How to Build Organizational Charts in Visio

Choose the New option in the File tab, then select Organization Chart.

Select Metric Units or US Units, then click Create.

If you want to create an org chart by hand, click Cancel when the Organization Chart Wizard dialog box appears.

Select the type of employee you want to add from the Shapes box on the left side of the screen. Drag the shape onto the document.

Select Title on the shape and input the employee’s title. Select Name on the shape and input the employee’s name.

Select the placeholder image. Select Change in the top ribbon of the Org Chart tab. Choose the desired image file from your drive and select Open.

Drag an employee’s shape onto the shape of the person they report to. The shapes will automatically connect.

To adjust the style of the shapes, select the Org Chart tab, then click your preferred shape type from the top ribbon.

This data file contains common data points found in org charts. Substitute the info in the template with your staff’s info, then save the file before going to the next step.

In Visio, choose the New option in the File tab, then select Organization Chart.

Select Metric Units or US Units, then click Create.

Select Information that’s already stored in a file or database when the Organization Chart Wizard dialog box appears. Click Next.

Select A text, Org Plus (*.txt), or Excel file, then click Next.

Locate the data file in your drive, then click Next.

Choose the columns from your file that define the name of the employees and who they report to. If you choose Full Name from the first drop down menu, choose for the third, otherwise the employee’s first name will appear twice in the chart. Click Next.

Add or remove columns from the file that you want to display for each employee, such as their job title and office phone number, then click Next. The next screen will ask for similar information, which will be displayed on each employee’s shape. Add or remove columns to display on each employee shape, then click Next.

Select Locate the folder that contains your organization pictures, then find the folder. The names of the pictures files need to match the criteria you choose. For example, if you choose Full Name, then the employee’s picture file could be called CalebMatthews.jpg. Click Next.

Depending on the size, your chart may need to be split across several pages. To automatically generate the optimized layout, choose I want the wizard to automatically break my organization chart across pages. Click Finish.

To alter the appearance of your org chart’s layout, choose from the options in the Layout group of the Org Chart tab.