Employee data import - how to setup & execute?

Modified on Tue, 23 Jul at 4:40 PM

The purpose of this document is to provide guidelines for importing multiple employees in Qooling with as complete data as possible, all in one go. This drastically reduces manual work and saves a lot of configuration time both for customers and Qooling consultants. It is therefore of use to both groups.

Use the table of content bellow to navigate through the document. Make sure that you follow the steps in the given order. In certain parts of the process, different steps may apply for existing Qooling customers. We have tried to indicate this as much as possible.

Table of content

Download template
Data sheet elements explained:
1. Training & Education and Personal Protective Equipment
- For existing Qooling environment
- For first time setup
2. Job Descriptions
- For existing Qooling environment
- For first time setup
3. Rights & Roles
4. Groups & Divisions
- For existing Qooling environment
- For first time setup
5. Employee data sheet
6. Transform employee data sheet to csv file.
7. Import csv file to Qooling Employees

Download template

To import employe data, you have to use a csv file. We have compiled a series of excel file import sheet templates that you can download and use to prepare the data import.

IMPORTANT: do not separate the sheets into different excel files. This will break the data validation rules that are in place. Keep the template sheets all in the same file.

In the following part, we will explain how the employee import sheet works.

Data sheet elements explained:

When you open the excel template, you will encounter a uniform setup. To familiarize with how the data sheet has been organized, here is an explanation of the data sheet elements:

1. Data fields - These fields represent the requirements of which data you need to collect

2. Explainer fields - We have added a short explainer to each data field in the sheet so that you know what data is required from you to collect.

3. Data input - This is the actual data that you will be collecting

4. Selection fields - This is a special field that only allows you to choose between a given range. These fields mostly contain data that will be used in the mapping process with Qooling. It is case-and spacing-sensitive, meaning that this data needs to be precise and needs to exactly match with Qooling specifications. In contrary, the import will not work. Therefore, please pay close attention to these fields and the consistency of your data input.

Now, lets begin with the import preparation...

1. Training & Education and Personal Protective Equipment

For existing Qooling environment

If your organization already uses Qooling, you do not need to fill in this sheet. Instead, please create or update a list of mandatory trainings and PPE's in Qooling before proceeding further with this import process. You can do that in Configurations >> Employees tab.

For first time setup

For the first time setup, Qooling consultant will set this up and need this information from you to do so.

Start by defining the following two lists. These two lists are not an import in itself, but are required components in the mapping process that is done in configuring job descriptions and employee profiles. As such, they are the basic first step in the import preparation process that will save a lot of implementation time.

For this step define:

Training & Education - Indicate which training and certifications are applicable within your organization. We are going to set up a selection list of certifications in the Qooling configuration. This will serve as the source for selecting mandatory training per job description in Qooling.
Personal Protective equipment (PPE) - Indicate which PPEs are available in your organization. We are going to set up a selection list of PPEs in the Qooling configuration. This will serve as the source for selecting mandatory PPEs per employee.

2. Job Descriptions

Second, define which job functions apply for your organization that need to be added to Qooling. The data from this list will be used to automatically connect job descriptions to employees, including the mandatory certificates and personal protective equipment per employee.

For existing Qooling environment

If your organization already uses Qooling:

Please update a list of job descriptions and content in Qooling.
Then, take that list of job description from Qooling and copy it to to the column "Title of Job" in the import sheet. Make sure that all your Qooling job descriptions are included in the import sheet.
IMPORTANT: make sure the names of job descriptions match in Qooling and in your import sheet (captions, spelling, spacing, etc.). Otherwise the mapping will fail.
You can ignore all other fields in this sheet, because you should already have configured them in Qooling.

For first time setup

For the first time setup, Qooling consultant will set this up and need this information from you to do so. Please provide input for the following data fields:

Title of Job - this is the name of the function the employee is fulfilling (QHSE Manager for example).
Attached files - this is usually a pdf document containing guidelines and details on the job title itself. The best way to share the documentation if applicable is to add a link to a cloud document and ensure that we have access to download the files.
Job description - this is a text field in Qooling that gives you the option to define an extended description of the function, requirements, responsibilities, skillset, etc. The best way to share the documentation if applicable is to add a link to a cloud document and ensure that we have access to download the files.

