Org charts: A guide from start to finish

In this article

This article serves as your guide through the different options and features available to you during the process of building an org chart, enabling you to determine:

• What method to use for building your org chart
• How to format the org chart for the best readability
• How to make updates to your org chart when changes happen in your organization
• What additional Lucidchart features can help you analyze patterns in your org chart
• How to best share your org chart depending on your audience

If you are instead looking for step-by-step instructions including how to move and edit org chart shapes, how to import data, and how to add images, check out our Create an org chart article.

Build your org chart's foundation

The first question to ask before you get started is how you want to get information into your org chart. In Lucidchart, you can input employee shape data manually or import data from an external source depending on your needs.

Build an org chart manually if:

• You don’t have an existing data source (like Excel or Google Sheets) with your org chart information.
• You plan to make manual updates to the org chart.
• You have a smaller organization that doesn’t require frequent or complex chart changes.

Build your org chart by importing data if:

• You have a data source with your org chart information.
• You want the ability to replace or refresh org chart data to make updates.
• You have a larger organization that requires frequent or complex chart changes.

Build an org chart manually

Before you can build your org chart manually, you need to open the org chart shape library. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Select More shapes from the bottom of the Shape menu to the left of the document.
2. Check the box in the left-hand navigation menu next to “Org Chart”.
3. Click Use selected shapes.

You can now access the org chart shape from the Shape menu in your document. Once it’s on the canvas, you can add, move, and edit individual shapes as needed to fully customize your org chart.

Import existing org chart data

To import an org chart successfully, you need to ensure the data is properly set up. Before we show how to set up the data, decide whether you want to use an uploaded file or linked data from Google or Microsoft 365. There are a few key differences between the two:

• An uploaded CSV or Excel (XLSX) file: This is a static file that exists on your device. Changes made to the CSV/Excel file on your device will not be reflected in your org chart unless you replace the data in Lucidchart with a new, updated CSV/Excel file. This option may be best if you download your org chart from an external source as a file on your device.
• A linked Google Sheet or Microsoft 365 Excel workbook: This is a dynamic file that is hosted online and is connected to Lucidchart. Changes made in Google or Microsoft 365 will be reflected in the org chart when you refresh the data. This option may be best if you anticipate your org chart changing frequently.

Now, let’s return to how you need to set up the data to ensure a successful import. Regardless of how you import, your data needs to be formatted in a particular way in order for Lucidchart to read it properly. You have flexibility in how you do this as long as each employee has a unique identifier such as an Employee ID or Name. You can add as many additional columns as needed such as Role, Location, Email, etc.

Below is an example of the same data formatted in two ways. Both examples would generate the same org chart when imported because they include unique identifying information.

Once your data is properly formatted, you can import it by following the steps in our Create an org chart article. When going through the import steps, you have the option to create one org chart for your entire organization or to split it up into smaller groups. For example, you may choose to create multiple, smaller org charts based on Location or Supervisor. If you choose to split it up, each portion will be inserted into a different page in Lucidchart, with each page appearing as a distinct tab at the bottom of your document.

Org chart customization

Once your org chart is created, you can customize the format and style to fit your needs or brand.

Enhance clarity by updating the layout

You have several layout options located in the org chart’s Context panel, which can be opened by hovering your cursor over the org chart and clicking Org Chart from the top-left corner of the org chart’s outline.

Under the “Layout” tab, you can adjust:

• Layout style: Adjust the layout and spacing of the org chart. For example, decrease the overall size of the org chart by decreasing the spacing between each shape.
• Shape style: Choose how the shapes appear on the canvas. For example, choose a style that includes a photo or a shape that accommodates longer text.
• Employee fields: Determine which org chart fields appear on the shapes. For example, simplify your org chart by showing only “Name” and “Role”. All other data will still be available in the Context panel.

Below is an example of the same org chart with two different layouts. The option on the left is simpler and easier to scan, while the option on the right contains more information. The layout you choose comes down to what you need out of your org chart.

Improve readability and visual appeal

For enhanced legibility, brand compliance, or personal preference, you can choose to style your org chart in a variety of ways including changing the fill color, font type or size, line color, or even adding a diagram key. Basic formatting options are located at the top of the canvas in Lucidchart, and the diagram key is available in the Standard shape library.

You can update the style of the entire org chart or call attention to specific people by updating the style for only them. Additionally, you can set a default style for all existing and new org chart shapes. The example below includes different colors and font sizes as well as a diagram key.

