SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) is a simple way to keep employee data in sync between your HRIS and 15Five, without manual CSV uploads. There is no custom integration to build. When a connection is active, your HRIS generates and sends a CSV to 15Five on a schedule you configure, and 15Five imports the data and applies all updates automatically.
SFTP is available to all 15Five customers on all plans.
Feature Structure
SFTP operates through four areas within 15Five:
- Setup tab — displays the SFTP server credentials your HRIS needs to establish a connection
- Import history tab — lists all past imports; individual imports can be opened to view details
- Settings tab — designates a contact person to receive sync summary and import error emails; also contains the option to disable the connection
- Enable / Disable controls — toggle the SFTP integration on or off from the Integrations section of your account settings
What You Can Do
Key Rules
- SFTP is a one-way (inbound) integration. Your HRIS sends employee data to 15Five. 15Five does not send data back to your HRIS through SFTP.
- All CSV files sent via SFTP must be UTF-8 encoded.
- SFTP supports the same column headers as the bulk CSV import. See Add People to 15Five — Overview of Methods for the full field list.
- Either email address or employeeid can be used as the unique identifier. The identifier is set in your company's import settings. 15Five does not populate
employeeidautomatically — account admins must set this field. - The
termination_datecolumn records when an employee left but does not deactivate their account. To deactivate a user via SFTP, setis_activetoFALSEin the CSV. A row with onlytermination_datepopulated and nois_activechange will leave the user active in 15Five. - SFTP imports act as the source of truth for employee data. They overwrite all manual in-app changes, including manager assignments. Only SCIM offers an option to preserve manual manager changes.
- To sync a field that has no matching column header, create a custom attribute in 15Five and map your HRIS field to it.
- Import frequency is determined by the cadence configured in your HRIS, not within 15Five.
- If your HRIS does not have a built-in SFTP client, your IT or Engineering team can write a script that sends automated CSVs to 15Five's SFTP server. Contact your HRIS account manager to confirm whether SFTP must be enabled on the HRIS side before setup.