In Microsoft Entra ID, the Manager attribute plays an important role in defining reporting relationships within an organization. It helps power features such as organizational charts, approval workflows, directory visibility, and reporting structures across Microsoft 365 services.
However, in real-world environments, reporting structures frequently change. Teams are reorganized, managers move to new roles, departments merge, or employees transition under new leadership. When such changes occur, administrators must update the manager attribute for multiple users to reflect the new organizational structure.
While updating the manager for a single user is straightforward, things become more complicated when the change needs to be applied to dozens or even hundreds of users. In this article, we’ll explore what are the available methods to update manager for multiple users in Microsoft Entra ID.
How to Update Manager for Users in Microsoft 365
Microsoft provides several tools for managing users, including the Microsoft Entra Admin Center, the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, and Active Directory Users & Computers in hybrid environments.
Using Native Methods:
Administrators can update a user’s manager by following the below-mentioned steps.
- Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
- Open the required user profile
- Locate the Manager field under the Account section.
- Click on Edit Manager and add the new manager.
- Select Save Changes.
- Repeat for every user.
Similarly, in the Microsoft Entra Admin Center, administrators must navigate to the user profile, open the Job Information section, and add or change the manager attribute.
While these tools allow administrators to change the manager attribute, they all share the same limitation; the manager can only be updated for one user at a time.
This means administrators must open each user profile individually, locate the manager field, assign the new manager, save the changes, and then repeat the process for the next user. When the number of users is small, this approach may be manageable. But when the update involves tens or hundreds of users, the process quickly becomes tedious.
Because there is no native bulk manager update interface, administrators often end up either clicking through numerous user profiles manually or turning to PowerShell scripts to automate the process.
How to Bulk Update User Managers in Microsoft 365 Using PowerShell
PowerShell offers a way to automate bulk updates by using the Microsoft Graph PowerShell module. By importing a CSV file containing user and manager information, administrators can assign managers programmatically.
The following PowerShell example demonstrates how the manager attribute can be updated in bulk.
# Requires: Microsoft.Graph module, User.ReadWrite.All permission
Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "User.ReadWrite.All"
$sourceManagerUPN = "old.manager@company.com" # The manager whose direct reports will be reassigned
$newManagerUPN = "new.manager@company.com" # The new manager to assign
$newManager = Get-MgUser -UserId $newManagerUPN
if (-not $newManager) {
Write-Error "New manager '$newManagerUPN' not found. Exiting."
exit 1
}
$directReports = Get-MgUserDirectReport -UserId $sourceManagerUPN
if (-not $directReports -or $directReports.Count -eq 0) {
Write-Host "No direct reports found for '$sourceManagerUPN'. Exiting."
exit 0
}
Write-Host "Found $($directReports.Count) direct report(s) under '$sourceManagerUPN'."
Write-Host "Reassigning to '$newManagerUPN'..."
Write-Host ""
foreach ($report in $directReports) {
$reportUser = Get-MgUser -UserId $report.Id
try {
$body = @{
"@odata.id" = "https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/users/$($newManager.Id)"
}
Set-MgUserManagerByRef -UserId $reportUser.Id -BodyParameter $body
Write-Host "SUCCESS: Updated manager for $($reportUser.UserPrincipalName) -> $newManagerUPN"
}
catch {
Write-Warning "FAILED: Could not update manager for $($reportUser.UserPrincipalName). Error: $_"
}
}
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "Manager reassignment complete."Although PowerShell can automate the process, it introduces additional complexity. Administrators must carefully ensure the script is accurate, validate permissions, and test the changes before applying them in production environments. For teams that do not frequently work with scripting, this approach can be difficult to maintain and time-consuming.
Simplify Updating Managers in Bulk with EasyEntra
A more straightforward approach to updating managers for multiple users is to use EasyEntra, which allows administrators to perform bulk changes through a graphical interface.
In EasyEntra, the process begins by selecting the manager account whose reporting structure you want to manage. Once the manager is selected, open the Organization tab and click Manager > Change.
This action displays a list of users who are currently assigned direct reports to that manager. The list provides a consolidated view of the team members reporting to that manager, making it easier to review the reporting hierarchy.
!!! Notice that neither the Entra portal nor the Microsoft 365 Admin Center allows you to view the direct reports configuration; this is only available via PowerShell using the standard tools.
From this list, administrators can select the required users whose manager needs to be updated (simply press CTRL+A). After selecting the users, right-click and choose Properties to open their configuration settings.
From there, the Manager field can be updated and applied to all selected users at once. This makes reassigning reporting relationships quick and straightforward in EasyEntra.
EasyEntra’s graphical interface makes bulk updates easier and less error-prone by allowing administrators to review users and apply manager changes with confidence.
Overall, EasyEntra makes bulk manager updates faster, simpler, and more manageable!
