Every company needs to streamline their organization's structure. Whether they are onboarding a new employee or allocating resources to their client -- they need to create an organizational chart to increase productivity, leading to improved communication between all the employees and other team members.
An org chart helps depict the chain of command and the overall hierarchy. However, most companies have found that creating an organizational chart can be daunting. Let alone keep on updating it when a new employee gets on board.
In this comprehensive guide to creating an organizational chart, we will discuss in detail the steps you need to follow when creating the first org chart and how EdrawMind should be your go-to choice to create a fully customizable organizational chart.
What's Included in an Organizational Chart?
Before we delve into the generic and EdrawMind's steps to create an org chart, let us first get acquainted with all the important elements and terminologies you should learn.
A typical organizational chart would include the following:
- Roles and Titles: In an org chart, roles and titles showcase various job positions and their corresponding titles, like CEO, MD, Head of Departments, Trainers, Interns, etc.
- Lines of Authority: It displays the chain of command and who reports to whom. For instance, how an intern would report to her trainer, how a trainer would report back to the manager, and so on.
- Departments and Divisions: In a complex org chart, departments illustrate how different members interact. For example, an IT company can have several departments like Graphics Team, Sales & Marketing Team, Development Team, etc.
- Team Members: In all org charts, team members highlight individuals within each role or department.
To create an organizational chart that brings all of this to the same page, you will need access to various symbols tailored to your needs. For this, EdrawMind's extensive list of symbols would come in handy as they help convey information clearly and intuitively.
Preparation Before Creating an Organizational Chart
If this is your first time making an org chart or even if you are a seasoned designer, we recommend checking out some of the most important preparations that you should do before you start the designing process.
- Gather Information:Collect accurate data and all the relevant information about roles, responsibilities, and reporting relationships between different employees.
- Define Hierarchy:Clearly outline the chain of command and levels of authority so everyone accessing the org chart will know the correct hierarchy.
- Choose a Layout:Determine whether a hierarchical, matrix, or flat layout best suits your organization and then move forward from it.
- Clarify Communication:Once you have gathered all the information, try to understand how information flows and how different teams collaborate.
How to Make an Organizational Chart in General
Now that you have gathered all the related information about your team and understood the hierarchy level, it's time to create an organizational chart.
There are two methods to create an org chart -- first is a more traditional way that requires you to create everything from scratch, and the second method is where you use organizational chart software that helps you create an org chart in a few minutes.
Creating an organizational chart doesn't have to be daunting. Follow these steps to get started:
Step 1: Gather Information: Before creating the org chart, you should collect all the comprehensive information about the company's overall structure. Take note of the hierarchy, departments, and teams that make up your entire organization.
Step 2: Determine Layout and Format: Even if you use a traditional way, you should finalize the org chart layout. The most common formats are hierarchical, flat, and matrix structures.
Step 3: Choose Materials: Since we are using a traditional route for making the org chart, you will also need a large sheet of paper, a ruler, a few markers, and pens of different colors.
Step 4: Draw the Chart: You can start drawing the organizational chart with the gathered information. The best place to start drawing the org chart is by adding the top-level positions at the highest point -- using the boxes or circles to represent them -- and following the same formatting when you move down the hierarchy to add other positions.
Step 5: Add Details: Once you have created the organizational chart, use different colors to distinguish between departments or levels.
As you saw in these steps to draw an organizational chart, you depend solely on your creativity. At the same time, it would be too complicated and tiresome when you modify the hierarchy at any given point.
To save you time and resources, we recommend going ahead with an organizational chart software, like EdrawMind, that comes with built-in templates and symbols that ease down your process.
How To Make An Organizational Chart In EdrawMind
EdrawMind is one such tool that offers flexibility when creating complex organizational charts. There are basically two methods that you can follow to create an organizational chart with EdrawMind.
Method 1 - Make an organizational chart from a sketch
Step1Login & Category
To begin your organizational chart drawing process, log into EdrawMind with your registered email address. Once in, head to the 'New' icon on the left, or navigate to the category section in the middle and choose 'Org Chart.'
Step2Blank Canvas
Once you click 'org chart,' the system will take you to the blank canvas. Here, you will find an array of tools and options that are at your disposal to bring your chart to life.
Step3Elements & Symbols
With the 'Main Idea' and sub-topics on the blank canvas, it's time to add departments, teams, or roles. Explore the different shapes that you can add. You will find the 'clipart' and 'mark' options on the right side of your canvas. Place elements from here to the different hierarchy or position.
Step4Customize
Add more elements from EdrawMind's toolbox to refine your organizational chart. Select the sub-topic you wish to customize, and a balloon pop-up will appear. From here, you can change the font, size, modify the shapes, fill the element with a different color, change the layout, and much more.
Step5Save & Export
Once your organizational chart is ready, save it in various formats, like PDF, BMP, PNG, JPEG, Docs, SVG, PPTX, XLSX, and more. You can further share your org chart with your team using a Shared Link option or even directly share it to different social media platforms. Moreover, you can use the built-in presentation tool to give a live presentation.
Method 2 - Make an organizational chart with built-in templates
Step1Login
Like Method 1, log in to your EdrawMind account. But this time, head to the 'MindMap Gallery' that you find on the left of your home screen.
Step2Select & Duplicate
In the 'Search Template' option, look for an organizational chart. After finding the suitable org chart template, hover your mouse and click 'Duplicate.' The system's auto-formatting engine will instantly copy the previously made template's content, layout, structure, and format to your blank canvas.
Step3Customize
Once the content is imported, you can modify the content as per your company, replace the icons, or add more cliparts. Here you can also go ahead and change the font, color, and even the background of the organizational chart template.
Step4Export & Publish
After you are done customizing the org chart, you can either save it to your offline system in different formats, or you can go ahead and publish it to Template Community to inspire others.
General vs. EdrawMind Method
You saw how easy it is to create an organizational chart with EdrawMind's different methods. Apart from coming with an AI feature that creates an organizational chart in a few seconds, there are different ways why we recommend going ahead with EdrawMind over the generic method, like:
Free Organizational Chart Maker
Wondershare EdrawMind is a convenient org chart software for creating anything from scratch or duplicating templates. Some of the features of this free organizational chart software are:
- Layout: EdrawMind has different layout options, like Reverse, Balanced, Right Tree Map, Fishbone, and more.
- Templates: From the gallery option, you can easily select from thousands of user-generated templates
- AI: EdrawMind now has an AI generator that instantly creates an org chart.
- Outliner Mode: From the Outliner mode, you can effortlessly transform your notes to any mind map, org chart, or vice versa.
- Slide Show: With this free organizational chart, you can create a slideshow to present your diagram with your online and offline time.
Final Thoughts
Creating an organizational chart is a strategic step toward fostering a well-organized and efficient workplace. A company can easily enhance communication and decision-making processes by visually mapping out roles and relationships. For a seamless experience, consider going ahead with EdrawMind, which provides a user-friendly platform, customization options, and an AI engine. Whether you're a small business or a large enterprise, an organizational chart designed with EdrawMind can pave the way for a more productive and cohesive work environment.
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