The Tool Desk
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If the goal is to show who reports to whom rather than a manually selected list of employees, add the Organization chart web part instead. The two web parts solve different problems and can be used together on the same page.
Choose the right SharePoint directory method
| Requirement | Use this web part |
|---|---|
| Display a selected group of employees with photos, names, titles, and contact links | People |
| Show the management structure around a particular employee | Organization chart |
The People web part is the better choice for a department directory, leadership listing, office contacts page, or company-wide directory assembled from selected profiles. The Organization chart is centered on one selected person and displays the reporting hierarchy available in Microsoft 365. It is not a free-form directory of every employee.
Before you start
- Use a modern SharePoint page.
- Have permission to edit and publish the page.
- Make sure employees have usable Microsoft 365 profile data. Search results and profile cards depend on information available to your organization.
- Decide whether you need a selected list, an organization hierarchy, or both.
The built-in web parts use existing Microsoft 365 profile information. That information can come from Microsoft Entra ID, organizational data in Microsoft 365, Microsoft 365 Copilot connectors for people data, or details provided by the user.
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How to create a SharePoint employee directory with People
- Open the modern SharePoint page that will contain the directory.
- Select Edit at the top right if the page is not already in edit mode.
- In the right-side Toolbox, select See all web parts.
- Select People, or drag it onto the page.
- The web part normally starts with the heading People profiles. Select that text and replace it with a title such as Employee Directory, Our Leadership Team, or Customer Support Contacts.
- Inside the People web part, enter an employee’s name or part of the name.
- Select the matching person from the search results.
- Select Add profile.
- Repeat the search and Add profile process for every employee you want to include.
When you select a profile, SharePoint adds the person from the tenant’s directory data. You are not typing a separate name-and-email record into the page, so changes to the underlying profile can flow through to the card after Microsoft 365 has processed them.
Set the People card layout
After adding profiles, select the People web part and choose Edit properties. In the right-side toolbox, select one of the available layouts: Small, Medium, or Large.
| Layout | What it displays | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Small | A photo, when available, and the person’s name or email address | Compact lists and pages with many contacts |
| Medium | Photo, name or email, job title when available, an optional tagline, and an option for a profile link | Department directories and contact pages |
| Large | A larger profile presentation for pages where each employee needs more visual prominence | Leadership, executives, or featured contacts |
Microsoft’s People web-part documentation says a Medium-card tagline can contain up to 50 characters. Use it for short information such as “London office” or “Technical account manager,” not a paragraph of biography.
Reorder employees in the directory
SharePoint adds profiles in the order you select them, but you can change the order later:
- Select the People web part.
- Use the profile’s Move button to drag it to a new position.
- For keyboard movement, use Ctrl + Left Arrow or Ctrl + Right Arrow.
For a department page, a useful order might be department head, team leads, then individual contributors. For a general directory, alphabetical order by surname is usually easier to scan.
Add an organization chart
Use the Organization chart web part when visitors need to understand reporting relationships. It builds a visual hierarchy around one person and lets you choose how many reporting levels appear above that person.
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- Open the modern SharePoint page.
- Select Edit at the top right if necessary.
- In the right-side Toolbox, select See all web parts.
- Select Organization chart, or drag it onto the page.
- Select the default Organization chart heading and replace it with a title such as Engineering Reporting Structure.
- In the web part, enter a name in Name or email address.
- Select the matching person.
- To configure the hierarchy, select Edit properties at the top left of the Organization chart web part.
- In the right-side pane, enter the required number of reporting levels up.
The chart is anchored to the person you select. It does not provide a setting for manually placing unrelated employees into a custom tree. External users also cannot currently be added to this web part, so an external contractor may be suitable for a People listing but not for the Organization chart.
Inspect employee contact information
Visitors can select or hover over a person’s name in the Organization chart. Selecting the name again opens the information card, where available contact details can be accessed. People cards similarly depend on the profile information available for each employee.
Microsoft lists these default profile-card properties when data exists:
- Name and email
- Chat
- Work phone and mobile phone
- Work location
- Company
- Job title and department
- Business address
These properties appear only when data exists. A blank phone number, missing job title, or absent photo is normally a profile-data issue rather than a configuration error in the People web part.
Show additional employee fields
A Microsoft 365 administrator can control the visibility of certain optional profile-card properties. The current admin-center path is:
Settings > Org settings > People settings > Profile card > Contact info
The administrator must be a Global Administrator or People Administrator. Optional properties include:
- Division
- Role
- Employee number
- Employee type
- Cost center
- User principal name
- Alias
- Fax
- Street address, state, and postal code
Microsoft says changes to optional-property visibility can take up to 24 hours to appear on profile cards. Enabling street address, state, or postal code places those values under Business address.
