If you’ve heard one of your colleagues talking about an “org chart” and were left feeling confused, you’re not the only one.
It’s a shortening of the term “organizational chart”, which is a visual diagram that shows the relationships that exist between individuals and departments within an organization. And for us here at Organimi, it’s something that we’re passionate about!
Building an interactive accurate organizational chart that clearly shows the structure, reporting relationships, and responsibilities within an organization is important no matter its size or industry. In fact, an org chart is arguably a critical component for small organizations that have ambitious growth plans.
What is an Interactive Org Chart?
An interactive org chart is exactly what it sounds like — an org chart that can both be interacted with by employees and updated on the fly as people move around internally.
But it wasn’t always like this.
Once upon a time, the conventional static org chart was seen as an unnecessary burden that most employees would have tried their best to avoid dealing with. This is because static org charts usually had to either be drawn by hand or built in a word processor, a laborious task that in many cases would take days to complete.
By the time the static org chart was complete, it would in most cases become outdated a short time later when a new hire was brought on board, or somebody moved to a new role. They would then be stuffed away and forgotten about, only periodically examined when someone new needs to be hired.
This was quite a pointless task that made the case for a better, more modern solution: Interactive org charts that could be built using software and kept updated automatically.
Fast forward several years and we find ourselves in a position where there’s no shortage of cloud-based org chart tools, each with its own range of features and functions. The org charts built using modern org chart tools are always on, always accessible, always up-to-date, and easily shareable. This eliminates much of the friction experienced with conventional static org charts and paves the way for many powerful use cases.
Why Do I Need an Interactive Chart?
You don’t need an interactive org chart, strictly speaking. It is possible to get by without one. But it doesn’t make sense to.
At Organimi, we’ve built a powerful organizational chart builder that makes it possible to visualize your organization in an entirely new way by building custom, flexible frameworks that evolve alongside your growth.
By implementing an interactive org chart into your organization, you will be able to see any skills gaps that exist, identify overlaps between individuals and teams, pre-empt future vacancies for better resource planning, and much, much more.
More crucially than anything, however, you’ll be able to keep your teams informed, accountable, and aligned around your goals and mission.
What Can an Interactive Org Chart Do?
Interactive organizational charts are highly flexible tools that can be used for a lot more than simply visualizing reporting relationships. While this is the basic function of the org chart, some of the other features and use cases include:
- Drag-and-drop mapping to move people, create departments, and add roles
- View reporting hierarchies between individuals and teams
- Plan scenarios in a collaborative environment
- Map organizational functions, to see where gaps and overlaps exist
- See live headcounts, skills gaps, team stats, and more
- See vacancies at a glance and build recruitment plans
- One-click export and print for sharing information with teams
- Create unlimited, view-only, live access for your charts
How Can I Build My Own Interactive Chart?
There’s no need to worry about how you can build your own interactive org chart because Organimi does all the hard work for you.
The tool has been designed in a way that means you don’t need to waste time sorting through and uploading information and building a basic structure.
Organimi supports integrations with a range of collaborative tools such as Google and Salesforce through Organimi Connect, allowing you to import your employees and their roles automatically in a matter of minutes.
Organimi can also connect to any HRMIS, ERP, or other business productivity application with our data and file import tools and the Organimi Connect API, making Organimi the perfect solution for IT teams looking to connect Organimi to their existing platforms.
Once your data has been imported, you’re ready to start using Organimi to change and refine your org chart to your liking using our extensive feature set.
Get started now with a free trial of Organimi to experience the power of interactive org charts for yourself — no credit card or payment information is required.
Alternatively, learn more about org charts from some of our blog resources: