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An organizational chart (also called an org chart or organogram) is a visual tool that represents a company’s internal structure. It details how teams and departments are organized and how relationships flow across the organization. Each individual’s role and responsibilities are clearly outlined, helping to understand the hierarchy and reporting lines within the business.
What are the 4 different types of organizational charts?
To effectively visualize your company’s structure and communicate its chain of command, you can create an organizational chart based on one of these four types of structures: vertical (hierarchical), horizontal (flat), matrix, and creative.
Vertical organizational chart (Hierarchical)
This is the most commonly used type of organizational chart. The vertical or hierarchical chart places the individual with the most authority at the top, while those with less authority are positioned below, forming a pyramid-like structure.
Example: A CEO at the top, followed by managers, then employees.
Horizontal organizational chart (Flat)
A horizontal (flat) organizational chart has minimal or no middle management. It features only two levels: top administrators and employees. This structure emphasizes a lack of hierarchy and promotes equal standing among employees.
Matrix organizational chart
The matrix organizational chart blends both vertical and horizontal structures. It highlights reporting relationships with a vertical hierarchy while maintaining the flexibility of cross-functional teams that report to project managers. This is ideal for companies working on complex projects across departments.
Creative organizational chart
A creative organizational chart breaks away from traditional layouts and incorporates unique design elements to reflect the company’s personality. It might use vibrant colors, custom icons, or even arrange roles in non-traditional ways, like a circular layout to emphasize collaboration. This type of chart adds a personal and engaging touch, reflecting your company’s brand and culture.
20 organizational chart examples
Now, let’s take a look at 20 organizational chart examples you can use in your business.
The majority of these examples feature hierarchical org charts, but you can add or delete branches to create other types of org charts as well.
Vertical smart organization chart example
This vertical corporate structure chart uses dynamic colors to differentiate the teams and their reports.
This extreme vertical format works well for smaller corporate structures or for departments within a larger organization.
Note: An organizational chart such as the one above can be easily customized in the Venngage editor. Click on the sections you want to add and the items will be duplicated so you can make edits.
When you more text, the shape automatically resizes to fit. You can also apply formatting from one shape to another or all the branches with the ‘Formatting’ button in the menu. Sign up is free!
Corporate vertical organizational chart example
This vertical organizational chart helps employees understand who they report to, who their peers report to and the responsibilities everyone has.
Although the layout itself is minimal, the shapes and colors bring life to the design.
It looks professional, incorporates multilevel home designs and provides something more engaging to employees.
You can also use icons to differentiate between departments in organizational chart designs. This will especially help new hires understand right away what they’re looking at.
Simple vertical organizational chart example
For a more modern look and feel, check out this alternate take on a healthcare organizational chart.
It incorporates a digitized background design and a flat color palette.
Bold vertical organization chart example
When designing your own organizational chart, it’s important to group employees together who report to the same manager/executive.
It’s up to you how you visualize those connections.
One method is to use lines and nodes for a typical layout.
Or, as in this vertical organizational chart example, you can use a legend and a varied color palette to indicate the reporting structure.
Modern vertical organizational chart example
An organizational chart can also be more than a breakdown of reporting relationships.
This organizational chart includes contact information for individual staff. This is especially helpful for new employees or when communicating across departments.
This is a memorable way to show the connections between departments and team members and it makes a statement.
Vibrant functional smart organizational chart example
If choosing a design style for your organizational chart feels challenging, consider your organization’s brand guidelines.
It can provide you the style and color inspiration you need to get started.
Marketing organizational structure example
In this example, the organizational chart is broken down by function and it’s clear the chief marketing officer oversees the marketing department.
Blue functional organizational chart example
Another option is to apply a unique color for each department or function.
This will help whoever is reading the organizational chart find exactly what they’re looking for. Otherwise, you’ll many tables that look exactly the same and it take more time to understand.
Generally, a traditional marketing organizational structure is broken down by departments.
You have teams entirely dedicated to areas like branding, communications and digital. It’s also important to identify teams that marketing relies on – like customer success and developers.
With the use of a vibrant color palette, you can clearly identify each department and who belongs in each. It’s easier to scan and follow over angular lines, especially in more complex organizational structures.
This blue functional organizational chart example is broken down in a similar way. The layout is just set to landscape and reads from left to right.
Notice how this organizational chart design makes use of employee headshots?
That’s especially helpful to new employees.
With the rise of remote work and remote employee onboarding, you may not always share an office or break room with fellow co-workers so headshots in a organizational chart is a simple way to help folks get acquainted.
Vertical organizational chart example
A vertical organizational chart, or hierarchical chart, is the traditional org chart you see in many organizations.
The layout positions the CEO at the top, with those report directly below and so on.
The goal of a vertical organizational chart is to present reporting relationships between employees.
Here’s an example vertical corporate structure chart for Apple. You can see it’s a very typical hierarchical chart with lots of layers of leadership.
It’s clear who reports to whom in upper-management at a glance.
