How to create an Employee Directory in SharePoint

Nobody wants to go through with the tons of Paperwork and manual approach nowadays. Business success hinges on effective communication and seamless collaboration. But how can we ensure our organization stays ahead of the game? The answer lies in harnessing the full potential of Microsoft SharePoint to create a dynamic and comprehensive employee directory. It is time to upgrade from scattered information to a centralized hub that fuels productivity, fosters collaboration, and supercharges your team’s performance. In this blog, we will know how to create an Employee Directory in SharePoint aswell as we know we will delve into the definition, importance, key features, and unique capabilities and how to create an employee directory.

What is an Employee Directory?

An employee directory is a digital platform that serves as a centralized hub for storing and accessing valuable information about employees. It typically includes details such as employee profiles, job titles, contact information, department affiliations, and other relevant data. By providing a comprehensive view of the workforce, an employee directory promotes efficient communication, collaboration, and organizational transparency.

The employee directory serves as a comprehensive directory of our organization’s workforce. It allows employees to quickly find and connect with colleagues, facilitating smoother communication and fostering collaboration across teams and departments. Moreover, it provides a centralized platform to manage and update employee information, ensuring accuracy and accessibility.

Importance of an Employee Directory

An employee directory plays a pivotal role in promoting organizational efficiency. Here are some key reasons why it is essential:

Seamless Communication: The directory enables employees to find and connect with colleagues effortlessly, improving internal communication channels and fostering collaboration.
Organizational Transparency: By providing visibility into the structure and composition of the workforce, an employee directory promotes transparency and inclusivity within the organization.
Access to Expertise: It helps employees identify subject matter experts and key stakeholders, facilitating knowledge-sharing and problem-solving.
Onboarding and Orientation: New employees can quickly familiarize themselves with their colleagues, facilitating smoother integration into the organization.

5 Key Features of an Employee Directory

An effective employee directory should possess the following features:

Comprehensive Employee Profiles: Each employee profile should include essential details such as name, job title, department, contact information, and a brief bio.
Search Functionality: An advanced search feature enables users to find specific employees based on various criteria, such as name, department, or skill set.
Organizational chart: The directory should reflect the hierarchical structure of the organization, showcasing reporting relationships and team structures.
Customizability: The ability to customize the directory’s appearance and fields allows organizations to align it with their branding and specific requirements.
Self-Service Options: Employees should be able to update their information, ensuring that the directory remains accurate and up to date.

Information that should be covered in an Employee Directory

An employee directory typically includes the following information:

Employee Names: The names of all employees within the organization.
Job Titles: The positions and roles of employees.
Contact Information: Phone numbers, email addresses, and other relevant contact details.
Department Affiliations: The departments or teams to which employees belong.
Skills and Expertise: Information about employees’ specific skills and areas of expertise.
Profile Pictures: Visual representations of employees, aiding in identification and personalization.

Which Employees should be included or excluded in an Employee Directory?

Organizations are transforming how they connect and empower their workforces with an innovative employee directory solution. This cutting-edge approach backs the importance of personalized experiences and inclusive environments, creating a thriving ecosystem for employee engagement.

With an acute understanding of the challenges organizations face, this innovative solution provides the flexibility to selectively exclude certain employees from Office 365. By addressing the presence of former employees in the system and safeguarding data privacy, organizations can curate their directories with precision and control.

However, true transformation lies in embracing a holistic vision. By including every employee, regardless of their role or seniority, this innovative solution fosters a culture of collaboration, synergy, and community. It nurtures a vibrant network where individuals from all levels can seamlessly connect and unlock the full potential of their collective expertise.

Through this game-changing model, organizations gain exceptional control over their Employee Directories while supporting the values of inclusivity and personalization. This trailblazing solution paves the way for a new era of connection and collaboration within the workplace, propelling organizations towards unparalleled success.

Your solutions for a seamless HR management

If you are seeking a comprehensive solution to streamline your HR processes and enhance your employee Directory 365, look no further than HR365. With its seamless integration with Microsoft Teams or SharePoint, HR365 takes your HR management to the next level.

The following are the reasons why it is the best choice:

Streamlined HR Processes: HR365 automates essential HR tasks such as employee onboarding, leave management, and performance reviews. By eliminating manual processes, it boosts efficiency and frees up valuable time, reducing administrative burdens.
Microsoft Teams and SharePoint Integration: Enjoy a unified and familiar experience with HR365’s seamless integration with Microsoft and SharePoint. This integration ensures a cohesive employee directory, empowering users with a user-friendly interface they already know and love.
Enhanced Data Accuracy: Say goodbye to outdated employee data. HR365 integrates with various HR systems, ensuring that employee information remains accurate and up to date. Additionally, employees can easily manage their data through self-service options, promoting data integrity.
Advanced Reporting and Analytics: Uncover valuable insights about your workforce with HR365’s powerful reporting and analytics capabilities. By harnessing data-driven insights, organizations can make informed decisions and optimize their HR strategies.

