Formatting User Files

This article will detail the steps to correctly format your .CSV files for transfer. Correct formatting is imperative to having a completely functional platform. Incorrect formatting can result in long delays and in severe cases can cripple your platform functionality. 

Format

Whether you send your user file through a manual drop-off or automated transfer through SFTP or API, you will need to format your user file according to the following guidelines:

1. Files must be formatted as a .CSV  
   • If your users have special characters in their names, such as "ü" or "ç", the file must be sent in a CSV UTF-8 format.
2. Complete user files must be uploaded in full each time.
   • This ensures that the Awardco platform can account for terminated employees and reporting hierarchies.
3. Column headers from your HRIS reports must match the exact text found in the sample .CSV below.

Headers and Fields Formatting -  Minimum Required

Employee ID	A unique identifier for each employee and the primary login credential. Typically a number combination but could be email or letters if no other unique identifier exists. (Note: ID's are case sensitive and but have a max character limit of 100)	04686 2749218 [e-mail]
First Name	Employee’s first (or preferred) name	James
Last Name	Employee’s last name	Hendricks

 

Headers and Fields Formatting - Optional

       Bold - strongly recommend as included field 

Email	The employee’s unique email address. This can be modified by the employee, used as a login credential and primary method of communication.	[e-mail]
Username	Optional username designation to be used in accessing the platform. User ID and email can be used to access the platform so username is rarely needed.	FLast FirstLast FL0730
Supervisor ID	Supervisor ID is used to build the platform hierarchy. All entries must match an ID in the Employee ID column to properly assign users to a supervisor.	04686 2749218 [e-mail]
Role	^Role is an override to the hierarchy created by the supervisor ID hierarchy creation. Must be one of the four predefined roles to the right. (See the “Admin and Executive Managers” note below.)	Admin Executive Manager Group Manager Employee
Group Name	Group Name is an override to the group’s display name. If left blank, default is the name of the supervisor. Group Name only affected by the group name of a supervisor.
Country Code	ISO 2 letter country code (must be in ISO2 format)	US, CA, GB, FR
Password	Preassigned login credentials for each employee. Unnecessary when SSO is configured.	uw54gw84fs
Hire Date	The date on which an anniversary recognition trigger will be made. (Use hire year, NOT current year.) If you load a blank value for a user who previously had a hire date listed, the system will remove the user's hire date.	M/D/YYYY YYYY-MM-DD
Birth Date	The date the employee was born (Year is optional. It may be included, but will be trimmed)	M/D/YYYY YYYY-MM-DD
Language	The preferred language of the employee. This is important for transactional emails.	The language codes can be found in the multi-language email article.
#	Metadata tagged by a "#" should match the same text that is generated from your user file.	#Location, #Address, #Language

Notes on the Required and Optional Fields

• Supervisor ID: Any individual listed in any supervisor field will be considered a group manager and have a group created for them. Any individual not listed as a supervisor will be considered an employee, and be put in a group with their manager.
• Role override: An individual may be assigned a different role than what is derived in the hierarchy. An individual can be assigned to be an ‘Employee’, ‘Group Manager’, ‘Executive Manager’, or ‘Admin’. This will change the individuals permissions within the group that was created for their manager. For example, an individual who would otherwise be an employee who has “Group Manager” listed would have the same permissions as the person they report to and would essentially be a co-manager of said group. An individual who would otherwise be a Group Manager who has “Employee” listed as their role will lose all manager permissions, including manager notifications.
• Admins and Executive Managers are NOT derived from the hierarchy built from the Supervisor ID field. These roles MUST be added in this field OR manually in the system. Users already in the system as Admins and EMs will NOT have their roles adjusted if the user’s role filed is left blank. If the role field specifies a role, the role will be updated.
• Passwords: If employees have email accounts, Awardco strongly suggest using SSO (single sign on) or an activation link to access the Awardco platform. If employees do not have access SSO access or email accounts, generic usernames and unique passwords can be used to log in to the Awardco platform. Unique passwords are easily communicated values, while generally protecting the password. Examples include last four digits of SSN, 4-digit birth date, 8-digit birthdate, etc. Uniform Passwords are NOT suggested. Uniform passwords would include generic passwords such as “Password”, “awards”, or “Company2018”.
• Single sign on is Awardco’s preferred verification method. SSO is an authentication method that allows a user to log in with a single ID and password to any of several software systems. If SSO is being used for your company’s login method, the username and password columns can be omitted or left blank.
• Activation Link is the preferred method when SSO is not available. Employees will be emailed a unique activation link upon program launch. This unique link will grant the employee initial access and prompt them to create a password for future use. Emails are required for all users using an activation link. The username and password columns can be omitted or left blank.
• Unique Passwords are suggested for companies unable to utilize either SSO or Activation Link via Email. Unique passwords are easily communicated values, while generally protecting the password. Examples include last four digits of SSN, 4-digit birth date, 8-digit birthdate, etc.
• Uniform Passwords are NOT suggested. Uniform passwords would include generic passwords such as “Password”, “awards”, or “Company2018”.
• Language: Adding the preferred language of the employee is helpful when you wish to send transactional emails in a different language. The language codes can be found in the multi-language email article.
• Metadata: For a custom field to be included in the Awardco system, the column header MUST start with a ‘#’. Any additional columns added to the file without a ‘#’ on the header will be ignored by the import. Additional fields are used for reporting purposes and will be available to filter off of in reports.
• Deliverables: Awardco may request additional fields for the purpose of managing deliverable items.

If you feel this article left your questions unanswered, please contact your client success manager so that we may better assist you.