How to Build Organizational Charts in Word

In the Insert tab, click on the SmartArt dropdown.

Scroll down through the SmartArt options, and hover over the Hierarchy flyout.

Choose a layout that works for you. Our favorite is the first one, Organizational Chart.

Once you click the Organizational Chart image, Word will automatically generate the org chart template pictured below. The SmartArt Text dialog will also open up. You can edit the content in each of the boxes in the SmartArt Text box or directly in the boxes. To add another line of text within the box, hit enter.

Once you click the Organizational Chart image, Word will automatically generate the org chart template pictured below. The SmartArt Text dialog will also open up. You can edit the content in each of the boxes in the SmartArt Text box or directly in the boxes. To add another line of text within the box, hit enter.

To update the format of your org chart right click (control + click on Macs) into the editing plane and click on the dropdown option Format Object.

Another way of editing the color and format of the org chart boxes is by clicking into the editing plane and choosing SmartArt Design in the top ribbon. You can edit the text within the org chart boxes by clicking into the org chart editing plane and choosing Format.

If you have more of a horizontal organizational structure, switch the orientation of your document to the landscape layout. To do this, first click the Layout tab. You can then click the Orientation button and select the Landscape option.

You can center your org chart with these steps. Click outside the SmartArt section to exit the editing function. Then click to the left of the org chart so your curser will be right before the org chart. Choose the Home tab, and then click the Center Text button.

This file will contain all of the common data points found in org charts. You will be able to quickly add your staff info to this template and edit the information displayed in your org chart.

Add data points for employees like first name, last name, and title. This org chart template can serve as the master document for your employee database.

Copy all of the data you’d like to display in your org chart, then clear the information in the SmartArt text box and paste in your employee data.

If there’s data in the employee database that you don’t want, you can hide columns before copying the data; this will exclude any unwanted employee data points.

The information copied over from the org chart template will be in one long line. Click into each shape where the employee data was pasted and organize the information into separate lines.

To get your organizational structure to line up like the example below, start with the employee on the far right—or the most junior employee—and demote people until they're under their manager