Bulk User and HRIS Import & Troubleshooting

HRIS Import is a Trakstar Perform feature for Administrators that wish to keep Trakstar Perform data in sync with an organization’s HRIS system or make bulk changes from a Trakstar Perform employee export data. It allows administrators to upload spreadsheets to make bulk changes and add new employees to the system. This takes a lot of manual work out of the hands of administrators!

There are three main steps to HRIS Import:

1. Configure import settings.

2. Create an import spreadsheet with employee data.

3. Importing spreadsheet into Perform.

Step 1: Configuring Import Settings

The first step to importing employee data is to ensure you've configured your import settings correctly. These settings will apply to all data imported until they are changed - so if you need to import a spreadsheet later with different settings, make sure to update those first!

Login using your admin account and navigate to Settings > HRIS Import, using the options in the navigation menu. Once under the HRIS Import section, you will see two options at the top of the screen, as seen in the screenshot below:

Click on Configure import settings.

The import settings will populate on the screen, and you'll see the General Settings, Spreadsheet Settings, and HRIS Integration Settings.

General Settings

This section includes the Unrecognized Positions, Default Process, and Default Position.

Unrecognized Positions: This setting asks what you’d like to Perform to do if you are importing a position title that is not recognized (e.g., does not exist) in Perform. There are two options:

Create a new, blank position: Use this option if you import new positions that you plan to add form content to later manually. If all positions in your organization have individualized form content, this would likely be a good option for you.
Copy from an existing position: Use this option if you are importing new positions that you would like to be automatically filled with the same form content as another position. Selecting this option will provide a second drop-down to select which position you’d like to copy.

Default Process: If you do not include a review process in your import spreadsheet, the default process will apply to that employee’s reviews.

Default Position: If you do not include a position title when importing employee information, the position selected here will be selected as that employee’s position.

Spreadsheet Settings

Under the Spreadsheet Settings section, there is just one drop-down menu, and this is the most important setting to check every time you use the import tool:

Missing Employees: This drop-down menu asks what you’d like to do with employees missing from the spreadsheet you are about the import.

Do Nothing: Use this option if you do not want to affect any changes to employee accounts that do not appear on your list.
Terminate: Use this option if you would like to import a current employee list and have all other accounts terminated from the system. This is a useful option if you cannot keep up with Trakstar Perform terminations and have many you need to complete at once. It also helps to ensure your site is as up-to-date as possible by removing any accounts that should no longer exist (e.g., that do not appear on your current employee import list).

HRIS Integration Settings Optional

This section can only be used if you have purchased the Trakstar Perform & ADP integration add-on from the ADP Marketplace. If you are interested in this feature or have already purchased it, please reach out to Trakstar Perform Support for more information at perform@trakstar.com.

If you do have the Trakstar Perform-ADP integration enabled and configured, please do not adjust the settings in this section without consulting with your IT team or the administrator that configured the settings. Even if the integration is configured, you may still perform a manual employee import.

Important Tip: To avoid import mistakes, it is essential to make sure you check your settings under Configure Import Settings EVERY time you use the HRIS Import tool!

Step 2: Importing HRIS Data from a Spreadsheet

Now that you have configured your import settings, we are ready to set up our import data.

An import is done using a CSV or Excel file containing your employee information. Documents in Excel, Numbers, or any other spreadsheet program can be easily saved in a CSV or Excel spreadsheet format.

To begin, you’ll need either an export of your employee data from your HRIS system, or you can export from Perform and make the necessary changes to your spreadsheet. We’ll start exporting existing employee data from Perform, but you may skip this step and export it from your HRIS system.

Exporting Employees from Perform

If you are already in Trakstar’s HRIS Import tool, the easiest way to complete a Perform employee export is simply by clicking the link in the text, “You may want to export a list of your current employees to get started,” as shown in the below screenshot:

This will download a CSV file which you can open in Excel. The file will contain employee data for all active employees in Trakstar Perform. You can make necessary updates to this file, including changing employee information or adding new rows for new employee accounts.

Alternately, there is always the option to export an employee list from the Employees section of your site at any time. Instructions on how to export from the Employee section can be found here.

Exporting Employees from Your HRIS Software

This step will vary depending on which HRIS system your organization uses. However, including the Employee Number, Employee’s Manager, and Position Name.

Configuring Your Import Spreadsheet

Now that you have exported a list of employees either from Trakstar Perform or from your HRIS software, you will need to update the data on the list. You can:

Add users
Edit user data
Terminate users

Add Users

Add users by inserting new rows with necessary employee data. Trakstar Perform recognizes the following columns as employee data fields that can be updated via import. The ones marked with an asterisk are required fields for all imports.

