A good staff directory is one of the most-used pages on any intranet, yet SharePoint's built-in People web part is basic - a static list of names with little search, no presence and no real contact actions. Here's how to build something people actually use, and the data and permissions involved.
Use the data you already have
You don't need to maintain a separate HR list. Microsoft 365 already holds rich profile data in Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) and exposes it through Microsoft Graph: name, job title, department, office, email, phone, manager and direct reports, plus profile photos and live Teams presence. A modern directory reads from Graph rather than duplicating data.
What "modern" looks like
- Instant search and filtering by name, department, office or role.
- Live presence so people can see who's available before reaching out.
- Contact actions - chat, video call, email and phone directly from the card.
- The native person card on hover (the same one Outlook and Teams show).
- Organisation view - manager and direct reports, so new starters can orient quickly.
- Optional celebrations - birthdays and work anniversaries - to add a human touch.
Permissions and privacy
Reading people data through Graph requires admin consent to a small set of delegated scopes - typically
User.Read.All and Presence.Read.All, plus User-LifeCycleInfo.Read.All
if you show work anniversaries. The directory runs as the signed-in user, so people only
ever see what they're already allowed to see. Sensitive extras like birthdays should be
opt-in - each person controls their own.
Performance matters
Directories can feel slow if they wait for every photo and presence status before showing anything. The right pattern is to render results immediately and enrich photos and presence progressively, with caching, so the page is usable instantly.
SharePoint Kit Directory implements all of the above - Graph-backed search, presence, native contact cards, organisation view, celebrations and opt-in self-service profiles - with progressive loading so it stays fast.
Related
- SharePoint Kit Directory - product overview.
- Directory setup guide (incl. the exact Graph scopes).