Office 365 Employee Directory with SharePoint Guide

Introduction

Managing people within an organisation goes beyond onboarding and offboarding. One of the most essential tools for collaboration and productivity is a centralised employee directory.

This blog explains how to use Office 365 and SharePoint to develop a fully working employee directory. This solution not only supports internal collaboration but also streamlines communication and HR operations.

Many companies, especially those growing rapidly or managing hybrid workforces, are turning to SharePoint development services to build such tools. If you are considering setting one up for your business, read on for everything you need to know.

Why You Need an Employee Directory

An employee directory isn’t just a list of names and emails. It’s a live repository that provides access to critical team information, roles, contact numbers, departments, reporting lines, and more.

Here’s why businesses benefit from having one:

Quick access to internal contacts.
Boosted team collaboration.
Streamlined HR processes.
Centralised contact data maintenance.

If your business is using Microsoft 365, integrating an employee directory within SharePoint becomes an obvious choice. Partnering with a SharePoint development company in Texas, USA, or an expert team can help bring this to life in a structured, scalable manner.

Office 365 & SharePoint: The Ideal Stack for Directories

With Office 365, you already have access to the SharePoint platform. It integrates deeply with Microsoft services such as Azure Active Directory (AAD), Teams, and Outlook.

That means you can pull employee data from AAD and display it in SharePoint pages using web parts, lists, or Power Apps. When implemented with the guidance of SharePoint consulting services, your employee directory can be both robust and user-friendly.

Key Benefits of Using SharePoint:

1. Permission-Based Access Control

One of the foundational benefits of SharePoint is its robust permission model. You can define exactly who sees what, ensuring sensitive employee information is only accessible to authorised personnel.

HR teams can have full edit rights.
Managers may view their department’s data.
General staff can be limited to basic contact information.

This level of access control helps companies maintain data privacy while still enabling collaboration.SharePoint consulting services often help in designing the proper permission structure based on organisational hierarchies and workflows.

2. Integrate with Microsoft Graph and Azure Active Directory

Another common request from users is greater visibility into running workflows. Employees want to:

See the progress of their automation.
Know when a step fails and why.
Make small adjustments without opening a complex backend.

Implementing this level of control takes careful design thinking. Collaborating with experienced developers, especially those who specialise in workflow automation solutions, helps ensure that user-friendly dashboards and alerts are included from the start.

3. Responsive UI and Custom Views

Modern SharePoint offers a clean, responsive design that adjusts beautifully to different devices, desktop, tablet, or mobile. Whether your team works from the office or remotely, the directory remains accessible and readable.

You can also build:

Department-specific views.
Custom layouts using SPFx components.
Conditional formatting for roles, locations, or hierarchy.

A SharePoint app development companycan tailor these layouts to match your branding and organisational style while ensuring ease of use.

4. Real-Time Data Updates

Gone are the days of static directories. If you have SharePoint integrated into Office 365 and connected to either AAD or Graph, then the information you have on your employees will always be up to date.

When a new hire joins or someone changes departments, updates made in your directory services are reflected automatically in SharePoint. By doing so, human labour is reduced, and errors that are caused by obsolete records are eliminated.

SharePoint development services can automate these updates using tools like Power Automate or scheduled syncs.

5. Advanced Search and Filter Options

Finding people quickly in large organisations can be a challenge. SharePoint’s robust search and filtering features address this.

You can search for something by name, department, job title, or location.
Include filters that allow employees to be sorted alphabetically or by team.
Use highlighted content or search web parts for intuitive browsing.

You can either build it using out-of-the-box SharePoint web parts or take it a step further with custom development. SharePoint app development companies are pretty valuable in this field.

6. Planning the Directory Structure

Before diving into development, planning is critical. It involves defining what data to include, what access restrictions should apply, and what kind of user interface will be most useful.

Key fields to include:

Full Name
Job Title
Department
Phone Numbers (office, mobile)
Email Address
Location
Manager Name
Profile Photo

To translate these fields to your Active Directory schema, collaborate closely with a SharePoint expert consultant. This ensures smooth syncing and accurate data representation within your SharePoint portal.

Choosing Between SharePoint Lists and Microsoft Delve

You can do a lot of different things with SharePoint Lists, but Microsoft Delve in Office 365 gives you a normal user experience. Delve does not, however, offer advanced customisation or branding.

For complete control over data views, filters, and layout, SharePoint Lists are a better option. This is where SharePoint integration services can help connect lists to AAD and Microsoft Graph to fetch employee data dynamically.

How to Create a Basic Employee Directory in SharePoint

Here is a step-by-step breakdown of creating a simple employee directory using SharePoint Lists:

Step 1: Create a Custom SharePoint List

Navigate to your SharePoint site.
Choose New > List.
Name the list “Employee Directory”.
Add columns matching the fields you mapped earlier (e.g., Full Name, Department, Email, etc.).

For richer features and filtering capabilities, consider working with a SharePoint service provider to set up custom column types, such as person fields and lookup columns.