Mandatory training and education (certificates) - per job description please select mandatory trainings/certificates. A selection list of options will be generated to choose from. This list is based on the data that you filled in in step 1. In case multiple certificates apply for a job function, we have enabled up to five slots. In case you have less, leave the extra columns empty. If by any chance you have more than 5 mandatory trainings/certificates per function, you can copy and paste the column to add new slots.
Mandatory PPE's - per job description please select mandatory PPE's. The same principle applies here as for trainings and education. Use a select list and fill in the spots.

3. Rights & Roles

For existing Qooling environment

If your organization already uses Qooling update/ create your roles and configure them in Qooling. Then take the whole list from Qooling and copy only the name of the role 1:1 in the header of this part of the import sheet. These fields are under data validation and will be used to setup the data sheet in part 5.

For first time setup

The third step of the process is to familiarize yourself with how the authorization scheme in Qooling works and to define custom roles for your organization if applicable. Our authorization scheme is based on roles. These roles can be created and managed in Qooling by yourself. Each role contains a set of user permissions (rights) per Qooling module. Qooling consultants will set this up for the first time, but require your input to do so.

User rights

User roles

Qooling comes with 4 standard roles (rights packages) based on industry best practices that you can use as you wish from the start. You can also edit these 4 roles or create fully custom roles. However, note that custom roles are only available for full user licenses.

Manager - All rights including company configuration.
Director - Most rights including some for directors only.
Normal user - Rights that allow a user to see no more than for this user required. Can participate in Qooling.
Limited user - Light user license. Limited edit rights but is able to view the majority of the QHSE system. Can minimally participate in the Qooling by creating tasks and issues.

Defining rights per role

The roles need to be assigned to all licensed users in Qooling (full users and limited users). Filling in this data sheet will enable Qooling to automatically map roles to employees in the import process, therefore minimizing manual mapping. It works as follows:

Define a new role or edit an existing
Use an "x" to indicate per module which rights this role should have. Notice that once you add an "x" to the field, the background color changes.
Example Custom role 1 in this case for tasks can only view, create and edit own tasks.
Keep going with adding an "x" per module until you finish.
Good to know: if you define a role where both view own and view all rights are checked, then the system sees view all as the higher in hierarchy and this rule will then apply.

If you want to know more about how to create and setup roles in Qooling, refer to these articles:

4. Groups & Divisions

In step 4 define groups and divisions in Qooling.

For existing Qooling environment

If you are an existing Qooling customer, make sure to configure groups and divisions in Qooling first and then take the complete list of divisions from Qooling and paste them precisely in the import sheet.

For first time setup

Qooling consultants will set this up for the first time, but require your input to do so. Therefore, please define the following:

Groups - Qooling offers the capability to create groups and assign people to these groups. This is usually used to define teams or departments. You can link these groups to forms and other items in Qooling. This allows you to determine which group has access to specific documents. Define the groups that apply to your organization.

Divisions - It is also possible to create divisions and assign people to these divisions. The difference compared to groups is that divisions are defined at a higher level, usually per location or country. Divisions are often used when registering notifications and tasks. Based on the notifier's division, Qooling can determine which manager should receive the notification and task. Additionally, the division manager knows which users fall under their division and can optimally manage their actions.

Division manager - Each division has a division manager. In Qooling, you can set the division manager as the default assignee for each issue type. When an employee from division 'x' creates an issue report, Qooling will automatically assign the issue to the manager of division 'x' if this is configured. Specify a division manager (first name & last name) for each division. This must always be an active user (full user) in Qooling.

5. Employee data sheet

Step 5 is where all previous steps come together. This is the actual import sheet that will be loaded into Qooling. The principle here works the same for first time setup as for existing Qooling customers. Please populate all the input fields:

Mandatory fields:

Username - use the employee email address. That is the easiest.
Email address - employee email
First name
Surname

Required fields:

Next to the technically mandatory fields, please populate the following as much as possible:

Job description - select list of options defined in sheet 2. Job Descriptions
Roles - select list of options defined in sheet 3. Rights & Roles
Date of Brith - use the format as explained
Phone, adress, personalid
Division 1 - select list of options defined in sheet 4. Groups & Divisions. If a user is a member of multiple divisions, indicate extra divisions in fields 2 and 3.

