Free organizational chart template for Excel

If your org chart still lives in someone’s head (or a slide that’s three reorganizations out of date), it’s time for an upgrade.

This free org chart Excel template takes the guesswork out of mapping your company structure. Just plug in your people data, and it builds your org chart for you: no design skills required! Whether you’re a 10-person startup or scaling fast, you’ll get a clear, shareable view of your teams, reporting lines, and where the gaps might be so you can lead with clarity.

Use this Excel spreadsheet template to:

• Get started quickly with a pre-formulated worksheet that is easy to use and perfect for SMBs
• Visualize your workforce around 3 functional tabs of information
• Organize people and team structures using personal and work-related fields
• Share updated versions with stakeholders and the company

What can an organizational chart tell you?

An organizational chart gives you a clear view of how your company is structured. It shows reporting lines, spans of control, and how teams connect, helping you understand who reports to whom and how many people each manager supports.

It can also reveal potential gaps or risks. For example, if one manager supports too many individual contributors, there may be a capacity issue. If a team has several layers of leadership but limited execution capacity, the structure may be slowing decision-making.

Org charts are also useful for workforce planning and succession planning. They can help people leaders identify single points of failure, critical roles without backup, and areas where the organization may need to develop internal talent.

How to use an organizational chart template in Excel

1. Open the template in Excel: Download the template and open it in Excel. You’ll see three tabs: one for creating a people directory, one for creating an org chart by name, and one by job title. 
2. Edit the data: Fill in your team’s information. Start with your leadership team, then work down through departments. Make sure the reporting manager column is consistent. If someone reports to “Sarah Chen,” spell it the same way every time so the formulas work properly. 
3. Customize and export: Once your data is complete, the chart should auto-generate based on your reporting relationships. Customize colors or layout to match your brand if you like. When you’re ready to share, export as a PDF for a static version or keep it as an Excel file so others can view (and you can update it easily). 

Looking for more HR templates? 

• Employee directory template 
• Workforce planning template
• Succession planning template 

Organizational chart template in Excel FAQs

What is the difference between organizational structure and an organization chart?

Organizational structure is how your company is designed. It’s the strategy and logic behind your reporting lines, departments, roles, and decision-making authority. An organization chart is the visual representation of that structure. 

Structure decides whether you’re flat or hierarchical, whether you organize by function (sales, engineering, ops) or by product. The org chart just shows what that structure looks like in practice. 

What should be included in an organizational chart?

It should include the team member’s name, job title, and reporting manager. Beyond that, add what matters to your business. Many orgs also include department, location, start date, or contact information. Some add team size or seniority level. The key is consistency: Every team member should have the same data points filled in so the chart is readable and useful. 

How do you create an organizational chart in Excel?

You can create an org chart in Excel using a few approaches. The easiest is to use a pre-built template that uses formulas to generate the structure from your data. Alternatively, Excel’s SmartArt feature lets you manually build a chart by entering employee names and reporting lines. Go to Insert > SmartArt and select an organizational hierarchy.

Is there an organizational chart template in Microsoft Word?

Yes. Word has SmartArt templates for org charts under Insert > SmartArt > Hierarchy. You can also download Word templates from Microsoft’s template gallery. Word works well if you want a static, presentation-ready chart that you can print or share as a PDF. 

The tradeoff is that updating a Word chart takes more manual work than a spreadsheet. If you need to update your org structure frequently (which most growing teams do), an Excel or Google Sheet template is the better choice. 

Can ChatGPT make an organizational chart?

ChatGPT can help you structure the data and suggest org design, but it can’t create the actual chart without your input. You can ask ChatGPT to outline a reporting structure for a specific role or function, or to suggest how to organize a growing team. But ChatGPT doesn’t have access to your company’s real data—you still need to feed it employee names, titles, and reporting relationships, then build out the chart yourself in Excel or your preferred tool. 

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