Step 2: Bring in information from Azure's Active Directory

Manual data entry isn’t scalable. To auto-populate the list:

Create a pipeline that retrieves data from AAD using Power Automate.
Map user properties (like job title, phone, location) to SharePoint columns.

A SharePoint integration consultant or a SharePoint migration expert can help make sure that the flow is safe and optimised in this case.

Step 3: Create Views and Filters

To improve usability:

Create default views by Department, Location, or Manager.
To make text easier to read, use conditional formatting and filters.

Step 4: Add a Search Web Part

SharePoint’s modern web parts allow you to:

Embed a search bar.
Show dynamic results.
Sort by role, name, or department.

This is an area where a SharePoint solution provider can customise the UX for better performance and look.

Enhancing Your Directory with SharePoint Framework (SPFx)

For companies seeking a more dynamic interface, SPFx (SharePoint Framework) offers advanced development capabilities. It enables you to:

Design React-based components.
Integrate custom APIs.
Implement real-time updates.

Engaging a SharePoint app development company can help you tap into these capabilities. SPFx provides an infinite number of alternatives, ranging from user cards to grid layouts that are responsive.

Displaying Employee Profiles with Microsoft Graph

Microsoft Graph API allows you to pull employee profiles directly from Office 365 services. This includes photos, roles, presence status, and more.

Steps:

Register an app in Azure AD.
Request permissions to access directory data.
Either SPFx or Power Automate can be utilised in order to integrate with the Graph API.

Partnering with a SharePoint development service ensures that API access is implemented securely and efficiently.

Securing Employee Information

Data security is crucial when working with user profiles. SharePoint provides various access control features:

Role-based permissions.
Item-level security.
MFA integration via Azure AD.

Make sure your directory complies with internal privacy policies and external compliance standards. Working with a SharePoint consulting servicesprovider will help ensure that access is configured correctly.

Going Mobile: Make It Accessible Anywhere

Modern SharePoint sites are mobile responsive. But for an enhanced mobile experience:

There is a list app that can be created with Power Apps.
This app should be embedded in either Microsoft Teams or SharePoint.
Enable offline access for the field employees.

When developed by SharePoint developers, these mobile directories provide a clean, professional interface while maintaining the same data fidelity as desktop versions.

Automating Updates via Power Automate

Maintaining an up-to-date directory is challenging. Automating it is essential:

Building a Basic SharePoint Employee Directory: A Beginner’s Guide
Pull fresh data from Azure AD.
Update entries in your SharePoint list accordingly.

Engage with a SharePoint migration consultant to help map this data flow correctly, especially if transitioning from an older system.

Migrating an Existing Directory to SharePoint

Already have an employee directory in Excel, SQL, or another intranet system?

Steps to migrate:

Export current data to CSV.
To bring files into SharePoint, use PowerShell or Power Automate.
Verify field mapping.
Set up ongoing sync from source systems if needed.

SharePoint migration services are experts in this field, ensuring that there is no loss of data and that the structure of the original system is preserved throughout the process.

Training & Adoption: Making It Useful for Teams

Even the best system fails without user adoption. Ensure that:

HR and Admin teams know how to update records.
Employees know where to find the directory.
Add quick links in Microsoft Teams and the Office portal.

With the help of a SharePoint solution provider, you can also create a help centre or tutorial video embedded right within the SharePoint site.

Maintenance Tips for Long-Term Value

Keeping up with regular maintenance on the directory makes it reliable and usable:

Schedule quarterly audits.
Auto-remove inactive users.
Archive ex-employee records.
Update metadata when roles or departments change.

A SharePoint expert consultant can help set up long-term governance and automate retention policies if needed.

Conclusion

An employee directory built with Office 365 and SharePoint is more than just a contact list; it’s a productivity tool that improves collaboration, transparency, and operations.

Whether you’re working with internal IT or a SharePoint development company in Texas, USA, the proper planning and execution will ensure that your directory Sdelivers long-term value.

From SharePoint integration services to advanced app development, this platform offers everything needed to create a functional, scalable, and secure employee directory that grows with your business.

Introduction
Why You Need an Employee Directory
Office 365 & SharePoint: The Ideal Stack for Directories
Key Benefits of Using SharePoint:
Choosing Between SharePoint Lists and Microsoft Delve
How to Create a Basic Employee Directory in SharePoint
Enhancing Your Directory with SharePoint Framework (SPFx)
Displaying Employee Profiles with Microsoft Graph
Securing Employee Information
Going Mobile: Make It Accessible Anywhere
Automating Updates via Power Automate
Migrating an Existing Directory to SharePoint
Training & Adoption: Making It Useful for Teams
Maintenance Tips for Long-Term Value
Conclusion

recent blogs

Related Services

Scale Your Business 10X Faster With Our Microsoft Consulting Services!

Talk to Microsoft 365 Consultant

Learn more about our service?

How to Use Office 365 and SharePoint to Create an Employee Directory