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How to delete a department

Delete a department in OneDirectory — first move everyone out of it, then delete it in Directory Console → Structure → Departments.

Written by Greg Bennett

You can delete a department you no longer need, but only once no people are assigned to it.

Before you start

A department can only be deleted when no people are assigned to it. Until then, Delete department is greyed out and can’t be clicked. Move everyone out of the department first, then delete it.

To check who is still in it, open the department in the Directory Console and look at the profiles tab in its panel. The Profiles column in the Departments list shows the same count.

Remove people from the department

How you do this depends on the Department field’s data source:

  • If Department is synced with Microsoft 365 / Entra ID: change or remove the department on each person’s profile in Entra ID or Microsoft 365. The change syncs to OneDirectory.

  • If Department is editable in OneDirectory: in the Directory Console, go to People, click the person’s row, and on the Profile Details tab click the Value next to Department and change it. Click the green check to save.

Delete the department

  1. In your live directory, click Edit in Console in the top bar, next to your profile picture.

  2. In the Directory Console sidebar, open Structure, then select Departments.

  3. Click the row of the department you want to delete. A panel opens on the right.

  4. Click the three dots at the top right of the panel, then choose Delete department.

  5. Confirm by clicking Yes, Delete.

Note: If Delete department is greyed out, people are still assigned to the department. Deleting cannot be undone. The Edit in Console button is available to Administrators and Directory Editors.

Related

Browsing departments and organizational units · Making a field editable

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