HR and People Operations templates that turn employee data into something useful
Organization structure, talent reviews, workforce reporting, and employee feedback—built for the teams that still need the flexibility of Excel but do not want the result to look or behave like a forgotten spreadsheet.
Designed and documented by Joshua Cottrell-Schloemer, 2× Microsoft Excel MVP. Nearly one million Big Excel Energy files have been downloaded.Excel is still a good HR tool when the job needs a flexible model, a controlled file, and a presentation-ready result. It is less useful as an improvised HRIS. Keep the source data structured, collect only what the analysis needs, and build separate views for the decisions people actually have to make.
What are you trying to answer?
| Question | Best starting point | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Who reports to whom? | Excel Org Chart Generator | Turns a structured employee and manager list into three chart layouts with configurable cards and styles. |
| Who is ready for more? | 9-Box Grid | Maps performance and potential into a shared talent-review and succession-planning view. |
| What changed this quarter? | HR Quarterly Dashboard | Creates a repeatable summary from a growing workforce table. |
| What are employees or customers telling us? | NPS Score Dashboard | Turns ratings into a calculated score, category breakdown, and clear visual summary. |
HR Excel templates
Buy one file once. Every advanced product states its Excel-version or macro requirements before checkout.
Excel Org Chart Generator
Generate classic tree, vertical, and horizontal organization charts from an employee list, with headshots, themes, department colors, and detailed card styling.
9-Box Grid Excel Template
Enter 1–3 performance and potential scores and generate the talent matrix, dashboard-style analysis, filters, and structured output tables.
HR Quarterly Dashboard
A flexible quarterly HR dashboard that updates automatically as you add data to the source table.
NPS Score Dashboard
Turn a list of ratings into a calculated Net Promoter Score and a clear breakdown of promoters, passives, and detractors.
The model should survive the meeting
One source table
Keep one row per employee, review, or response. Every chart and summary should be a view of that source—not a manually maintained copy.
Definitions before colors
A polished talent matrix is still misleading if each manager means something different by “high potential.” Define the rubric before visualizing the score.
Stable IDs over names
Names change and repeat. Employee IDs make org structures, review history, and cross-period comparisons far more reliable.
Show the decision
A report should tell a leader where to look and what needs discussion. More fields rarely create more clarity.
Design for privacy
Separate sensitive working data from presentation views, limit the fields shown, and follow your organization’s access and retention policies.
Be honest about scale
Excel is excellent for controlled analysis and custom reporting. It is not a substitute for a governed HRIS when many people need live access and audit trails.
Understand the model before using the template
Create an org chart from employee data
Employee IDs, manager relationships, validation checks, layout choices, photos, and automation options.
Read the guide →The 9-box grid in Excel
What the nine boxes mean, how to build the matrix, and the mistakes that make a talent review unreliable.
Read the guide →What is Excel design?
The visual and structural decisions that make a spreadsheet clear enough to use and credible enough to share.
Read the definition →