Organograms 101: Everything You Need to Know

Effective communication and teamwork rely on connecting with the right person and having the right context about them for a productive conversation. However, this can be challenging in a large corporate environment or remote work setting. Simply knowing who’s who can feel like a full-time job.

This is where organograms come in. In addition to reflecting reporting hierarchies, organograms can provide a wealth of company information. We’ll explore what organograms are, how to build them, and how they can support your organizational needs and facilitate effective business communication.

What is an organogram? Definition and examples

An organogram, also known as an organigram or organizational chart, is a visual representation of an organization’s structure. It depicts the relationships between managers, employees, and departments. These diagrams can range from simple, showing only the top-level hierarchy, to complex, with detailed information about various management levels, departments, and sub-units.

Understanding the 3 main types of organograms

When creating an organogram, it’s important to choose a format that reflects the structure and processes within your organization. There are three main types of organograms to consider:

1. Hierarchical organogram

Hierarchical organization structures flow from top to bottom. These are best suited for companies with one leader at the top and multiple levels of employees below. The person at the top, often a CEO or president, has the utmost authority and decision-making power, while the degree of authority decreases moving down the hierarchy.

2. Matrix organogram

A matrix organogram shows how employees might report to more than one manager within an organization. For example, a graphic designer might report to the chief creative officer as well as the team lead of projects they’re working on. While rich in context, these project-based charts have the potential to become outdated quickly.

3. Flat organogram

This streamlined structure provides a bird’s-eye, department-based view of an organization. Flat organograms work best for organizations with few management levels, where most employees work independently. This organogram type is common in small companies, where autonomy, creative control, and employee empowerment are often prioritized.

Organogram vs. organizational chart vs. organigraph: What’s the difference?

Although these terms are often used interchangeably, there are some distinctions:

• Organogram: A visual representation of the relationships and roles at an organization. Organograms can depict hierarchical, cross-functional, or department-based reporting structures. They also function as a staff directory.
• Organizational chart: These focus on the hierarchy and relationships within a company. Visually, org charts use boxes to show positions or roles and lines to indicate reporting relationships, internal communication channels, and the chain of command.
• Organigraph: A drawing, picture, or map depicting complex, overlapping relationships within an organization. While similar to an organizational chart, organigraphs place less emphasis on linear hierarchy.

Who can use an organogram? Exploring use cases across organizations

Anyone at a company can use organograms. From new hires to executives, let’s look at a few use cases

• Executives and leadership teams: Gain a big-picture view of relationships within different departments and positions to inform strategic decisions
• Department heads: See how their work fits into the larger organizational structure and company goals
• HR professionals: Gather information for workforce planning and talent management, like identifying staffing gaps, organizing recruitment, and analyzing reporting structure
• Managers: Understand how team members are involved in cross-functional teams to balance workloads
• Employees: Gain insight into the reporting hierarchy and see whom they report to or collaborate with
• New hires: See where they fit into the organizational structure and how they integrate into the workplace

How organizational charts and organograms improve workforce engagement

A clear and accessible organogram provides transparency in reporting structure and team composition, empowering employees and fostering a sense of belonging. Organograms and org charts can also be used to inform future planning, streamline onboarding, and more. Here are several ways they can help boost organizational engagement:

• Enhance workforce planning and management: HR departments and executives can use organograms to identify skill gaps for informed hiring decisions, assign the right people to the right roles, evenly distribute workloads to avoid employee burnout, and plan for future growth or restructuring.
• Visualize organizational structure: A visual representation of the organizational structure effectively communicates complex hierarchical relationships, empowering employees to find opportunities for relationship-building, knowledge-sharing, and cross-departmental collaboration.
• Aid in new-hire onboarding: Organograms facilitate new employee onboarding with a comprehensive digital view of the company’s structure, reporting lines, and key contacts. They also help new hires understand their place within the organization. This can be especially helpful for remote and hybrid onboarding.
• Simplify succession planning: Companies can use organograms to identify potential leaders, key roles, and talent development pathways to ensure business continuity and retain institutional knowledge as roles shift.
• Boost cross-departmental collaboration: At large organizations such as Flatiron, a health tech company with over 1,200 full-time employees, people often don’t know the vast majority of their colleagues. But with additional context from tools such as Slack Atlas — a reimagined employee directory providing valuable colleague context — employees can easily see connections between departments. This can encourage collaboration and innovation among cross-functional teams.
• Improve employee directories: Incorporating an organogram into your central work operating system (such as with Slack Atlas) gives employees a quick reference to identify colleagues, team members, and supervisors. It also provides contextual information, like a team member’s professional interests or skill set, to facilitate productive conversations.

