HR sync connects your HR system to Factorial IT so employee data arrives on its own and drives onboardings, offboardings and your employee directory. Set it up when you want those flows automated and your directory kept up to date without manual edits.

Feature/Functionality

Overview

Once your HR system is synced you can:

• Automate onboardings and offboardings.
• Build IT policies on HR data such as teams, roles and entities.
• Keep the employee directory accurate with no manual upkeep.

If you do not use an HR system, import employees from a CSV file instead (see Import employees).

You can link one HR system or several to the same account. This helps when different countries or legal entities use different HR tools.

How to use

1. Go to Settings > HR System.
2. Click Connect an HRIS. The list of supported HR systems opens; use Search to find yours.
3. Pick your HR system provider. Click its tile to connect it yourself. If another person looks after your HR system, click the copy icon on the tile to copy a setup link and send it to them. They do not need a Factorial IT account, and the link works for one year.
4. Choose the data to sync. Factorial IT needs some core fields to work: first name, last name, work email, start and end dates, team and manager. You can switch off these personal fields if you would rather not share them:

1. Add filters to limit which employees sync:
   • Chosen legal entities
   • Particular contract or employment types
   • Chosen teams
2. Complete the authentication steps. The connection then shows under Connections as First sync in progress, and changes to Connected when the first sync is complete.

After that, employees sync together with their details: contract dates, teams and roles.

Manage a connection

Every connection under Connections shows when it last synced, how many employees it holds and its status. Its … menu lets you:

• Sync now, or Retry sync after a Sync failed status.
• Edit filters to change who is synced.
• Rename the connection.
• Disconnect the HR system. Factorial IT stops reading people from it; employees, onboardings and offboardings already created are kept.

If a connection needs attention, its status tells you why:

When someone else manages your HR system, use Copy the reconnection link in the connection's … menu rather than Reconnect, and send them the link. They can reconnect without a Factorial IT account. The status refreshes after the next sync.

To bring people in from a file instead, click Import from CSV (see Import employees).

Connection guides

Factorial IT connects to HR systems through Kombo. Kombo publishes a step-by-step guide for each supported provider at help.kombo.dev.

Guides for the most common providers:

• BambooHR
• BoondManager
• CezanneHR
• Lucca
• Payfit

Lucca permissions

For upcoming onboardings and offboardings to come through from Lucca, the Lucca API key needs two extra permissions:

1. Sign in to your Lucca administrator account.
2. Go to Settings > API Keys.
3. Edit the permissions on the API key.
4. Turn on View future employees and View departed employees.

Without them, Lucca sends Factorial IT no onboarding or offboarding data.

Sync frequency and modes

After you connect, Factorial IT syncs your HR data every hour. There is nothing for you to do.

To decide how each field syncs, go to Settings > HR System and click Per-field sync settings under Settings. This section shows up once a connection has begun its first sync. For every field and every connected HR system, pick one:

• Import once: the value is set on the first sync and you can then edit it by hand.
• Sync continuously: the value follows the HR system and cannot be edited by hand.

The same field can sync from more than one HR system.

For example:

• Contract start and end dates → sync continuously
• Job title → import once, then keep up to date by hand

For automated offboarding to work, set the Offboarding date field to Sync continuously.

On the very first sync, every synced field replaces existing employee data, whatever mode it has. From then on, only fields on Sync continuously are replaced by changes in the HR system.

Past start and leave dates

Sometimes your HR system adds a person after their start date, or reports a departure after the leave date. Two settings under Settings > HR System > Settings decide what Factorial IT does in those cases. They apply to all connections.

The window is counted backwards from the sync date:

• Onboardings for past start dates: an onboarding is created when the start date is inside the window. People who started earlier are created as active employees with no onboarding. Always creates an onboarding for everyone the HR system adds. The choice saves as soon as you select it, and a sync with your HR system starts. The window only affects which onboardings a sync creates; narrowing it never removes an onboarding that already exists.
• Offboardings for past leave dates: an offboarding is created when the leave date is inside the window. With Never, only employees whose leave date is still in the future are offboarded. The choice saves as soon as you select it.

External employees

Some HR systems also hold people who are not part of your core workforce, such as contractors or consultants. To keep them out of your employee directory:

1. Open the employee profile and click Hide.
2. If they show in the Onboardings list, you can also Ignore the onboarding. This hides the employee without deleting the record completely.

Hidden employees are left out of employee management workflows.

Data retrieved

Before you connect an HR system, you are shown the list of data Factorial IT reads through Kombo. Check it before you authorise the connection.

The usual data includes:

Full list of data read from the HR system

Legal entities

• Name
• Address

Work locations

• Name
• Address

Employees

• Employee number
• First name
• Last name
• Job title
• Work email
• Personal email (optional)
• Mobile phone number (optional)
• Employment status
• Work location ID
• Legal entity ID
• Manager ID
• Home address (optional)
• Start date

Employments

• Employee ID
• Employment type
• Effective date

Groups

• Name
• Type

Any field not on this list is not read. Kombo has no access to bank details, salaries or leave balances.

For Kombo's GDPR compliance and how it processes data, see Kombo's Trust Center.

Troubleshooting and FAQ

Troubleshooting

• Onboardings and offboardings from Lucca are missing. The Lucca API key probably lacks View future employees or View departed employees. See Lucca permissions above.
• A new hire is missing from onboardings.
  1. Check the person exists in your HR system with a start date filled in.
  2. Search both the active employees (hidden ones included) and the Onboardings list, with every filter cleared.
  3. Go to Settings > HR System, open the connection's … menu and click Edit filters. The filter preview shows which employees are in the sync:
     • Included: the employee is synced. Search by last name in active employees, onboardings and offboardings.
     • Excluded: Kombo gives the reason, often a filter. Change the filters to include the employee.
• A leaver is missing from offboardings.
  1. Go to Settings > HR System.
  2. In Per-field sync settings, check the mode of the Offboarding date field (see Sync frequency and modes above).
  3. If the leave date had already passed when the employee synced, check the Offboardings for past leave dates setting (see Past start and leave dates above).
• A connection shows Reconnection needed. The HR system no longer accepts its credentials. Click Reconnect, or send Copy the reconnection link to whoever manages the HR system.

FAQ

1. How often does the sync run?
   Every hour, with no action from you.
    
2. Can I connect more than one HR system?
   Yes. You can link several to one account, for example one per country or legal entity.
    
3. Does the person who connects the HR system need a Factorial IT account?
   No. Send them the setup link from the provider tile; it stays valid for one year.
    
4. What happens to employees if I disconnect an HR system?
   Factorial IT stops reading people from it. Employees, onboardings and offboardings already created stay.
    
5. Does narrowing the past start date window remove onboardings?
   No. It only decides which onboardings future syncs create.
    
6. Does Factorial IT read salaries or bank details?
   No. Kombo does not access banking details, salaries or leave balances.