The org chart guide for HR teams
Five short, practical parts on building, measuring and protecting an org chart, written for the people who have to keep it right.
Get a DemoAll guide partsQuestions and answersWhere are you today?
You do not need to read the guide in order. Find the sentence that sounds like your week and start there.
| If this sounds familiar | Start with |
|---|---|
| Our org chart is a slide that someone redraws every quarter. | Part 1: build it from data |
| Managers ask whether their team is too big, or too small. | Part 2: span and layers |
| Budget season is coming and nobody agrees on the numbers. | Part 3: headcount and FTE |
| The HR system is right and the chart is not. | Part 4: connect your data |
| Someone asked who is allowed to see the chart, and nobody knew. | Part 5: security and governance |
The five parts
Each part takes about five minutes to read and ends with a short list of things to do this week.
Terms used in this guide
| Term | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| Record or box | One person (or one position) in the chart. |
| Reporting line | The link from a person to the manager they report to. |
| Span of control | The number of people who report directly to one manager. |
| Layer | A level between the top of the organization and the front line. |
| Headcount | The number of people, whatever their working time. |
| FTE | Full-time equivalent: working time added up, so two half-time people count as one. |
| Vacant position | A box that exists in the structure but has nobody in it yet. |
| Source of truth | The system that owns the data. The chart reads from it and does not compete with it. |
How this guide is written
The method applies to any tool, including a spreadsheet. Where we describe OrgChart Agile, we describe what is documented on this site and nothing more. Figures in examples are illustrative, not customer data. Nothing here is legal advice: for data protection questions, ask your data protection officer or counsel.
Questions people ask
What is an org chart for, beyond showing who the boss is?
It answers daily questions: who owns this, who do I ask, how big is this team, where are the gaps. Used well, it is also the starting point for headcount plans and reorganizations.
How often should an org chart be updated?
As often as people change. A chart that follows the HR data updates when the data does; a chart drawn by hand is already out of date when it is saved.
Who should own the org chart?
One named owner, usually in HR operations, with a backup. The owner does not retype the data: they watch that the source is correct and that updates run.
Do I need special software?
No, to start. A spreadsheet and a drawing tool work for a small company. Dedicated software starts to pay off when the structure changes often or when several systems hold part of the truth.
Continue the guide
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