Personalize the structure for individual needs

For simplicity, Lucidchart structures org charts according to a specific tier-based algorithm where all employees must report to one supervisor in the tier directly above them. While this works for the majority of org chart experiences, there are some instances where you may need to customize the structure of your org chart to best fit your needs. In most cases, you can accomplish this by adding a line to your org chart or copying and pasting an individual org chart onto the canvas. Check out the example below, showing how you can add an executive assistant to the CEO.

Check out the following community posts for examples on customizing the structure of your org chart:

• Customizing style and layout of org chart in Lucidchart
• Employees at different levels reporting to same manager in Org Chart in Lucidchart
• Have an employee with two managers? Use this trick to represent them in your Lucidchart org chart

Keep your org chart up to date

In our busy world, change comes quickly. When change happens in your organization and you need to update your org chart, there are three main ways to do this:

• Update structure and data manually
• Refresh your dataset
• Replace your dataset

Read the sections below for details on when to choose each method.

Make manual updates

If you originally created your org chart manually, you need to make manual updates to both the structure of your org chart and employee data when changes happen. You can update the org chart’s structure by dragging shapes to new locations on the canvas, and update employee data manually by typing the new information directly on the org chart shape.

You can always update org chart structure and data manually—even if you originally created the org chart via import. However, if you use imported data to keep your org chart up to date, we recommend you make required updates to your data source then refresh or replace your dataset in Lucid rather than make manual changes.

Unless you have set up two-way sync with Microsoft 365 Excel (link to other article), manual changes are not bidirectional—editing org chart shapes, data, and structure in Lucidchart do not affect your original dataset if you created your org chart by importing data.

Refresh or replace your dataset 

If you created your org chart via data import and you are on an Enterprise account, you can update your org chart by refreshing or replacing the data.

• Refresh if your dataset was linked from Google or Microsoft 365.
• Replace if your dataset was uploaded from your device as a CSV/Excel file or if you are using a different dataset than when you originally imported.

When refreshing or replacing data, you are given the option to keep any manual changes you made or revert to the original data source. Here's what they each mean for your org chart:

• Keep your Lucidchart changes: This option tells Lucidchart to keep manual changes you've made to your org chart since your last import. This means changes made to the data source such as name, role, or contact information will be updated, but manual updates you’ve made in Lucidchart will not be overwritten.
• Revert to the original data source: With this option, your org chart will reflect exactly what is in the data source. If you’ve made manual changes in Lucidchart, they will be overwritten if they differ from the data source.

Regardless of whether you choose to keep manual changes or revert to the original, formatting for any existing shapes will be kept. Any new shapes added from the data will have default formatting or will adhere to any conditional formatting rules that have been set up.

Analyze patterns within your org chart

Now that you’ve built a professional and functional org chart, it’s time to put it to work. With additional Lucid features, you can make it so much more than just a static chart of employees. With features such as filters, conditional formatting, dynamic shapes, and Smart Containers, you can analyze data and identify patterns within your organization.

Simplify your view with filters

From the org chart Context panel, you can add a filter to show only employees that meet certain parameters based on shape data. This is particularly useful for large org charts where you may want to only see a portion of the employees such as a specific department, office location, or role.

The example below shows an org chart on the left, followed by the same org chart filtered to only show employees in the United States on the right.

Visualize employee data with group view

Org chart group views can organize your employees into Smart Containers based on shape data such as bandwidth, location, and department giving you an at-a-glance view of employees who match certain parameters.This is a popular option for Scrum teams, as it allows teammates to quickly identify expertise, skill sets, and availability.

Identify patterns automatically with conditional formatting

Adding conditional formatting to your org chart is an excellent way to:

• Visually identify and analyze patterns in your org chart data.
• Simplify the appearance of your org chart by adding formatting for hidden fields.
• Apply formatting to any new org chart shapes that are added when refreshing or replacing data on your org chart.

In the example below, formatting rules have been created to add a different color icon based on the “Bandwidth” field and a different fill color based on the “Department” field for each employee. Here are a few benefits of having these rules in place:

• It is easy to identify patterns such as bandwidth being lower on the Product team than it is on the Support team.
• Department and Bandwidth are easily identifiable without the fields needing to be visible as text on the shape, making the org chart less cluttered and more visually appealing.
• All new employees added will automatically have both an icon and fill color added based on their individual data.

