The direct answer
SharePoint does not ship a single “employee directory” feature; the directory is built from parts that read the profiles Microsoft 365 already holds. For a leadership page or a department contact list, the People web part shows chosen people with their photos and contact details. For reporting lines, the Organization chart web part shows a person and the levels above them. For the whole company, a searchable directory page or a third-party web part lets people look anyone up by name, department or location.
Every one of those views is only as good as the profile data behind it: names, photos, job titles, departments, office locations and each person's manager in Microsoft Entra ID. EPC Group checks that data first, fixes gaps at the source (usually the HR system that feeds Microsoft Entra ID), and then builds the directory pages on the intranet.
Options compared
| Option | Best for | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| People web part | Curated groups: leaders, department contacts, project teams | Profiles are added one at a time, so it is not a company-wide directory |
| Organization chart web part | Showing who reports to whom | No external users; accurate only if managers are set in Microsoft Entra ID |
| Searchable directory page or third-party web part | Whole-company lookup with filters | Licensing, data-access approval, and the same profile-data dependency |
Adding the People web part
- On the page, select Edit, then open the Toolbox and select See all web parts.
- Select or drag People onto the page and, if you like, replace the title People profiles.
- Type a name, pick the person and select Add profile; repeat for each person.
- Under Edit properties, choose the Small, Medium or Large card layout.
- Drag profiles to reorder them, then publish or republish the page.
For reporting lines, see how to add an org chart to a SharePoint page; for where the directory sits on the intranet, see how an intranet works on SharePoint.
Primary sources
- Show people profiles on your page with the People web part — Microsoft Support, accessed 2026-10-27
- Use the Organization chart web part — Microsoft Support, accessed 2026-10-27
- List manager (Microsoft Graph v1.0) — Microsoft Learn, accessed 2026-10-27
Frequently Asked Questions
Does SharePoint have a built-in employee directory?
EPC Group builds the directory from built-in pieces rather than one product. The People web part shows selected people with photos and contact details, and the Organization chart web part shows reporting lines; a whole-company searchable directory usually needs a custom page or a third-party web part (Microsoft Support, accessed 2026-10-27).
Where does the directory get names, photos and job titles?
EPC Group treats Microsoft Entra ID as the source of truth for people data. If titles, departments, photos or managers are missing there, every directory view inherits the gap, so EPC Group checks that data before building pages; Microsoft Graph, for example, returns a 404 for a person with no manager assigned (Microsoft Learn, accessed 2026-10-27).
How many people can the People web part show?
EPC Group uses the People web part for curated groups such as a leadership team or a department contact list, because profiles are added one at a time by name. Microsoft documents the card layouts and a 50-character tagline, but not a whole-company use (Microsoft Support, accessed 2026-10-27).
When is a third-party directory app worth it?
EPC Group considers one when the business needs a single searchable, filterable directory across the whole company, skills or location filters, or fields beyond the standard profile. Most of these products read the same Microsoft Entra ID data, so the data clean-up still comes first.
Talk to a senior architect
A one-hour scoping call with a senior EPC Group architect covers your profile data, the directory views you need and whether the built-in web parts are enough. Email contact@epcgroup.net or call 888-381-9725.
Documented and anonymized engagements
Named engagements come first; anonymized summaries follow under the anonymized-engagement rule — the client is not named and every statement is EPC-reported. Documents behind named engagements are in the Evidence Center.
- Samsung Semiconductor, Inc. — SharePoint Server 2019 build and deployment: custom user experience, navigation, web parts, search, enterprise-application integration, quality assurance and training (2021)Samsung Semiconductor, Inc. · 2021 · Contracted — countersigned
- Canadian Forces Morale & Welfare Services (CFMWS) — SharePoint consulting support (2014)Canadian Forces Morale & Welfare Services (CFMWS) · 2014 · Contracted
- Stryker Corporation — SharePoint Center of Excellence development (2012)Stryker Corporation · 2012 · Delivered — payment-corroborated (client payment records published)
- Federal Reserve Bank of New York — SharePoint best-practices needs assessment, architecture and governance gap analysis, roadmap for a global SharePoint Center of Excellence across the twelve Reserve Bank districts (2010)Federal Reserve Bank of New York · 2010 · Contracted — countersigned, with historical work product
- Copilot and SharePoint AI Governance: Regional Bank (2024)Anonymized engagement summary · Regional bank · 2024
- SharePoint Intranet Permission Automation: Contractor (2024)Anonymized engagement summary · Federal government contractor · 2024
- Two SharePoint Farms to SharePoint Online: Regional BankAnonymized engagement summary · Regional bank · 2024
- SharePoint Health Check, Upgrade and Support: ManufacturerAnonymized engagement summary · Consumer-products manufacturer · 2017–2023
More engagements: NASA (agency-wide, across the NASA Centers) — Agency SharePoint Phase 1 Initiative: needs assessment, architectural review, governance, and a global SharePoint Center of Excellence for knowledge management, intranet and enterprise content management across the NASA Centers (2009–2010) · National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) — SharePoint records management and Center of Excellence advisory and implementation support (2010) · National Institutes of Health — SharePoint Center of Excellence design (2010) · Northrop Grumman — 'Finance I.R.M. Automation Process' statement of work on SharePoint (2010) · NASA Johnson Space Center — SharePoint Site Provisioning Solution (2009) · YMCA (Houston) — Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 implementation (2007) · SharePoint Support and Custom Apps: Professional Services · SharePoint 2010 to 2019 Migration: Regional Bank (2020) · SharePoint Online Document Management: Transportation (2020) · SharePoint 2010 to Online Design: Global Law Firm (2018) · SharePoint 2016 Intranet Redesign: Energy Company (2018) · SharePoint Intranet Redesign: Financial Services · SharePoint Migration: Major Healthcare Network