A step-by-step guide to creating an effective organogram

Step 1: Identify key positions and roles

First, determine the existing reporting relationships and hierarchies across different levels and departments. Gather feedback from key stakeholders such as department heads and HR leaders to ensure that the roles and reporting structures are accurately represented.

Step 2: Choose the right type of organogram

Next, select one of the three main types of organograms — hierarchical, matrix, or flat — that best suits your organizational structure. The type of organogram you choose can help highlight certain aspects of the company and convey its organizational values and philosophy.

Step 3: Select the right tools

Use software that enables you to build a dynamic organogram and easily update it as your organizational structure evolves. It should also support collaboration, allowing multiple contributors to work on the organogram simultaneously. Our top picks include Microsoft Visio, Lucidchart, Creately, ClickUp, BambooHR, and Monday.com. Slack Atlas offers a searchable directory and a dynamic org chart within Slack.

Step 4: Build the organogram from top to bottom

When creating your chart, start at the top as power flows from the top down in most hierarchical organizations. Place the leadership team at the highest level of the organogram as they have the most influence and external visibility in the organization. Then progressively add lower-level positions underneath their respective reports until the entire organizational hierarchy is covered.

Step 5: Add profile details

Include key information about each person and their role, such as their name, job title, and a brief description of their responsibilities. Add employee headshots, relevant external links, and work-appropriate fun facts for a more engaging chart. These details can help teams get to know one another and build rapport, but they might not be relevant to external stakeholders.

Step 6: Consider design and formatting

Maintain a consistent design throughout the organogram for clarity. For example, use the same shapes, colors, and formatting for similar positions or levels. In a complex organogram, rearrange visually conflicting elements such as overlapping lines to enhance visual clarity. Finally, consider how employees will likely view the information, whether on their phones, monitors, tablets, or printouts.

Key features to look for in an organogram tool

There are many tools available for creating organograms. To find the right one for your organization, prioritize a tool with key features like user-friendliness, collaboration, and integration with existing tools. Here are some top features to look for:

• Ease of use: Choose an organogram design tool with a user-friendly interface and drag-and-drop functionality, so users with varying technical expertise can easily build and manage organograms.
• Turnkey templates: Unsure where to start? Look for a tool with pre-built templates to save time and help you get started.
• Customization: Use pre-existing assets, like a brand kit, to ensure that the organogram aligns with your organization’s visual identity.
• Collaboration: Look for real-time collaboration features, such as chat and huddles, to enable multiple people to work on the chart together.
• Tech integration: Select software that integrates with your other productivity and communication tools, such as Slack, to facilitate seamless workflows.
• Security: Implement access controls to protect sensitive employee and organizational information.

Best practices and tips for managing organograms

Organogram charts are living documents that should evolve with organizations. Follow these best practices to keep your organogram current and valuable:

• Update regularly: Revisit your organogram frequently to reflect any organizational changes, such as new hires, departures, promotions, and restructures.
• Track changes: Implement version-control mechanisms to track changes and integrate with HR systems for automated updates. Record all changes and the reasons for the revisions.
• Provide context: Create training materials to help employees understand how to interpret and use the information in the organogram.
• Communicate often: Inform stakeholders of any changes to the organogram that affect them. Include context and details to ensure clarity.
• Share widely: Organograms and org charts should be accessible to all organization members and serve as quick-reference documents.

The power of organograms and organizational charts in your collaboration tools

Organograms give context to everyone in an organization, enhancing relationships and collaboration. But for them to be useful, they need to be accessible.

Slack Atlas lets you build a native, dynamic org chart with a contextual employee directory and structural hierarchy. It helps teammates gain a deeper understanding of one another, which can build trust and enable informed, context-driven collaboration among colleagues. Start using organograms to make more strategic business decisions, while helping teams easily navigate your organization. Learn more about Atlas and see how to get started.