Platform setup
Connect your HR system once, and Perceptyx keeps your employee data up to date on its own. No more manual file uploads.
Perceptyx needs to know who your employees are, who they report to, and a few details about their jobs. The easiest way to get that information in, and keep it current, is to connect Perceptyx straight to your human resources information system (HRIS), the system your HR team uses as the official record of everyone who works for you. In this article we just call it your HR system.
This page explains how the connection works, which employee fields Perceptyx uses, how your data stays in sync, and where to find the setup guide for your platform. It's a good one to share with whoever looks after your HR system.
This article walks through
How the integration works
Perceptyx connects to your HR system through a pre-built connector, so your employee data stays current across the platform without anyone uploading files by hand.
The connection is read-only and only goes one way. Perceptyx reads employee records from your HR system and never writes anything back to it.
Your HR system administrator sets up the connection through a guided linking flow they can complete on their own. The core fields are already mapped for you, and you decide which optional fields to share. Once you're connected, employee records stay in sync automatically.
Perceptyx uses the synced data to:
- Set up user accounts for your employees
- Build your reporting hierarchy, so results roll up the way your organization is structured
- Personalize surveys
- Power demographic reporting
- Trigger Lifecycle surveys, like ones based on an employee's start date
If your HR system isn't available as a connector, you can send the same data as a file through the Generic SFTP connector instead. More on that in No connector for your system? Send a file instead.
Employee fields
Only four fields are required for every integration. They tell Perceptyx who each person is and let them sign in. Everything else is optional, and you choose whether to include it in the connector's field mapping. There's no file layout to follow.
Required fields
| Field | What it is |
|---|---|
| Employee ID | A unique identifier for each employee that doesn't change. This is usually the employee number in your HR system. Perceptyx uses it to match records on every sync, so it has to stay the same when someone changes roles or names. |
| First Name | The employee's first name. |
| Last Name | The employee's last name. |
| The employee's work email address. Perceptyx uses it to set up access and send invitations. |
Recommended fields
These are mapped by default. They unlock the reporting hierarchy, survey eligibility, and benchmark comparisons.
| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Manager Employee ID | Builds your reporting hierarchy and fills in relationships for 360 feedback and other multirater surveys. It has to contain the manager's Employee ID. |
| Employee Status | Active, inactive, or terminated. Decides which records get set up as users. |
| Start Date | Decides who is eligible for a survey, for example a Lifecycle survey based on how long someone has been with you. |
| Termination Date | Ends survey eligibility. Leave it blank for active employees. |
| Job Title | Personalizes 360 feedback and other survey experiences. |
| Effective Date | The date the employee started their current position. |
| Employment Type / FLSA Status | Used for demographic comparisons and personalization. FLSA is the United States Fair Labor Standards Act, which sets whether a role is exempt from overtime. |
| Work Country | Used for benchmarks and checking that records are valid. Uses the standard two-letter country code (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2), like US or GB. |
| Full Name | The display name used in 360 feedback, multirater personalization, and reporting. |
Optional fields
These are mapped automatically where your HR system has them, and you can opt out of any of them:
- Gender
- Ethnicity
- Date of Birth
- Marital Status
- Mobile Phone Number, for survey invitations by text message
- Personal Email, for Lifecycle surveys
- Company Name
- Work location details: City, State, Postal Code, Location Name, and Location Type
Custom fields
Lots of organizations add these for more detailed breakdowns of their results: Department, Division, Business Unit, Job Level, Job Function, Job Category, Employee Language, Time Zone, Job Code, Position ID, and termination details (Reason, Voluntary, and Regrettable).
You only need SSO ID if the identifier your single sign-on uses is different from the employee's email or Employee ID. And if there's another field in your HR system you want, you can map it during setup.
Leave these out
Some fields aren't used by Perceptyx at all, like national ID numbers, usernames, or profile pictures. Exclude them from your mapping.
How your data stays in sync
After the first sync, the connector keeps employee records current on a recurring schedule. New hires get set up, changes to existing records (like a new manager, title, location, or status) flow through, and departures show up through Employee Status and Termination Date.
- You set the scope. You choose which optional fields get shared. Workday and some other platforms also let you leave out whole groups of people on the HR system side, for example by country or worker type.
- Records match on Employee ID. Keep this value the same for as long as someone works for you, so updates land on the right person.
- Changes to fields happen in the mapping. You can combine or reshape fields during setup (like building a display name out of first and last name) without changing anything in your HR system.
- It's secure. Access is read-only, it uses credentials your HR system administrator controls, and data is encrypted while it's being transferred. If your security team wants to review the integration, your Perceptyx team can share a detailed security overview.
Supported platforms and setup guides
Pre-built connectors are available for dozens of HR systems, including Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle HCM, ADP, UKG, and Dayforce. Setup is mostly the same across platforms. The main difference is how your administrator signs in to authorize the connection.
| Platform | Setup guides |
|---|---|
| Workday | Integration System User (recommended) OAuth credentials Custom report sent by secure file transfer |
| SAP SuccessFactors | User name and Company ID (recommended) Scheduled reports sent by secure file transfer |
| Oracle HCM | Server User |
On Workday, you might also need to add calculated fields or additional fields.
Don't see your HR system listed? Reach out to your Perceptyx team to check whether a connector is available, or use the Generic SFTP connector described below.
No connector for your system? Send a file instead
If your HR system isn't available as a connector, or your team would rather control the export itself, you can send a single employee data file every day through the Generic SFTP connector. SFTP stands for secure file transfer protocol, a standard way to move files between systems safely. The required fields are the same. The file format, column names, and delivery steps are all in Sending HR System Data by Secure File Transfer.
Common questions
Who sets up the connector?
Your HR system administrator authorizes the connection through the guided linking flow, which takes a few minutes. Perceptyx then confirms the first sync and checks the data in the platform.
Do I need to prepare a data file?
No. With a connector, field mapping happens inside the connector itself. Your Perceptyx team may share a field mapping workbook, but that's just a planning tool to help your HR system team agree on which fields to include.
Can I add fields later?
Yes. You can map more fields from your HR system after the first setup.
Can I limit which employees are included?
Yes. You control scope through the connector and, for platforms like Workday, through filters in your HR system.
Does anything get written back to my HR system?
No. The integration is read-only and only goes one way.
We send files today. Can we switch to a connector?
Yes. Existing file-based integrations can move to a connector. Contact your Perceptyx team to plan the switch.
For anything this page doesn't cover, contact your Perceptyx team.
What's next
No connector for your HR system? Sending HR System Data by Secure File Transfer covers the file format, the columns to include, and how to deliver the file on a schedule.
Was this article helpful?
That’s Great!
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry! We couldn't be helpful
Thank you for your feedback
Feedback sent
We appreciate your effort and will try to fix the article