Companies like Apple also have unique roles such as the Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives executive, or the Apple University Dean.
Plotting these types of roles in a business organizational chart is essential as it indicates where these roles fall in terms of hierarchy, who they answer to and what their responsibilities are.
Another aspect of a vertical organizational chart are the organizational functions. This is often referred to as a functional organizational chart.
Inbound marketing organizational structure example
In a presentation by Hubspot on creating agile teams, they shared a breakdown of how their (powerhouse) marketing department is structured.
The breakdown is by specific functions/objectives, channels and relevant metrics.
You’ll also notice that there is no clear reporting structure because the objective of this chart design is to highlight how the marketing team operates.
This is what a functional organizational chart can look like within a department.
The functions are defined as teams and channels. Your own organizational chart design will probably look different since it depends on the types of channels your marketing team is divided into.
This divisional organizational chart is broken down into its separate business areas of focus.
This type of organizational structure applies to larger organizations with divisions that are geographical, product-focused, industry-focused, market-focused or anything along those lines.
You’ll see that each division has its own marketing team, sales team and services team and they operate independently of one another and have all the same functions.
Simple horizontal organization chart example
Flat organizational structures can share the same layout as vertical organizational structures, but there are fewer executive and managerial levels.
The horizontal organizational chart example above also uses a landscape orientation.
This helps to emphasize the lack of hierarchical tiers and the extended role of management. While it is just a design choice, it communicates how the organization is structured at a glance.
Valve, the popular video-game developer, is proud of the flat organizational structure they’ve built.
Here’s how they visualize their organizational structure in their employee handbook. They include a few quips as well.
This is a fun way to understand Valve’s views on hierarchy, structure and collaboration. It’s clear there is a level of camaraderie and togetherness they aspire for.
It’s also a great example of presenting an organization’s brand and culture through documentation.
Rather than just a flat organizational structure with minimal hierarchy, Valve aspires for a completely collaborative organization with no hierarchy at all.
Within a horizontal organizational structure, managers will have a higher set of responsibilities and more direct reports than a typical manager.
This means a marketing manager may have designers, product people, support staff and others who don’t necessarily fall into “marketing” as reports, too.
Github has a lean marketing organizational structure.
The VP oversees many areas, but they are not layered with upper and middle management. Instead, the teams are small and collaborative.
It’s always helpful to mimic your organizational structure in the design of your organizational chart. Reduce the number of tiers and group teams together in the way that makes the most sense.
In Github’s lean marketing structure, you can see where responsibilities overlap, those teams share a color code.
These color palettes can carry over into project sprints and tasks that get tracked in applications like Trello and Asana! It’s a great way to maintain consistency in all your corporate communications.
Matrix organizational structure examples
The matrix organizational chart combines traditional organizational structures.
There is a clear vertical functional structure with functional managers lining the top row.
But project managers work with employees from each function and so form a parallel column to the employees in each function.
In this layout, the tiny squares highlight which employee in each function reports to a project manager.
The simplest way to indicate reporting relationships here is through the use of arrows or lines and aligning the correct staff vertically with their managers and horizontally with their project managers.
The matrix organizational structure is necessary for large organizations that have multiple projects going on and need collaboration across departments.
Nike’s organizational structure gets a lot of praise and it happens to be a matrix organizational structure.
Many organizations experiment with the structure of their company.
Whether it’s a desire for faster decision-making, smarter experimentation, clear channels of communication, improved accountability or something else, how your organization is structured makes the difference.
Startups and major corporations alike often adopt creative organizational structures that achieve a goal.
Let’s take a look at some of these types of organizational charts.
Spotify’s organizational chart example: Tribes, squads and guilds
Spotify, the well-known audio-streaming service, is known for its unique tribe organizational structure.
Due to its growth and success, many startups have tried to adopt the same organizational structure, or some variation of it and make it work for them.
At a glance, it may seem strange and overly complex. But the organizational structure facilitates the communication and collaboration Spotify needed (and still needs) to grow quickly and reliably.
It starts with a tribe and its tribe leads.
They lead the squads that oversee different areas of the product. Across the squads, in each tribe, you have chapters that facilitate communication between the squads and chapter leads.
Spotify’s tribal organizational structure is meant to cut down on bureaucracy, which naturally builds as a company grows to hundreds or thousands of staff.
This way Spotify can still collaborate effectively as an organization, deliver projects sooner, implement changes faster, grow better and behave in a far more responsive manner.
You can also see from the way the organizational charts are arranged, there is an emphasis on fluidity within the structure, rather than rigidity.
Zappos is an online shoe and clothing retailer. They’re also known for having a unique culture and organizational structure.
They share insights on their approach to structure on Zappos Insights. This includes the fact that they are a holacracy.
A holacracy has a decentralized leadership, rather than one concentrated in an individual or handful of people.
It aims to distribute power typically reserved to executives across an organization to all employees.