Analyze shape data with formulas

Formulas in Lucidchart are a versatile way to analyze shape data on the canvas to get a comprehensive view of your organization. You can add formulas directly to org chart shapes, tables, or any other text field in your document. A few ways you can use formulas are to:

• Count employees in each region.
• Sum up the salaries in each department.
• Average the number of years of experience per team.
• Identify open roles in the organization.

In the example below, a table has been created with formulas to count the number of employees in each region and in each department. With the formula in place, as employees are added, deleted, or changed, the numbers in the table automatically update according to the new data. If you prefer a graph or chart in place of a table, continue reading on to the next section to learn about how to create graphs with dynamic shapes.

This formula was used in the first box of the table below—use it as an example when creating your own!

• =countif(descendants(page), AND(this.'Location' = 'US',this.'Department' = 'Support' ))

Create graphs with dynamic shapes

Dynamic shapes in Lucidchart are shapes that change based on data in the document such as a pie chart or progress bar. These shapes are best paired with formulas or conditional formatting to get the best use of them alongside your org chart.

In the example below, three dynamic shapes have been added to the canvas to visually show the percentage of the organization that is in each location. The value for each dynamic shape was added as a formula so it updates automatically when employees are added, removed, or changed.

For example, the formula for the US shape’s value counts shapes on the page whose Location field is equal to “US”.

• =countif(descendants(page), this.'Location' = 'US')

You can also pair dynamic shapes with conditional formatting to add a dynamic shape to each person in your organization representing a numerical field.

In the example below, conditional formatting has been applied to add a dynamic shape based on each employee’s Bandwidth field, providing a quick visual at each employee’s workload. These shapes automatically update with any changes to the data when it is refreshed or replaced.

Share your org chart

After you have perfected your org chart, you have various options for sharing it with your organization. First, decide whether you want to share a static version or a live version.

You may choose to share a static version of your org chart if:

• You want the chart to reflect a specific period of time.
• You need a printed version of your chart.
• You want to control who is given access to the information.
• Your org chart doesn’t change very often.

You may choose to share a dynamic or live version of your org chart if:

• You want your audience to see updates to the chart in real time.
• You want your audience to have access to hidden data fields.
• Your chart is too large to export or print.
• Your organization is changing frequently.

Export or print a static version

If sharing a static version of your org chart best suits your needs, you can either export it as an image or PDF file to your device or you can print a physical copy.

If you have a particularly large org chart:
While exporting and printing isn’t the best option for sharing a large org chart, sometimes it is unavoidable. In those cases, here are a few tips to optimize the exported or printed version:

• When creating your org chart, split it into multiple pages by department or location.
• Use org chart filters to split the org chart into more bite size pieces before exporting.
• Adjust the content scale of your document to make sure it isn’t too small or too big for export.
  • Pro tip: Pay attention to font size. If any of the fonts in your document are less than six, it may be difficult to read an exported or printed version of your org chart, and you should adjust the content scale to be higher.
• Turn off infinite canvas and enable page tiling to see how the org chart will be split onto pages when printed.

Publish or embed a live version

If sharing a dynamic version of your org chart is the best option for you, you can either publish it or embed a live version into your own web page.

Publish your org chart
Publishing generates a link you can send to anyone (including non-Lucid users), which grants them access to view your org chart. You can choose to publish your org chart as a:

• URL: Generates a link to navigate to a live webpage version of the org chart.
• PDF: Generates a link to download a PDF snapshot of the org chart as it appears in Lucidchart at that moment.
• Image: Generates a link to download an image snapshot of the org chart as it appears in Lucidchart at that moment.

If you publish your org chart as a PDF or image, the downloaded file is static and won’t update with future changes. However, if you make updates, users can re-click the original link to download the latest version.

Embed your org chart
Embedding allows you to put an interactive version of your org chart into your own web page. You can either generate an embed code directly in Lucidchart, or you can use one of Lucid’s external embed integrations such as:

• Confluence Cloud
• Confluence Server or Data Center
• Jira
• Asana
• Notion

Resources

To learn more about harnessing the full power of org charts, explore the additional resources below. These resources are available in English only.

Blogs
How to design an org chart with new employees in mind
How to make your org chart the best resource for employees

Community posts
Add filters to your org chart
Org Chart Troubleshooting
Ready to up-level your org chart? Take a look at Group View

Course
Getting Started with Org Charts

Templates
Data-driven org chart example
Org chart by location
Roles/responsibilities framework example

Video
Org charts in Lucid

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