Summary
Hierarchies are used to determine which users a manager can view within reports on the platform. Once a user has been assigned “Reporting access”, the hierarchy profile fields will dictate which users they are able to report on.
Hierarchies work as a filtering mechanism. Each hierarchy field is treated separately and users will only be visible to managers where their hierarchy profile field values match.
A hierarchy can contain as many levels as required depending on the structure of your organisation, however common examples include:
- Organisation
- Division
- Service Area
- Team
Managers can either:
- report on a specific value within a field, or
- report on all values within a field by leaving the field blank.
Step 1 - Assigning reporting access
In order for a user to access reporting areas of the platform, they must first be assigned Reporting access permissions.
This can be done manually by ticking the “Reporting access” profile field on the user’s profile.
Alternatively, this can be completed in bulk by including the column “profile_field_ismanager” within your bulk user upload spreadsheet and assigning the value of “1” for any users who require manager reporting permissions.
Once this has been applied, the user will gain access to the reporting areas of the platform as soon as they log in. Using the “Log in as” feature will not replicate this.
Step 2 - Populate hierarchy fields for managers
Managers should then be assigned hierarchy profile field values which determine which users they can report on.
For example:
| Profile field | Value |
|---|---|
| Organisation | Northbridge Learning |
| Division | Community Services |
| Service Area | Learner Support |
| Team | Digital Helpdesk |
This manager would only be able to report on users with the exact same hierarchy values.
Step 3 - Using open fields
If a hierarchy field is left blank for a manager, no filtering will be applied at that hierarchy level. This allows the manager to report on all values within that field.
For example:
| Profile field | Value |
|---|---|
| Organisation | Northbridge Learning |
| Division | (blank) |
| Service Area | Learner Support |
| Team | Digital Helpdesk |
This manager would be able to report on:
- all Divisions,
- within the Learner Support service area,
- within the Digital Helpdesk team,
- under Organisation Northbridge Learning.
The blank Division field means the manager is not restricted to a single Division value.
Step 4 - Populate hierarchy fields for users
Once manager hierarchy fields have been established, users should then be assigned the appropriate hierarchy values on their profiles.
Managers will only be able to view users whose hierarchy values match their own.
For example:
| User | Organisation | Division | Service Area | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| User 1 | Northbridge Learning | Community Services | Learner Support | Digital Helpdesk |
| User 2 | Northbridge Learning | Professional Development | Learner Support | Digital Helpdesk |
A manager with:
- Organisation = Northbridge Learning
- Division = blank
- Service Area = Learner Support
- Team = Digital Helpdesk
would be able to view both users above.
Step 5 - Users or managers assigned to multiple teams
The hierarchy structure is designed so that:
- users belong to a single value within each hierarchy field,
- and managers report on a single hierarchy path.
In some organisations, however, users or managers may need to sit across multiple teams or departments. In these situations, additional hierarchy fields should be created to support this reporting structure.
Scenario 1 - A user needs to sit within multiple teams
If a user needs to appear within reports for multiple teams, this cannot be achieved using a single “Team” hierarchy field.
For example, a user may need to be reported on within:
- North Team
- South Team
Instead of assigning multiple values to the same field, you should create additional hierarchy fields.
Example:
| Team 1 | Team 2 |
|---|---|
| North Team | South Team |
The user profile should then contain values in both fields.
Where a user only belongs to a single team, it is recommended that the same value is populated across all related hierarchy fields to ensure hierarchy matching remains consistent.
For example:
| User | Team 1 | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| User A | North Team | North Team |
Scenario 2 - A manager needs to report on multiple teams
If a manager needs visibility across multiple teams or departments, additional hierarchy fields should also be created.
For example:
| Team 1 | Team 2 |
|---|---|
| North Team | South Team |
The manager profile can then be populated with multiple reporting areas across the additional fields.
Users within those teams should also have matching values populated within the same hierarchy fields.
Where a manager only reports on a single team, it is recommended that the same value is populated across all related hierarchy fields to maintain consistent hierarchy matching.
For example:
| Manager | Team 1 | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Manager A | North Team | North Team |
Important information
When supporting multi-team or multi-department reporting:
- Create additional hierarchy fields before the reporting level required.
- Ensure both managers and users use the same hierarchy structure.
- Keep naming conventions consistent across all hierarchy fields.
- Avoid adding unnecessary duplicate hierarchy levels where possible.
This approach ensures the hierarchy matching logic continues to function correctly while allowing more flexible reporting structures.