It rejects the notion of hierarchy completely. The benefit is that it enables regular staffers to put forth ideas, collaborate with other employees and work with minimal restrictions.
Here’s an example of what a holacratic organizational chart looks like:
You can see right away there aren’t any lines, columns or rows like in the previous organizational chart examples.
Employees belong in a space that is shared, brought together in areas of specific functions and tasks.
A complete holacratic organizational chart would be a cluster of super-circles representing departments or functions, with smaller groups of circles for specific areas.
Meet the team company organizational chart
If you’re welcoming a new member to the team, this team organizational chart can help you provide a clear visual of how the team is structured, highlighting each person’s role and responsibilities.
It can also show new hires who they’ll be working with directly, making it easier for them to understand reporting lines and build connections within the team from day one.
People and culture HR organizational chart
Creating a People and Culture HR organizational chart is essential for providing clarity on the structure and responsibilities within the HR department.
This visual tool also makes it easier for team members to know who to approach for specific HR-related questions, improving communication and fostering a more organized and transparent workplace environment.
Leadership organizational chart
Designing a leadership organizational diagram can clearly outline the hierarchy and reporting structure within a company’s leadership team.
They help employees understand who holds key decision-making roles, making it easier to know who to contact for specific issues or approvals. These diagrams also offer transparency in leadership roles, reinforcing accountability and ensuring that everyone is aligned with the chain of command.
Hierarchy organizational chart
A hierarchy chart diagram is useful for visually representing the levels of authority and relationships within an organization or department. It helps clarify the chain of command, making it easy to see who reports to whom and how different roles are connected.
This chart enhances communication, ensures that responsibilities are clearly defined and supports efficient decision-making by outlining the organization’s internal structure at a glance.
What is the purpose of an organizational chart?
An up-to-date organizational chart serves multiple important functions within a company:
Transparency and trust: By clearly presenting the leadership team and their experience, the chart builds confidence among investors and stakeholders in the company’s direction.
Clarity and efficiency: It clarifies the chain of command, decision-making processes, and how various roles fit together, enhancing overall workflow and efficiency for employees.
Smoother onboarding: During the employee onboarding process, an organizational chart helps new hires understand the company structure, departments, and their colleagues, leading to quicker integration and better adaptability.
Adaptability and transparency: The chart reflects updates in leadership, teams, and reporting structures, ensuring everyone is informed during organizational changes. Employees can also understand how their own role fits into the evolving structure.
Communicating values: The design of the organizational chart can represent the company’s values regarding hierarchy, collaboration, and inclusivity, reinforcing these principles visually.
What are the limitations of an organizational chart?
Organizational charts (org charts) can be useful for visualizing the structure of a company, but they also have several limitations, including:
Static representation
Org charts represent a fixed structure, which can quickly become outdated, especially in dynamic organizations. They often don’t reflect temporary roles, project teams, or changing responsibilities.
Limited scope
Traditional org charts focus on hierarchy and reporting relationships, overlooking informal networks, cross-departmental collaboration, and project-based teams, which are increasingly common in modern workplaces.
Lack of role details
Org charts typically show only job titles and reporting lines without describing specific roles, responsibilities, or individual skills. This lack of detail limits their usefulness for understanding team functions or capabilities.
Difficult representing hybrid structures
In organizations with matrix or hybrid structures, where employees may report to multiple managers or work across departments, org charts become overly complex and may fail to represent these relationships accurately.
Overemphasis on hierarchy
By focusing on reporting lines, org charts can emphasize hierarchy over collaboration, making the organization seem rigid or bureaucratic. This emphasis may also discourage open communication between levels.
How to create an organizational chart in Venngage
As an online visual communication tool, creating any type of organizational chart can be done in minutes.
Then, in the editor, access neat features to customize your organizational chart design.
Apply your branding, add organizational sections and levels, upload employee headshots and include a range of icons for an engaging design.
With Venngage’s Smart diagrams, you can edit, add and duplicate sections of your organizational chart with the click of a button.
You can also change the formatting to your brand colors and apply the same to any or all shapes in the diagram.
When choosing color palettes or fonts, keep accessible design principles in mind.
You want an organizational chart that anyone can read and comprehend with ease.
Frequently asked questions
Do small businesses need organizational charts?
The short answer is yes, absolutely. When organizations are just getting started, or fairly small, there is a tendency to share the load across team members. However, it can lead to a lack of clarity about who owns what areas, what everyone’s individual responsibilities are and how to measure individual performance.
In small businesses or organizations, a defined corporate structure chart highlights everyone’s key responsibilities, holds them accountable and allows them to manage their workload without burning out.
What is the most popular organizational chart
The most popular type of organizational chart is the hierarchical org chart, which displays a traditional top-down structure with clear reporting lines. In this format, senior management appears at the top, with successive layers representing lower-level managers and employees. This type of chart is popular because of its simplicity and ease in visualizing authority within an organization.
For additional resources for planning and organizing your teams or even company, check out these blog posts:
