Whenever you're building something, the foundation is the first thing to be laid and is the most important part - if the foundation is poor, whatever you're building won't be as stable or robust as it could be.

The same is true with your Eploy system.

Within Eploy, the foundation is the Company Hierarchy - a series of Company Records linked together using Parent-Child relationships to create a structure.

We use Company Records to replicate your organisational structure, with each part of your business having its own Company Record.

One of the first things we'll ask you to do as part of your Implementation is to complete the Company Import spreadsheet. 

We'll use this spreadsheet to create your Company Hierarchy and to populate some of your main Drop Down Lists.

In this article we'll explore what a Company Record is in detail, and look at the Company Import spreadsheet - you can jump to the relevant section using the links below:

• What is a Company Record?
• The Companies (To Complete) Tab
• I've filled in the spreadsheet - now what?

What is a Company Record?

As mentioned above, Eploy uses Company records, linked together using Parent and Child relationships to replicate your organisational structure.  But, what is a company?  What information is included within a company record?

In the video below we explain what a Company Record is, the information contained within each one and how having the right structure in place can help control the visibility of Vacancies and Candidates for your Hiring Managers, within the Hiring Manager Portal.

The Companies (To Complete) Tab

Now that you understand what a Company record is, we need you to fill in the Companies (To Complete) tab of the Company Import spreadsheet, which can be found in the Files section of your Teamwork project.

This tab of the spreadsheet captures all of the crucial pieces of information we need to start building your structure.

When completing the spreadsheet, one key thing to remember is that it doesn't matter in what order each company is added to the spreadsheet.  Ultimately, it's the Parent/Child relationship which forms the hierarchy within the system.  For example, you could have a parent record on row 4, and a child on row 97, so long as the linking is correct, the hierarchy will be created successfully. 

Below we've listed all of the information we'll need from you about each Company Record:

• Company Parent Name - this creates the Parent/Child relationship.  It's really important that what you enter here matches exactly what is entered in the Company Name field of the parent record - if it doesn't, the import won't create the link and this company record will effectively be orphaned

• Company Name - this is the name of the Company Record.  If the record you're adding will also be a Parent to another company, you need to ensure you've added the name in this column as well as the Parent Name column of any child records - if you don't do this, the parent record won't get created

• Reference - this field is optional.  When you fill this in, whatever text you enter will be added in brackets after the company name when viewed within Eploy.  This is mainly used to add extra context to company names - perhaps you have an internal short-hand that you use to refer to different business areas, or maybe it's handy to have the cost centre visible when looking at company names.  Ultimately there's no right or wrong answer as to what information you add here, but if you're in any doubt, or need clarification, have a chat with your Implementation Manager.

• External ID - this field is optional and whether you fill this in will depend on the type of Integration you have, or how you're using our API.  When data from one system is used to update another, a single field, common in both systems, is used to link the records together, ensuring that the right data is updated automatically.  Within Eploy, the External ID is the field we use when data in your Eploy database is being updated by an external system (which is different to when we're updating an external system with data from Eploy).  Your Implementation Manager will tell you if you need to fill this in, and what needs to go in there

• Company Type - for this field, simply enter Internal or Agency. 

• Location - whatever you enter here will be added to the Location drop down list inside your Eploy system.  This drop down list is visible to Candidates as well as system users, used both for Job Alerts and as a Vacancy Search parameter, so it's really important that whatever locations you use are Candidate friendly i.e. don't use any internal short-hand. Additionally, with large cities like Birmingham and London, it's always a good idea to use the area name rather than just the city name - there's a big difference between Erdington and Selly Oak, or Camden and Croydon. 

• Function - this is another field that will be used to populate the contents of a Drop Down List, which again can be seen by Candidates, also used both for Job Alerts and as a Vacancy Search parameter.  The Function is one way we can categorise the type of work carried out by that part of your business and can be used by Candidates when signing up for Job Alert emails.  If you're not sure what to put in here, please discuss it with your Implementation Manager

• Company Status - this import can be used to create Companies and deactivate them.  For your initial import, simply put Active for all your companies.

• We now have a series of address fields - the address isn't mandatory, but we always recommend filling it in if you can, as the Company Address is used by the Vacancy as a default...so if the Company doesn't have an address, the Vacancy won't either, although you can add one in when raising the vacancy.  The Address on the Vacancy is used in multiple places - it dictates where the pin will go on your maps (both on your Candidate Website and if looking for jobs using Google), it's part of the feed of information which goes to Job Boards (like Indeed) and it can be used as part of your Job Alert settings. 
  • Address Line 1 - this is the first line of the address
  • Address Line 2 - this is the second line of the address
  • Town - the Town
  • County - the County
  • Country - the Country (this is required for feeds in to various job sites)
  • Postcode - the Postcode

• Additional Field 1-3 - Everything you've filled in so far is the basic information we need to set up a Company record and create a hierarchy, but you can add anything else you like - this is where the Additional Fields come in.  If you let your Implementation Manager know what extra information you'd like to include, they can then tweak the spreadsheet to make sure the right field names are included so you can provide the extra information.  Additional fields can be really useful from a reporting perspective, with Cost Centre being one of the most frequently asked for extra fields

Note your Implementation Manager may ask you to fill in additional fields, but this will be specifically due to how you'll be using Eploy.  They will explain to you what these additional fields are and what information needs to be included.

Tip if you're struggling for inspiration on how to fill in the spreadsheet, take a look at the Guidance tab within the document.  Here you'll find an example of how to fill in the spreadsheet, using the example company structure described within the video earlier on in this article.

I've filled in the spreadsheet - now what?

Having completed the spreadsheet, you'll need to send it to your Implementation Manager for them to import in to Eploy.

Before they do that, they'll have a good look through it and validate a number of things, including:

• Have you put the right information in the right place
• Once imported, will the Hierarchy created match up with your expectations and any discussions we've had already about your structure
• Is anything missing

If it all looks good, your Implementation Manager will import the data in to Eploy.

If anything looks wrong, or they feel the import won't do what you're expecting it to do, they'll discuss it with you before doing anything else.

Tip we'd recommend starting with a handful of Companies, then send it to your Implementation Manager to sense-check.  That way, we can highlight any errors or misunderstandings before you fill in the spreadsheet in full...meaning you don't have to start from scratch!

Ultimately, we're here to help you - so if you're at all unsure about what you need to fill in, please don't suffer in silence, let us know as soon as you can so we can either pick it up on your next project call or set up a dedicated call to go through your questions.