Do you know how to represent a company’s structure graphically? We do this job using an organizational chart. What is it? Organizational chart is a diagram that visualizes an organization’s employees with their roles and responsibilities. Commonly known as an org chart, it highlights the relationships between different individuals using lines or arrows.
However, creating such a chart isn’t child’s play. Luckily, we have a tool called Wondershare EdrawMind to create organizational charts. This guide will explain how easy it is to make org charts. Let’s get started!
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Importance of Organizational Charts
Over time, organizational charts have become more critical in companies. The main reason for their importance is the identification of authority and hierarchy within an organization. They clearly differentiate between seniors and junior individuals. At the same time, these diagrams help set and achieve an organization’s objectives.
Here are some other ways org charts are important for an organization’s growth.
1. Hierarchy
An org chart shows the immediate commanding authority for the subordinates. It also helps higher-level employees to seek individuals for a group project. This task can become challenging in a large organization with hundreds of employees. Luckily, org charts highlight all the company positions and responsibilities with clarity.
2. Recruitment
Org charts can also play an integral role in hiring new employees. These diagrams enable administrators and HR managers to keep track of their individuals. This way, they can always monitor which positions should be filled.
3. Improved Efficiency
An organization will work with more efficiency by tracking its employees. Organizational charts or structures help managers identify the workload and relevant individuals to be assigned. They also allow monitoring of each individual’s performance in a group or single project. You can assign them to a more suitable position based on the results.
Types of Organizational Charts
An organizational chart is categorized into many types. Many of its types are also known as variations. However, the primary ones include:
- Hierarchical Organizational Chart
- Matrix Organizational Chart
- Flat Organizational Chart
- Division Organizational Chart
Let’s discuss them one by one to provide a clearer picture:
Hierarchical Organizational Chart
A hierarchical organizational chart is also known as a pyramid chart. It is the most common type of this diagram with the highest rank on the top. The roles start getting low-level as the diagram moves to the bottom. Generally, this type represents that every individual has a supervisor, while employee relationships are relatively straightforward.
Matric Organizational Chart
Matrix organizational charts illustrate cross-functional individuals and groups within an entity. Usually, this diagram is used for special projects that require teams of employees. It is also known as a gird chart. This type of diagram offers a dynamic representation of a company, allowing supervisors to choose employees for special projects.
Flat Organizational Chart
A flat organizational chart is a comparatively smaller diagram than other types. It works ideally for organizations with fewer employees. Generally, it depicts high-level employees supervising staff-level employees. It is also known as a horizontal chart as it expands on more neighboring nodes instead of going down vertically.
Division Organizational Chart
A division organizational chart depicts a business’ divisions within the larger picture. It shows each division has its own set of employees with dedicated resources. An organization can have multiple divisional charts for its different teams, like sales, marketing, IT, and accounting. This diagram works best for larger companies.
A divisional org chart also has sub-types or variations, including Market-based, Product-based, and Geographical divisional org charts.
How to Create an Organizational Chart from Scratch?
To create organizational charts, we use different tools and applications. One of the most feature-rich options is EdrawMind. It is an easy-to-use software with a wide range of drawing features. You can start with its free version, which packs all the essential options to create an organizational chart.
First, download and install EdrawMind by following the on-screen instructions. Second, sign in with a social account (Gmail, Facebook, etc). You can also create a new Wondershare account for free.
After that, follow the steps below to create your first org chart from scratch:
- Click Org Chart from the main screen.
- Next, you will see the default layout on the canvas. Double-click the Main Idea to modify its text.
- Similarly, double-click the Main Topics to modify their text. Then, right-click the Main Idea, hover over Insert, and click Sub-topic. Change the text inside this newly-added element.
- Now, select an element and head to the right toolbar for customization. We can change the color, shape, border, and font style of all the main and sub-topics.
- Let’s insert more subtopics to make it a functional organizational chart.
- Lastly, click the File option from the left corner and head to Save As. Browse your device’s storage to save the diagram. You can also click the Export option to get this file in a different format, like PDF, Word, PPT, TXT, HTML, Excel, or SVG.
Create an Org Chart from Templates
EdrawMind is one of the easiest drawing apps for organizational charts. If you have no experience with these diagrams, you can use the app’s templates. You will find tons of pre-made example charts in EdrawMind. Some of them are located under the Local Examples section on the main screen.
However, many other templates are also available in the EdrawMind Gallery feature. These templates require only a few modifications according to your requirements. Then, you save or export them as your own org charts.
Conclusion
An organizational chart has many benefits, like illustrating employee relationships, work efficiency, job responsibilities, company structure, and individual performances. These diagrams can also work as a work plan for special projects. They provide an in-depth insight into your organization, identifying incompetent employees and heavy workloads.
Drawing organizational charts is not difficult at all. It only requires a little practice. And considering its benefits, the ends justify the means. You can start practicing org charts today on EdrawMind. This illustration can help your organization highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the system. Moreover, it can help you set milestones to be achieved by every individual in the company.
