Bulk updating employees via CSV

As an HR Admin, you can update employee information in bulk using a CSV file. This feature is available directly from the Actions menu on the Employee directory page, alongside options to add employees manually or import them in bulk.

 

CSV file creation (preparation for the bulk update)

As an HR Admin, you can generate a CSV file directly from Workable that includes only the employee data you want to update. This helps prepare and format bulk updates before uploading the file back into the system. To create a CSV file for bulk updates:

1. Navigate to the Employees tab of the main menu and click 'Bulk update employees' under the Actions menu.
2. If you don’t already have a CSV file prepared, select Create CSV.

Follow the three-step guided flow:

1. Field selection

• Select the employee fields you want to include in the file.
• All updatable fields from the employee profile template are listed by section.
• The "Work email" field is always preselected and cannot be deselected, as it serves as the key for identifying employees during the update.
• Bulk updating the Status and Direct reports fields is not permitted.

2. Employee selection

• Choose which employees will be included in the CSV. You can filter by entity, department, or location, or select specific employees.
• At least one employee, entity, or department must be selected to continue.

3. Data preview & export

• A preview of the first 10 employees matching your filters appears, along with the total number included in the export.
• If the preview looks correct, select "Create CSV" to generate the file.
• The file downloads automatically once ready. If no employees match your selection, you’ll be prompted to adjust your criteria.

Once the file is created, open it using your preferred application (Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers, etc.), make your changes, and save it again as a .csv file. You can then re-upload this file using the 'Bulk update employees' process outlined in the next section.

Mapping of columns happens automatically when the field names match those in your profile template. Avoid changing column names to ensure the import process works correctly.

 

Steps to bulk update employees

To get started, navigate to the Employees tab of the main menu and click 'Bulk update employees' under the Actions menu.

If you don’t already have a CSV file prepared, select 'Create CSV' and follow the process outlined above. If you have a CSV file ready, select 'Start upload' and continue with the four-step wizard.

1. Upload CSV

1. Upload your CSV file and indicate whether the file has headers (preselected if you use the Employee details export). The CSV file size limit is 1 MB. If your file is larger, you'll need to split your data into two files. If 

2. Choose when updates should take effect:

   • Immediately (default): Updates are applied as soon as you complete the process. Optionally, select 'Overwrite existing values' to avoid creating new history entries. This is useful for correcting errors.

   • Future date: Schedule updates for a specific day (starting from the following day). Updates run at midnight in the employee’s timezone.

Important notes:

• The CSV file must include a work email column, which is required to identify employees.
• Empty files, or files with missing column headers, are not accepted.

2. Map fields

Here you will match the columns of your CSV to the corresponding employee profile fields. If you choose not to match a CSV column, data from that column won't be imported.

The only field required to complete this step is mapping the work email of employees, as it serves as a unique identifier for Workable to update employee values. 

3. Map values

Here you will choose which values from your CSV columns correspond to each of the values you've set up in Workable. If you choose not to match a field value, any data of that value won't be imported.

Multiple values from the source file can be mapped to the same Workable value, allowing HR Admins to perform data cleanup or correct any erroneous file content (e.g., a location mistype, such as “Ahtens,” can be mapped to “Athens” to fix the employee data). Any values of the CSV file that are not mapped will not be updated with the current bulk action.

4. Preview changes

This step offers a preview of your previous selections, including all CSV rows as identified by Workable. It displays all mapped CSV columns, and for columns with dropdown mappings, the choices are replaced with those from Workable. The formatting for pay rate, currency, and date fields matches that used in the employee profile. 

Note: The preview includes all rows; it does not limit the preview to successful lines only, as the actual update has not yet been executed.

 

Click the Update button on the right to execute the updates. A loading screen will appear for as long as it takes to complete the process. You have the option to either wait for the process to complete or, if the update takes a while, close the window and receive a notification via email when the update process is complete. 

Once complete, you will see the results page, where you are informed about the total number of employees that were processed and any errors that may have occurred. A CSV file with the errors is available for download.

Once the updates are executed/scheduled, the user initiating this will receive an email informing them about the update process completion, which also includes a link to the employee directory for them to view the results page and download the error file, if it exists.

 

Error handling

If any issues occur, Workable generates an error file that lists the problematic rows along with explanations. Common errors include:

Error	Solution
Invalid URL format for {{columnName}} column	The update process expects a public URL if the update file includes an image URL for the profile picture update. URL should be checked to be a public url and without typos.
Invalid date format for {{columnName}} column	The date format is not in one of the accepted formats:  MM-DD-YYYY YYYY-MM-DD MM/DD/YYYY YYYY/MM/DD
Invalid email format for {{columnName}} column	The email format is not in the accepted format:  <string>@<domain>
Valid values for true are {{validTrue}} and for false {{validFalse}}	The column mapped to a boolean field does not include acceptable formats for its values. Accepted values: True, False, T, F
Invalid numeric format for {{columnName}} column	The column mapped to a numeric field does not include only numbers. They should check the content and remove any characters.  I.e. 1235a is not a numeric format. If this is correct, then the field should be of type Short text instead of type Numeric.
Manager has not been added as an employee in your account	The manager assigned to this specific line is either not added as an employee in the account or has been offboarded and should be updated in the file or manually from the employee profile.
Failed validation for {{columnName}} column	The content of the column does not match a custom validation rule set for this field. The HR Admin should check the field validation rules and update the file content or the field.
Amount is missing for pay rate field type	A pay rate field needs a numeric value for the amount and cannot be set without it.
Currency is missing for pay rate field type	A pay rate field needs a currency value for the amount and cannot be set without it. Currency code should be in ISO 4217 format.
Value is required for {{columnName}} column	A mandatory field does not have a value. This should be updated to include one or to not be mandatory from the profile template settings.
Circular reference in manager assigned to employee	A report (direct or indirect) is being set as a manager for an employee that is in their management line.  I.e Employee A manages Employee B and file tries to set Employee B as manager of Employee A.
Enter a number smaller than or equal to {{maxValue}} for column {{columnName}}	A custom validation is set for a Numeric field and the value included in the file is larger than the allowed ones.
Enter a number larger than or equal to {{minValue}} for column {{columnName}}	A custom validation is set for a Numeric field and the value included in the file is smaller than the allowed ones.
Duplicate work email detected – all rows containing {{workEmail}} were skipped. Each employee must have a unique work email.	When there are multiple lines with the same email, the import / update process does not handle them, as it cannot know which one is correct and which one has an error in the email.  HR Administrators should check the emails and correct any duplicate values by removing a whole line or updating the mistyped one.
Updates can’t be scheduled for draft employee profiles.	Scheduled updates apply only for Active employees. HR Admins should not try to schedule updates in the future for draft employees, as they will not be applied and this error will occur.

 

FAQs

Which fields can't be updated?

The fields that cannot be updated are:

• The work email, as it's the primary key for this functionality.
• The employee status, as this is updated by system procedures like employee publishing, offboarding etc.
• Direct reports