How to Setup Your Hierarchy Structure

Summary

Before setting up your user hierarchy on the platform, it is important to map out your organisation’s reporting structure.

This helps ensure:

• managers can report on the correct users,
• hierarchy filtering works correctly,
• and future maintenance of the hierarchy remains manageable.

This guide explains how to structure and plan your hierarchy from scratch.

Step 1 - Map your organisation structure

Begin by identifying the reporting levels within your organisation.

Most organisations will use a structure similar to:

Some organisations may require fewer or additional levels depending on complexity.

Each hierarchy field should represent a reporting level within the organisation.

Step 2 - Create your hierarchy profile fields

Once your hierarchy structure has been agreed, create a profile field for each hierarchy level.

For example:

• Organisation
• Division
• Service Area
• Team

These profile fields will then be populated against both managers and users.

If you're not familiar with the process of creating new profile fields on the platform, please take a look at our guidance on how to create new profile fields here.

Step 3 - Build your hierarchy map

It is recommended to create a hierarchy mapping spreadsheet before importing data into the platform.

This allows you to:

• define all available hierarchy values,
• identify manager reporting paths,
• and validate user placement before upload.

Populate the hierarchy from left to right using the highest organisational level first.

Example:

Step 4 - Assign manager hierarchy values

Managers should only be assigned the hierarchy values they need in order to report on their users.

Managers can:

• report on one specific value,
• or report on all values within a field by leaving it blank.

For example:

This manager would be able to report across all Divisions within the Learner Support / Digital Helpdesk hierarchy.

Step 5 - Handling more complex reporting requirements

If managers need to report on multiple fields, or users work across multiple fields and need to be reported on by their respective managers, please refer to Step 5 in the following guide linked here.

Important information

When designing your hierarchy:

• Keep the structure as simple as possible.
• Avoid creating unnecessary hierarchy levels.
• Use blank values carefully, as these broaden reporting visibility.
• Plan for future organisational growth before implementation.
• Test hierarchy matching with a small number of users before completing a full user update.

A well-structured hierarchy will make reporting easier to manage and reduce ongoing administration.