This is how you can create an employee directory in SharePoint

Create SPFx web part to get user details from Azure AD using Graph API

Step 1: Create a new project folder

Start by creating a new project folder on your computer and navigate to that directory.

Step 2: Generate a new solution

Create a new solution by running the Yeoman SharePoint Framework Generator command:

yo @microsoft/sharepoint

Step 3: Provide solution details

The next set of prompts asks for specific information about your web part, such as the name and description:

Step 4: Verify solution creation

Now your solution is successfully created, and you can also verify once you open the solution in Visual Studio code.

Look into the screenshot below where the solution was successfully created.

Step 5: Set up Graph API connection

Open the ConnectwithGraphAPIWebPart.ts file and set context to connect with Graph API

Step 6: Create a component for fetching user details

Create one new functional component to get the fetch the user with Graph API query and use the below query

props.GetContext

.getClient()

.then((client: MSGraphClient): void => {

client

.api(‘/users?$top=999’)

.get((error, response: any, rawResponse?: any) => {

console.log(response.value);

allUsers.push(response.value);

})

});

Where props.GetContext is the context.msGraphClientFactory

Step 7: Import the user list component

Open the ConnectwithGraphAPI.tsx file and import UserList.tsx a new component which we made to connect with MS Graph API

Step 8: Run the code

Run the code and you will get the user data in console

Step 9: Create a SharePoint list

Create a new SharePoint List with required columns to post the User details in that list with the information of the user

Step 10: Post user data to the SharePoint list

Make a post call to post data in SharePoint list

function postData(allUsers: any[]) {

for (let index = 0; index < allUsers.length; index++){

let finalTemplate = {

Name: allUsers[index][‘displayName’],

Email: allUsers[index][‘userPrincipalName’],

Location: allUsers[index][‘officeLocation’],

JobTitle: allUsers[index][‘jobTitle’],

MobileNumber: allUsers[index][‘businessPhones’][0]

}

var updateurl = ContextService.GetUrl() + “/_api/web/lists/getbytitle(‘EmployeeDirectory’)/items”;

ContextService.GetSPContext()

.post(

updateurl,

SPHttpClient.configurations.v1,

{

headers: {

“Accept”: “application/json;odata=nometadata”,

“Content-type”: “application/json;odata=nometadata”,

“odata-version”: “”,

body: JSON.stringify(finalTemplate),

}

)

.then((response: SPHttpClientResponse): void => {

if (response.ok) {

console.log(“”)

} else {

response.json().then((responseJSON) => {

console.log(responseJSON);

});

}

})

}

Step 11: Run the posting function

Run the above function and data will post in the respective columns

Step 12: Create a new page

Go to pages and click on “New” Dropdown button.

Step 13: Click on a site page to create a new page

Step 14: Add a title to the page

Add a title for the newly created page.

Step 15: Add a list web part

Then click on the + icon to add a list in a page.

Step 16: Choose the Employee Directory list

Search for the list and click on list.

Once you select the list you will be able to see the available lists of this site.

Select your list name here we are selecting the Employee Directory.

Step 17: Customize the web part view

Configure the web part’s view to display the desired columns and information from the Employee Directory list. Once you add the webpart this will the view.

Step 18: Publish the page

Click on the “Publish” button to publish the page with the employee directory web part.

Step 19: View the published page

After publishing, you will see the published page with the employee directory web part displayed.

Now you have successfully created an employee directory in SharePoint. You can navigate to the published page and explore the employee information displayed in the directory.

Creating an employee directory in SharePoint can improve organizational communication and collaboration significantly. You may develop an innovative and personalized employee directory by following the steps given in this article and linking it with Azure Directory for easy user information retrieval. Empower your employees with a comprehensive and easily accessible directory that fosters effective teamwork and streamlined workflows. Begin creating your personnel directory in SharePoint today.

Recommendation: With the above information, you are good to create an employee directory with Microsoft 365 with all the regular features. Also, HR365’s employee directory is little more advanced because it has an organizational dashboard where you can check the average gender diversity ratio, average employee tenure, and age by department and various locations.
Discover the extraordinary organizational dashboard, where you will unlock distinctive insights into gender diversity ratios, employee tenure, and age averages by departments and locations.

Embrace the innovation with HR365’s cutting-edge employee directory for Office 365 and Microsoft 365. Unleash the full potential of your HR management and unlock a future of limitless possibilities.

Note: – Use out-of-the-box employee directory 365 which is readily available for Office 365, or Microsoft 365 for SharePoint online as well as for Microsoft Teams with advance features such as excluding users in bulk, hide mobile numbers of certain senior executives, and dynamic organization chart. You can refer here SharePoint Employee Directory I Best SPFX Teams App HR365

About HR365

HR365 leads and serves the industry in application development with focus on Power Apps, Microsoft Teams Apps, SharePoint Apps, Intranet branding, legacy app migration, and has out of box ready to deploy such as Employee Directory 365, Employee Onboarding 365, Helpdesk 365, Contract Management 365, Asset Management 365, Performance Management 365, Timesheet 365, Expense Tracker 365, Time Off Manager 365, and Custom Application. Click here for more.