Connect your HR system to automate employee management tasks, ensuring accurate data synchronization for onboarding, offboarding, and device assignments while maintaining data security and compliance with GDPR.
Connect your HR system to synchronise employee data and keep your employee directory up to date automatically. Your HR system becomes the single source of truth for employee information, reducing manual data management.
Overview
Connect an HR system when you no longer want to maintain the employee directory by hand. Once connected, data syncs every hour with no manual action.
With an HR system connected you can:
Create and update employee profiles automatically
Trigger onboarding and offboarding flows from contract dates
Keep team, role, and assignment data consistent
Cut manual updates and the errors that come with them
You can connect several HR sources to one account and manage each independently — useful when different countries or legal entities use different tools.
Connecting an HR system is optional. CSV import is the alternative.
How to use
Go to Settings > Employee Sync
Select your HR system provider
Follow the authentication steps
Launch the first synchronisation
Employees then sync with their contact details, contract dates, teams, and roles.
Provider-specific setup: Lucca
Lucca needs extra permissions before onboardings and offboardings sync:
Sign in to your Lucca administrator account.
Go to Settings > API Keys.
Edit the permissions on the API key.
Enable View future employees and View departed employees.
Enable the required permissions
View future employees
View departed employeesWithout both permissions, no onboarding or offboarding data arrives from Lucca.
Connecting an HR system is optional. You can also manage employees using alternative import methods, such as CSV import.
Filter which employees sync
Restrict the sync to the population you actually manage — by legal entity, by contract or employment type, or by team.
Each field syncs
Every synced field uses one of two modes:
Mode
Behaviour
Typical use
Import once
Imported on the first sync only, then editable directly
Job titles and internal roles
Continuous synchronisation
Updated whenever it changes in the HR system, not editable manually
Contract start and end dates
How this plays out:
First sync — every synced field overwrites existing employee data.
Employee created in the HR system — the profile is created automatically from HR system data.
Ongoing syncs — continuous fields are overwritten; import-once fields are left alone.
Hide external people
HR systems often contain consultants, external accountants, or HR administrators who are not part of your operational workforce. To keep them out of your employee list, open the employee profile and select Hide. Hidden employees are excluded from employee management workflows.
What data is retrieved
The data accessed through Kombo is shown before you authorise the connection.
Data
HR system object
Purpose
First name, last name, email, phone
Employee
Create and manage profiles, send order updates, enroll in device management
Postal address
Employee
Ship equipment
Position, team, manager
Employee / Team
Apply controls by device group and SaaS rules
Start and end dates
Contract
Manage onboardings and offboardings
The full list:
Legal entities — name, address
Work locations — name, address
Employees — employee number, first name, last name, job title, work email, employment status, work location ID, legal entity ID, manager ID, start date. Optional: personal email, mobile phone, home address
Employments — employee ID, employment type, effective date
Groups — name, type
Anything not on this list is not retrieved. Kombo does not access banking details, salary information, or leave balances. For Kombo's GDPR and data processing practices, see Kombo's Trust Center.
Tips and Best Practices
Set contract end dates to continuous synchronisation. Import-once is the most common reason an offboarding never appears.
Apply sync filters before the first sync, not after. The first sync overwrites existing employee data, so filtering afterwards leaves records you did not intend to import.
Use import-once for fields you maintain yourself, such as internal job titles. Continuous sync overwrites manual edits on every run.
Troubleshooting and FAQ
Troubleshooting
Onboardings and offboardings are missing from Lucca. The Lucca–Kombo configuration is incomplete. Confirm that both View future employees and View departed employees are enabled on the API key.
An employee who should be onboarding does not appear. Work through these in order:
Check the HR system. Confirm the employee exists and has a start date.
Check existing lists. They may already be there — look in active employees (including hidden ones) and in onboardings with all filters removed.
Check what Kombo retrieved. Go to Settings > Employee Sync, click the HR system, select Update settings, open Employee filtering, and click Preview.
The preview returns one of two answers. Included means the employee should exist — search again by last name across active employees, onboardings, and offboardings. Excluded means Kombo tells you why, usually a sync filter or an excluded category. Update the filter to include them.
An employee does not appear in Offboardings. The offboarding date is not syncing. Go to Settings > Employee Sync and check how the offboarding or contract end date field is configured. Set to Import once, later changes in the HR system never arrive. Switch it to Continuous synchronisation and updated departure dates come through.
FAQ
How often does data sync? Every hour, automatically. New employees and changes need no manual import.
Can I connect more than one HR system? Yes. Connect several sources to the same account and manage each independently — common when countries or legal entities use different tools.
What happens to existing employee data on the first sync? Every synced field overwrites what is already there. Apply your filters before running it.
Is an HR system required? No. You can manage employees with CSV import instead.
