Importing Data via CSV - Best Practice

One of the most efficient ways of both adding data to and updating information within your HR Partner account is via CSV import. To do this you need to head to Employees > Data > Import CSV In this article we talk you through best practice when importing data this way, highlighting things you need to be mindful of to ensure your import runs smoothly.

Mandatory Fields

Every time you want to either add employees via CSV or update existing records via CSV you must include the following information, each in separate columns:

Employee Code

Employee First Name

Employee Last Name

Gender*

*You can read more about enabling Extended Gender Identities here

You can learn about exactly which fields can be updated in the article Adding Employees

Date Format

Any dates in your CSV such as Start Dates, End Dates or Dates of Birth, must be formatted in the exact same way you have set up within your HR Partner account. This is fully dependant on your company's location settings and cannot be edited.

To check the correct format for your account, please log into your account and head to Employees > Data > Import CSV then read the section highlighted in the below screenshot (the information contained here is specific to your account, please do not just read the screenshot):

Empty Cells

This one is EXTREMELY important. Your CSV must contain NO BLANK CELLS. Blank cells lead to the imported data becoming mixed up. For example if cell B4 of your Spreadsheet were empty, the data from cell B5 would essentially move up to fill the gap during import.

Values

There are two key things you must remember about the values within your CSV:

  1. For the core "category" fields, the values in your spreadsheet MUST already exist within your HR Partner account for the import to be successful. To better understand what we mean by "category" fields, please log into your account and head to Setup > Configure > Categories. For any of the areas listed on this page that you want to include in your import, you must add all values here first.
  2. The values on your CSV must be IDENTICAL to the values you've just entered into Setup > Configure > Categories for successful import

Line Managers

In the column dedicated to Line Managers on your CSV you need to enter the Employee Code of the Line Manager and NOT their name


We hope that this article helps you, but please don't hesitate to reach out to support@hrpartner.io if you have any questions or need any reassurance!