as gender imbalance or gaps in a department, which can drive further action and improvements in the workplace. A common challenge with visualisation and conditional formatting is the set up. Some users may find it difficult to set up the rules behind them, and then automate the entire process. If you need some assistance to get this set up, get in touch with our friendly team – we’re always happy to help.3) Group your data
There’s a good chance that you have a few employees who share the same position in your organisation. This is often the case when organisations hire a high number of casuals and/or contractors. A common problem in such scenarios is that organisations want to include them in their org chart without having to give up precious real estate. So, instead of fiddling with sizes and positions, what you could do is combine multiple employees into the one box. Setting this up is as simple as defining a common field, such as position title or employment type. This works great if you’re trying to maximise your chart space, especially if you’re working with medium to large teams.
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