**Employee Number: Required. Trakstar Perform requires that every employee have a unique employee number. This can be a number from your HRIS system or a random assignment if you do not formally use employee numbers outside Trakstar Perform.
**First Name: Required. The employee’s first name.
**Last Name: Required. The employee’s last name.
Email Address: Typically, the employee’s work email address. This can be left blank if the employee does not have one.
Username: The username the employee will use to access Trakstar Perform. Trakstar Perform will generate one for the employee using their first and last name if you do not define a username.
Password: You may enter a password for the employee. However, Trakstar Perform will generate a secure password for employees if this column is left blank.
Manager Employee Number: Does this employee report directly to someone? Put their manager’s employee number here. If they do not report to anyone, leave it blank. If the employee is not given a manager assignment, they will not be assigned a review.
Position Name: Put the employee’s position name here. If this column is left blank, the Default Position you identified in your import settings will be used for the employee.
Date of Hire: The employee’s date of hire.
Next Review Date: Next review due date for the employee.
Review Process: If you have a specific process you'd like to assign to the employee, but the process name here. Otherwise, Trakstar Perform will automatically assign the Default Process you identified in your import settings that will be used for the employee.

Edit User Data

Employee data can be edited within any of the above columns in your spreadsheet for existing accounts. Update the data under each column where necessary, and save your spreadsheet from importing the changes.

Terminate Users

Trakstar’s import feature allows you to import a current list of employees and have the system automatically terminate anyone who does appear on the list. Delete all the rows which contain a terminated employee from your spreadsheet, and make sure that your import settings are configured to terminate missing employees.

Please refer to the section on Configuring Import Settings within this document, under the Spreadsheet Settings, for steps on how to configure this process.

When you have finished adding, removing, or editing rows within your employee data spreadsheet, you will need to save that file as a CSV or Excel file.

Then, return to your Trakstar Perform browser where, under the HRIS Import tool, you will select Import from a spreadsheet at the top:

Next, click on the Choose a spreadsheet button. This will open a window where you can browse for the file you’ve just updated and saved. Locate your file, select it, and click Open to begin the import.

Fixing Spreadsheet Errors

The system will begin importing your file and check for errors as it validates the data. If your spreadsheet contains any inconsistencies or errors, Perform will tell you, as shown in red text in the screenshot below:

Here are some common errors and their solutions. Still, having trouble? We're here to help - reach out to us at perform@trakstar.com

Username must be unique (also appears on row 6): This error occurs when the two users have the same Login ID – the Login ID must be unique.

‘Cannot find Employee Number Test15’: This error occurs when the ID listed in the manager-employee number field does not belong to an existing user. A manager must already be in Trakstar or on the import to be assigned as a manager.

Process 'Annual B' not found: This error occurs when the Process listed on the import files does not exist in the Process tab. A Process must be created before assigning it to a user.

Manager causes circular hierarchy: Test13, Test 14, Test13 (Carmen Z Manager, Mark Z Manager, Carmen Z Manager): This error occurs when the two or more managers report to one another in a circular hierarchy. Perform does not accept circular hierarchy.

May 23th, 2022 is not a valid date. This error occurs when the date is listed in an incorrect format. The date should match the format you have set in the Locale under Company Settings.

Email is invalid: This error occurs when the email list is not valid. An invalid email may have spaces missing the @ symbol, or the domain extension is invalid (i.e., period missing from .com).

Other factors that are not captured through the summary but should be kept in mind:

Missing Hire Date: The user import will import users without a hire date, but the user cannot be edited in Perform until a Hire Date is added.
Missing Archive Date: If the archive date is left blank, the tool will assign a date based on the process that is set up.
Missing the Position: The tool will assign a user to a default position unless a position has been listed.
Missing Process: The tool will assign a user to a default process unless a process has been listed.
Unrecognized Positions: The tool will create a new (blank position) for that user unless you copy an existing position as the default.

To terminate users missing from your spreadsheet, toggle the Spreadsheet Settings to Terminate on the Configure Import Settings Page. Please remember that you must include yourself (and any other admins that should remain in the system) on your spreadsheet.

The factors listed in 3, 4, 5, and 6 can be managed under Configure Import Settings.

Completing the Import

Once you have fixed all errors, you will be able to complete the import and update of data. As shown in the screenshot below, Trakstar Perform will present you with a summary of the changes on the page, listing how many employees you are adding, updating, and terminating (if any).

If you have Trakstar Perform email notifications Enabled and you do not want employees to be notified of your changes, check the box to Disable Emails that appear next to the Apply Changes button. After reviewing the changes, click the button to Apply Changes to continue.

YOU’RE DONE!

When complete, you will see the below message:

HRIS Import is an advanced Trakstar Perform feature. If you would like to add this feature to your organization’s account, please contact us at support@trakstar.com.