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The employee import template and guide

The employee import template and guide

A clean employee list is the foundation of everything in HR: leave balances, attendance, approvals and letters all depend on it. This guide explains how to fill in the employee import spreadsheet so your list goes in cleanly the first time.

You can use the template with PeopleMotive HR, or simply as a tidy master list for your own records.

How to use the template

  1. 1
    Open the template in Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice.
  2. 2
    Keep the header row exactly as it is. Do not rename, reorder or merge columns.
  3. 3
    Add one row per current employee. Do not leave blank rows in the middle.
  4. 4
    Fill in every required column. Fill in optional columns where you have the information.
  5. 5
    Save as .xlsx or .csv (UTF-8) when you are done.

The columns

Required columns are marked Required. Columns marked Sensitive are encrypted after import, and only people whose role allows it can see them.

Column Required? What to enter Example
employee_id Required Your unique ID for this person. Never reuse an ID, even for someone who has left. EMP-0142
full_name Required The person's full name, spelt the way they spell it. Nusrat Jahan
work_email Required The email address used to send their invitation and notifications. One person, one email. nusrat@yourcompany.com
mobile Recommended Mobile number in international format, starting +880. +8801712345678
department Required Department name, spelt exactly the same way for everyone in it. Accounts
designation Required Job title, spelt consistently. Senior Accounts Officer
manager_employee_id Recommended The employee ID of this person's line manager (not their name). Leave blank for the most senior person. EMP-0007
joining_date Required Date the person joined, as YYYY-MM-DD. 2023-02-15
employment_type Required One of the employment types you use, for example permanent, probation, contract or part-time. Use the same word for everyone of that type. Permanent
work_place Optional The main place this person works from, matching the name of a work place you have set up. Head Office
date_of_birth Optional · Sensitive Date of birth as YYYY-MM-DD. 1994-08-21
gender Optional Gender, using the options in your system. Female
national_id Optional · Sensitive National ID number, digits only, no spaces or dashes. 1990123456789

Tip: if a department, designation or work place does not exist yet, create it first, or make sure the name in the sheet is exactly what you want it to be called.

Formatting rules

  • Always use YYYY-MM-DD, for example 2024-01-07.
  • Do not use 07/01/2024 or 1/7/24; different computers read these differently.
  • If Excel keeps changing your dates, format the column as Text before you type, or put the dates in a CSV.

Dates

Phone numbers

  • Use international format starting +880, with no spaces or dashes: +8801712345678.
  • If Excel removes the + or turns the number into 8.80171E+12, format the column as Text.

Text

  • Remove extra spaces at the start and end of names and titles.
  • Use one spelling per department, designation and work place. "Accounts", "Account" and "A/C" will be treated as three different departments.
  • Avoid line breaks inside cells.

IDs

  • Employee IDs must be unique in the file.
  • Keep leading zeros. If your IDs look like 0042, format the column as Text so 0042 does not become 42.
  • A manager's employee ID must match an employee_id in the same file or one already in the system.

Emails

  • One work email per person. Two people cannot share an email.
  • Check for typos such as gmial.com or a missing .com.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

  1. 1

    Duplicate people

    The same person entered twice with different spellings ("Md. Rahim Uddin" and "Mohammad Rahim Uddin"). Sort by mobile number and email to spot them.
  2. 2

    Reused IDs

    A new joiner given the ID of someone who left. Give them a new one.
  3. 3

    Managers by name

    "Mr. Karim" instead of EMP-0007. Use the manager's employee ID.
  4. 4

    Managers missing from the file

    If someone's manager is not in the sheet or already in the system, the link cannot be made.
  5. 5

    Mixed date formats

    Some rows 2023-02-15, others 15/02/2023. Choose YYYY-MM-DD and convert everything.
  6. 6

    Former employees left in

    Remove people who have left before importing current staff.
  7. 7

    Personal emails used as work emails

    It works, but agree it as a policy, because this is where invitations and notifications go.
  8. 8

    Numbers stored as numbers

    National IDs and mobiles losing digits or turning into scientific notation. Format those columns as Text.

What happens when you import

  • Problems,

    such as a missing required field, a date in the wrong format, an invalid email or a manager ID that does not match anyone. The report shows which rows are affected, so you can see what to fix.

  • Duplicates,

    such as two rows with the same employee ID or email. For each one, you decide what to do.

When you import the file into PeopleMotive HR, nothing is saved straight away. First you see a validation report that lists:

You can fix problems in your spreadsheet and import again, or make a decision on each flagged row in the report. Only when you confirm are the records saved. National ID and other sensitive fields are encrypted as they are stored.

After the import, check a few profiles at random, then send invitations. Each employee receives an email, sets a password and confirms their details.

Before you import: a final check

  • [ ] Header row unchanged
  • [ ] One row per current employee, no blank rows
  • [ ] Every employee_id is unique
  • [ ] Every work_email is unique and correctly spelt
  • [ ] All dates in YYYY-MM-DD
  • [ ] All mobiles start with +880
  • [ ] Department, designation and work place names spelt consistently
  • [ ] Every manager_employee_id matches a real employee ID
  • [ ] ID and phone columns formatted as Text
  • [ ] Former employees removed

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