Hiding a field does not delete the underlying Microsoft 365 data. It removes the property from profile cards, but the information may still appear elsewhere. Permanent removal requires deleting or correcting the value in its source system.
Fix common employee-directory problems
An employee does not appear in search
The People and Organization chart web parts can select people only when those people are available in the tenant’s directory or profile data. Check that the employee exists in Microsoft Entra ID or another configured Microsoft 365 organizational data source and that visibility settings do not exclude the profile.
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The employee appears, but fields are blank
Check the source data for the employee’s title, department, phone number, office location, and photo. The web part does not invent missing values. If a field is incorrect, the administrator needs to correct the source-system record.
A profile update has not appeared
Microsoft documents these possible delays, depending on where the change was made:
| Change source | Possible delay |
|---|---|
| New Microsoft 365 profile experience | Up to 24 hours to appear |
| Other users viewing the update | Up to 36 hours |
| Delve or the SharePoint editor | Up to 72 hours across Microsoft 365 apps and services |
| Administrator visibility changes for optional profile fields | Up to 24 hours |
Refreshing the page repeatedly will not bypass tenant propagation. Allow the relevant window to pass before treating the change as a failed update.
A user edited personal contact information, but coworkers cannot see it
Microsoft says manually added contact information is visible only to the person who added it. It is not published to other users as company-directory data. Likewise, organization-supplied information cannot be removed from a personal contact record; the organization must correct it at the source.
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Visibility settings and cross-tenant identity can affect what users see. Also remember that profile-card Files sections show only documents the viewer already has permission to access. Private documents are not exposed by adding a person to a directory page.
The interface does not match these steps
Microsoft says some SharePoint functionality is introduced gradually through Targeted Release and other deployment stages. Labels, layout, or availability can therefore differ between tenants. Confirm that you are editing a modern page and search the Toolbox for People or Organization chart.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What not to use for a new directory
Older instructions may recommend the Organization Browser web part or a SharePoint Space for an employee hierarchy. Microsoft’s current modern-page procedure uses People for selected profiles and Organization chart for reporting relationships. Microsoft says SharePoint spaces were planned for deprecation beginning March 2025, so they are not a sensible foundation for a new directory.
You also do not need the Planner, Power Apps, Power BI, or List properties web parts for this implementation. Those web parts have separate availability and site-type limitations, and none is required for a basic employee directory.
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Publish and maintain the page
- Review names, titles, photos, and card order.
- Check the page in the intended audience’s permissions context.
- Confirm that profile links and contact actions open correctly.
- Select Publish or Republish when the page is ready.
- Review the directory whenever employees join, leave, change teams, or update roles.
For most organizations, the People web part is enough: it creates a curated directory without maintaining duplicate employee records. Add an Organization chart below or beside it only when visitors also need a visual view of reporting lines.
FAQ
Can I create a SharePoint employee directory without coding?
Yes. Add the built-in People web part to a modern SharePoint page, search for employees, and select Add profile. No PowerShell, command-line syntax, custom code, or Power Apps form is required.
What is the difference between People and Organization chart in SharePoint?
People displays selected employees as profile cards. Organization chart creates a hierarchy around one selected person and supports a configurable number of reporting levels up.
Can I add external contractors to the Organization chart?
No. Microsoft currently states that external users cannot be added to the Organization chart web part. They may still be usable in a People listing if they are available through the tenant’s profile data.
Why is an employee missing from the People web-part search?
The person must be available in the directory or profile data exposed to your Microsoft 365 tenant. Check Microsoft Entra ID, organizational profile data, connectors, and visibility settings.
How long does it take for a changed job title or phone number to appear?
The delay depends on the update source. Microsoft documents up to 24 hours for some Microsoft 365 profile changes, up to 36 hours for other users to see updates, and up to 72 hours for changes made through Delve or the SharePoint editor.
Can I add employee numbers or cost centers to profile cards?
A Global Administrator or People Administrator can enable optional properties under Settings > Org settings > People settings > Profile card > Contact info. Microsoft says changes can take up to 24 hours to appear.
Does hiding a profile-card field delete the employee data?
No. Hiding a property removes it from profile cards but does not delete the underlying Microsoft 365 data. Permanent removal requires correcting or deleting the value in its source system.
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For a modern SharePoint employee directory, add the People web part, select the required employees, choose Small, Medium, or Large cards, and publish the page. Use Organization chart when the page must explain reporting relationships. If names or contact fields are missing, fix the Microsoft 365 profile data and allow time for the update to propagate.
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