SharePoint: Build an Employee Directory

Key insights

• SharePoint List + Gallery view = simple employee directory.
  Switch a custom list to Gallery view so each person appears as a card with a photo instead of a table row.
• Essential columns: add fields for Employee Name, Role, Department, Reporting To, Phone, and Photo.
  Use Person columns for users and Choice for departments to enable filtering.
• Build steps: define columns, create a blank list, populate items, create a Gallery view, format cards, and pin filters to the Filter Pane.
  Format the card to show, hide, and reorder fields for a cleaner directory card.
• Populate and sync: enter data manually, import from Excel, or automate with Power Automate.
  For ongoing sync use Microsoft Graph or Microsoft Entra ID to keep profiles current.
• Presentation options: show the list with the native List web part, a modern SharePoint page, People web part, Person Cards, or a custom SPFx web part.
  Choose the option that matches your UX and customization needs.
• Limits and maintenance: this approach fits small organizations (roughly 50–100 people) because data entry is manual.
  Use a stable identifier like user ID or email for sync and plan maintenance as the main ongoing task.

Overview

SharePoint Maven Inc released a YouTube video that demonstrates how to convert a simple SharePoint list into an internal employee directory using a SharePoint List in Gallery view. The short tutorial shows how a custom list can render each employee as a card with a photo, making profiles easier to scan than table rows. Consequently, the approach is quick to set up and can be completed in an afternoon for small teams.

What the video demonstrates

First, the author builds a blank list and defines key profile columns such as name, role, department, manager, phone, and photo. Then, the video switches the list to a Gallery view so every employee appears as a card instead of a row, and the presenter formats the card to show or hide fields and reorder them for clarity. Finally, the tutorial pins department and other fields to the Filter Pane so users can filter rather than scroll through long lists.

Step-by-step setup and practical details

The workflow begins by creating a blank list from the site contents, adding columns of appropriate types like Person, Choice, and Image, and then populating records either one item at a time or faster via Grid view. Next, the video creates a dedicated Gallery view rather than reformatting the default view, and demonstrates card formatting to control which fields appear and where the profile photo sits. This hands-on path is clear and useful for teams that prefer a simple, no-code solution.

However, the author is upfront about limits: the honest constraint is data entry. Because the list is built and maintained manually in this demo, it fits smaller organizations—roughly 50 to 100 employees—where keeping profiles current is manageable without heavy automation. Beyond that scale, teams will likely need synchronization tools or automated flows to avoid stale records and heavy administrative burden.

Tradeoffs and scaling options

On one hand, the list-plus-gallery approach works quickly, needs no custom development, and gives editors direct control of fields and layout. On the other hand, it duplicates data that may already live in Microsoft 365 profiles and therefore can create maintenance overhead and reconciliation challenges unless you add a sync process. For that reason, the video’s simple method trades long-term automation for short-term speed and ease of use.

To scale, organizations can incorporate automated patterns such as scheduled flows with Power Automate, or leverage the Microsoft Graph and Microsoft Entra ID to pull canonical profile data into the list. Alternatively, teams that need highly tailored experiences can build an SPFx web part or use Graph-driven components, but those options require development, governance, and testing, which raises cost and complexity.

Challenges and recommendations

Maintainers must balance accuracy, privacy, and effort when deciding how to populate the directory, because syncing data requires stable identifiers like Entra user IDs or email addresses to avoid mismatches. In addition, administrators should consider data governance: permissions for who can edit profile fields, which attributes are visible, and how to handle departures or contractor accounts. Therefore, while the video provides a practical quick-start, organizations should plan a roadmap that addresses scalability and synchronization if they expect growth.

Conclusion

Overall, SharePoint Maven Inc’s video presents a pragmatic, low-code way to build an employee directory using a SharePoint list in Gallery view, and it proves useful for smaller teams that want a visual, card-based directory without custom development. Yet the tutorial also highlights tradeoffs: manual entry simplifies setup but limits scale, while automation and integrations add reliability at the cost of complexity. As a result, teams should weigh immediate needs against long-term maintenance when choosing whether to adopt the gallery-list pattern or invest in synchronized, Graph-backed solutions.

Keywords

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