PeopleMuster

Org chart template

An org chart shows who reports to whom. The quickest way to build one is a table with one row per person and a single "reports to" column. Every box and line on the chart comes from that column, so fix the table and the chart fixes itself.

Build one when a new hire asks who to go to, before a restructure, and whenever a client wants to know who's on their account. Update it on the day someone joins, leaves or changes manager, not at the end of the quarter.

ORGANISATION CHART
Company: [COMPANY NAME]
As of: [AS OF DATE]
Maintained by: [CHART OWNER]

PART 1: REPORTING LINES (one row per person)
Employee ID | Name | Job title | Department | Reports to (Employee ID) | Location | Start date
[EMPLOYEE ID] | [FULL NAME] | [JOB TITLE] | [DEPARTMENT] | [MANAGER ID] | [LOCATION] | [START DATE]
[EMPLOYEE ID] | [FULL NAME] | [JOB TITLE] | [DEPARTMENT] | [MANAGER ID] | [LOCATION] | [START DATE]
[EMPLOYEE ID] | [FULL NAME] | [JOB TITLE] | [DEPARTMENT] | [MANAGER ID] | [LOCATION] | [START DATE]
[EMPLOYEE ID] | [FULL NAME] | [JOB TITLE] | [DEPARTMENT] | [MANAGER ID] | [LOCATION] | [START DATE]
[EMPLOYEE ID] | [FULL NAME] | [JOB TITLE] | [DEPARTMENT] | [MANAGER ID] | [LOCATION] | [START DATE]
[OPEN ROLE ID] | OPEN ROLE | [JOB TITLE] | [DEPARTMENT] | [MANAGER ID] | [LOCATION] | [TARGET START DATE]

PART 2: THE CHART AS AN OUTLINE (indent two spaces per level)
[CEO NAME], [CEO TITLE]
  [DIRECT REPORT NAME], [TITLE] ([DIRECT REPORT COUNT] reports)
    [TEAM MEMBER NAME], [TITLE]
    [TEAM MEMBER NAME], [TITLE]
  [DIRECT REPORT NAME], [TITLE] ([DIRECT REPORT COUNT] reports)
    [TEAM MEMBER NAME], [TITLE]
    OPEN ROLE: [JOB TITLE]
  [DIRECT REPORT NAME], [TITLE] ([DIRECT REPORT COUNT] reports)
    [TEAM MEMBER NAME], [TITLE]

PART 3: CHECKS
Check | Result
Everyone except the top person has a manager | [YES OR NO]
No manager has more than [SPAN LIMIT] direct reports | [YES OR NO]
Every manager ID matches a row in Part 1 | [YES OR NO]
Open roles are marked | [YES OR NO]

What to put in each blank

[EMPLOYEE ID]
Use a short, fixed code per person rather than their name. Names change and repeat; IDs don't, so the reporting links never break.
[MANAGER ID]
Enter the employee ID of the person's direct manager. Leave it blank only for the one person at the top.
[DEPARTMENT]
Pick from a fixed list of department names and spell them the same way every time, so you can group the chart by department.
[LOCATION]
Write the office or city the person works from. Drop the column if everyone sits in one place.
[OPEN ROLE ID]
Give each approved vacancy its own code, such as OPEN-01, so it shows on the chart where the hire will sit.
[DIRECT REPORT COUNT]
Count the rows in Part 1 whose manager ID is this person. In a spreadsheet, COUNTIF on the manager column does it.
[SPAN LIMIT]
Set the most direct reports you want one manager to carry, such as 8. Anyone above it is a prompt to add a lead.

Before you send it

  • Build Part 1 first and treat it as the source. Drawing boxes by hand and then typing the table from the picture is how a chart ends up with two versions.
  • Many diagram tools import a table with an ID column and a manager ID column and draw the tree for you.
  • Show open roles on the chart. A new hire's manager and team are visible before day one, and the gaps in a team are obvious to everyone planning work.
  • Put the as-of date on every copy you share. An org chart without a date gets trusted long after it's wrong.

PeopleMuster draws your org chart from each person's "reports to" field, in top-down, horizontal or compact layouts, groups it by department, counts direct reports and exports it.

Questions people ask about this letter

How do you make an org chart?

List everyone in a table with an employee ID and the ID of the person they report to. Then import that table into a diagram tool, or indent names by level as in Part 2. The reporting column is the chart; the drawing is only a view of it.

What should an org chart include?

At minimum, each person's name, job title and manager. Most teams add department, location and open roles. Photos and contact details are useful on an internal chart and best left off a copy you send to clients.

What is a good span of control?

A good span is the number of people a manager can meet with and unblock every week, which for most teams means a single-digit limit such as 8. Go lower when the work is complex or the team is new. Write your limit into Part 3 and the check flags anyone above it.

How often should an org chart be updated?

Update it the same day someone joins, leaves or changes manager. A monthly tidy-up is too slow once you're hiring, because every week in between someone new is reading a wrong chart.

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