Extra fields

Fields that are not included in the import, but need to be configured manually in Qooling. Especially needed for first time setup. For existing customers, ensure that this is configured in your Qooling environment.

Account type Qooling - select the options (full, limited, passive)
Groups 1 to 5 - this needs to be configured manually in Qooling, but it is good to have a complete overview of groups per employee at one place. You can indicate up to 5 groups per employee and if more is required, just insert an additional column.

Common pitfalls:

It is important to be consistent as possible during the data filling process. Otherwise, the import may not work or at best case will not import the complete data. To reduce the chances that this happens and to help you out, we have compiled a short list of common pitfall that can trigger import errors, resulting in the import failing:

IMPORTANT: Non-existing data - if you try to import and map certain data from csv file to Qooling, make sure that this data is first existent and configured in Qooling. So for example, make sure that you first create and configure the data that you defined in the first 4 sheets of this guideline in Qooling (certificates, PPE's, job descriptions, roles, etc.). Only then, proceed with the import.

Other pitfalls:
Spacing - sometimes when you copy and paste data, an extra spacing can be created before or after the data text. Make sure that this is deleted. Otherwise it can impact the mapping process with Qooling.
Captions - Qooling is sensitive to small and capital letters so be precise.
Duplicate emails - make sure that your csv file does not contain duplicate emails.
Duplicate usernames - make sure that your csv file does not contain duplicate usernames.
Spelling mistakes - make sure the names and descriptions in the csv exactly match the data from Qooling.
Formatting inconsistencies - make sure that you follow the formatting guidelines. Use the instructed date format and numeric data should be formatted as numbers while text data as text.

6. Transform employee data sheet to csv file.

Now that your data set is complete, it is time to transform your excel sheet into a csv import in order to load it into Qooling.

1. Copy all columns and fields from steps 1 and 2 noted in sheet 5. Employee data sheet. Here is an example.

2. Create a new excel file

3. In new excel file paste special >> values only. Very important to do it this way, because all formatting and data validation will be nullified, which is what we need for the import to work.

4. Remove the first column A "Fields" and the second row "Explainer" marked in red in the screenshot.

5. If all goes well, you should be left with a clean data set like this:

6. When finished, save/download your excel file as a csv file.

7. Import csv file to Qooling Employees

1. In Qooling go to Employees >> Click on the button "Import"

2. This opens up a pop-up with a short explanation what you need to do and some tips

3. There is also a link to a demo on how import works. We added this video here as well in step 7 of the csv import.

4. Select file and upload your csv file.

5 You will now see an import pop-up from which you can:

Specify the first row of your csv file to be header ---
Specify if you want Qooling to remove existing users from the system that are not present in your csv file. Our advice is to leave this checkbox empty and manually remove users in Qooling if needed. ---
See a preview of your data ---
Manually map the columns from your csv file with Qooling data fields. If your columns in csv have matching names with Qooling data fields, the mapping will for the most part be done automatically. In our case, we need to manually map job descriptions (functions in Qooling import) and divisions. ---

6. Manually map the fields from csv with Qooling by clicking on "Select Column". In our case, for divisions, when we open the mapping popup, notice that the there is a divisions column that does not have a green frame around it. We will click on this column to map. We repeat the same process for functions (job descriptions)

7. Once you finished the mapping, notice that the data from the newly mapped fields is now available in the data preview. You can also see which data fields from csv are mapped with Qooling.

job description (CSV) = function (Qooling)
division 1 (CSV) = divisions (Qooling)

Here is also a short demo of how the import works to give you a better picture.

8. Import the file and notice that the new employees have been added. Next to their personal details, notice that the job descriptions and divisions that we specified in the csv have automatically been assigned to them in Qooling.

You have now successfully imported your employee data.