Manager field not syncing from Okta to 15Five

Ben Pemstein Ben Pemstein
· Updated

The Manager field in 15Five shows as empty even after Okta pushes a SCIM update. This article covers the two most common causes: an unsupported manager ID format and a missing attribute mapping.

Diagnose

Work through these checks in order.

Check 1: Manager ID format from your primary source system

  • Cause: Your organization feeds employee data into Okta from an upstream HR or identity system. The manager identifier that system sends may not be in a format 15Five accepts.
  • How to check: In Okta's Profile Editor for the 15Five app, inspect the value mapped to the managerId field. Confirm it resolves to either an email address or an Okta employee ID.
  • If true (format is unsupported): The manager field will be empty in 15Five regardless of whether Okta sends a value. Go to Fix 1.
  • If not: The format is acceptable. Move to Check 2.

Check 2: managerId attribute is not mapped in Okta

  • Cause: The managerId attribute exists in the SCIM schema but has no value mapped in Okta's attribute mapping table.
  • How to check: In Okta, go to Provisioning > To App > Attribute Mappings. Find the managerId row and confirm a source expression is present.
  • If true (row is blank or missing): No manager data is sent to 15Five. Go to Fix 2.
  • If not: Mapping exists and format is valid. Go to If It Still Fails.

Fix

Fix 1 — Convert manager ID to a supported format

  1. Identify what value your primary source system sends as the manager identifier.
  2. In Okta, open the Profile Editor for the 15Five app.
  3. Locate the managerId attribute mapping.
  4. Update the mapping expression to output either the manager's email address or Okta employee ID.
  5. Click Save Mappings.
  6. Trigger a manual sync in Okta to push the updated value.

Fix 2 — Add the managerId attribute mapping

  1. In Okta, navigate to the 15Five app > Provisioning > To App.
  2. Click Edit next to the attribute mappings list.
  3. Find the Manager ID row with attribute name managerId.
  4. Enter the mapping expression — use user.managerId or the equivalent field from your Okta user profile.
  5. Click Save Mappings.
  6. Trigger a manual sync to push the value to 15Five.

What Resolution Looks Like

After a successful sync, the affected user's profile in 15Five shows the correct manager name under their People settings. No empty or blank manager field appears.

If It Still Fails

Contact 15Five Support at support@15five.com. Provide the following:

  • The Okta user ID of an affected employee
  • The mapped value or expression in the managerId field
  • The format of the manager identifier (email, employee ID, or other)
  • A timestamp of the last SCIM push attempt

Not Covered Here

This article does not cover other attribute mapping failures or group sync issues — see the primary setup article for full attribute configuration steps.

Related Articles

SCIM provisioning with Okta — overview and capabilities Configure SCIM with Okta

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