What are User Data Files?

The user data file is a Comma Separated Value (CSV) file that contains information about your employees, such as username and manager hierarchy, as well as any optional information your company uses. The content in the data file typically comes from your company's HRIS database.

Why do we need User Data Files?

The user data file is uploaded into SuccessFactors and creates an account for each employee. This is the first step in configuring your system.

User Data File Tips:

Header Row – The top row can’t be modified. These are the field labels that your system will use to identify the data. Please do not make any changes to row 1.
Label Row – The second row can’t be modified. These are pre-defined field labels. Please do not make any changes to row 2.
Clean, Consistent Data – Review all data for consistency (common errors include: job title inconsistencies, use of abbreviations, misspellings, a mix of upper and lower case).
Zeroes Count – DO NOT USE LEADING ZEROS
HR and Manager Required – All employees must be assigned to an HR representative and manager. Provide the USERID (not USERNAME) in the corresponding column. If unknown or not applicable (i.e., for top level execs), use NO_HR or NO_MGR.
Order is Important – The employee's manager and HR representative data must exist in the UDF before the employee’s data. For this reason, sort your file in the following order:
1. Managers
2. HR Representatives
3. Employees
  - Save As – Save your final user data file as a comma delimited file (.CSV) to preserve formatting. Prior to saving, verify all employees have an active manager and a HR representative assigned.

User Data File Template

The following table describes the data columns in the user data file. You must include the required columns in your user data file and can choose if you would like to include the optional columns. On the User Data file required column are highlighted orange and optional columns are highlighted blue.

Required Columns

Column	Description	Valid Values and Requirements
STATUS	Determines whether the employee is an active or inactive employee.	Your options are: Active = the employee can log in, use all available features, and will show up in search results and reports. Inactive = the employee can't log in. All employee information and forms remain in the system, but are frozen in their current state. Inactive employees don't show up in search results and can be filtered out in reports.
USERID	The unique identifier of the employee. The USERID is assigned by the client and is used for tracking individual employee records in the system. The USERID is permanently associated with the employee.	Must be at least 4 characters long. Can never be changed, even if the employee's name changes. Leading zeros are not allowed. Recommend using employee ID if userid does not exist or start with the value of 100. Cannot use duplicate userid’s
USERNAME	The unique username assigned to the employee. The USERNAME is used to log into SuccessFactors.	Must be between 1 and 100 characters long. Can be changed as needed, for example, when a person marries and wants to use a different name.
FIRSTNAME	The employee's first name. This name will be shown in SuccessFactors.	Must be between 1 and 128 characters long.
LASTNAME	The employee's last name. This name will be shown in SuccessFactors.	Must be between 1 and 128 characters long.
GENDER	The gender of the employee. Writing Assistant needs this information to use the correct gender pronoun (for example, he/his or she/her) when suggesting feedback text.	Your options are: M = male F = female
EMAIL	The complete email address of the employee. Used for notifications, alerts, and resetting passwords.	Must be a complete email address, for example john@yourcompany.com.
MANAGER	Identifies the employee's manager.	Your options are: Manager’s USERID Note: Don't use the manager’s username. NO_MANAGER = highest level employee or any employee without a manager, such as a CEO Note You must enter NO_MANAGER for any employee without a manager. You can't leave this column empty.
HR	Identifies the human resources (HR) representative assigned to the employee.	Your options are: HR representative's USERID Note: Don't use the HR representative's username. NO_HR = no HR representative is assigned to the employee Note: You must enter NO_HR for any employee without an HR representative. You can't leave this column empty.
TIMEZONE	Identifies the time zone in which the employee works. Time Stamps the Performance Form.	Must be a valid value, for example: US/Eastern US/Central US/Pacific US/Mountain US/Central If you don't specify a value, Eastern Standard Time (EST) is used by default.

Optional Columns

Column	Description	Valid Values and Requirements
PROXY	Identifies the person who will act on behalf of the employee	The USERID of the proxy.
MI	The employee's full name. This name will be shown in SuccessFactors.	Must not be longer than 128 characters.
DEPARTMENT	Identifies the department in which the employee works. Used as a filter for Grouping employees for Reporting and Launching Forms	We recommend using this field.
JOBCODE	The code assigned to the employee’s job role. The JOBCODE is used to determine which role-specific competencies automatically display in the employee's review forms.
DIVISION	Identifies the division in which the employee works. Used as a filter for finding employees.
LOCATION	Identifies the location where the employee works. Used as a filter for finding employees.
HIREDATE	The date on which the employee was hired.	Must be in the mm/dd/yyyy format.
EMPID	The employee's employee ID.	Must not be longer than 256 characters.
TITLE	The employee's title.	Must not be longer than 256 characters.
BIZ_PHONE	The employee's work phone number.	Must not be longer than 256 characters.
FAX	The employee's fax number.	Must not be longer than 256 characters.
ADDR1	The employee's address.	Must not be longer than 256 characters.
ADDR2
CITY
STATE
ZIP
COUNTRY
REVIEW_FREQ	Identifies how often the employee is reviewed, for example annual or quarterly.	Must not be longer than 256 characters.
LAST_REVIEW_DATE	The date of the employee's last review.	Must not be longer than 256 characters.
CUSTOM01-CUSTOM15	Any specific information your company needs.	You can create up to 15 custom fields.
MATRIX_MANAGER	Identifies the employee's dotted line manager.	The USERID of the employee’s dotted line manager.
DEFAULT_LOCALE	The locale used by the employee.	If blank, the value defined for your company is used.

User Data File

What are User Data Files?

Why do we need User Data Files?

User Data File Tips:

Header Row – The top row can’t be modified. These are the field labels that your system will use to identify the data. Please do not make any changes to row 1.

Label Row – The second row can’t be modified. These are pre-defined field labels. Please do not make any changes to row 2.

Clean, Consistent Data – Review all data for consistency (common errors include: job title inconsistencies, use of abbreviations, misspellings, a mix of upper and lower case).

Zeroes Count – DO NOT USE LEADING ZEROS

HR and Manager Required – All employees must be assigned to an HR representative and manager. Provide the USERID (not USERNAME) in the corresponding column. If unknown or not applicable (i.e., for top level execs), use NO_HR or NO_MGR.

Order is Important – The employee's manager and HR representative data must exist in the UDF before the employee’s data. For this reason, sort your file in the following order:

Managers

HR Representatives

Employees

Save As – Save your final user data file as a comma delimited file (.CSV) to preserve formatting. Prior to saving, verify all employees have an active manager and a HR representative assigned.

Required Columns