Populate Attributes via Bulk CSV Import

Use a bulk CSV import to populate default, demographic, and custom attributes for multiple employees at once. When complete, updated attribute values appear on each employee's profile.

Before You Begin

• You must have an HR Admin or Account Admin role.
• To import demographic attributes, demographic data must be enabled first. See Enable and configure Demographic Attributes.
• Prepare your CSV file using the unique identifier configured for your account. Check your import settings to confirm whether your organization uses employee_id or email as the identifier. Employee ID is the recommended best practice when available, as it is more stable than email addresses which can change.

Steps

Populate Default Attributes

1. Open your CSV file in a spreadsheet editor.
2. Delete all columns except your unique identifier column (employee_id or email, depending on your account's import settings).
3. Add one column for each default attribute you want to populate (for example, hire_date, job_title, location).
4. Enter the attribute value for each employee row.
5. Save the file as a CSV.
6. Navigate to People → Manage People.
7. Click Import and upload your CSV file.
8. Confirm the import to apply changes.

Populate Demographic Attributes

1. Open your CSV file in a spreadsheet editor.
2. Delete all columns except your unique identifier column (employee_id or email, depending on your account's import settings).
3. Add only the demographic columns you want to populate. Use these exact column names:

- demographic_salary - demographic_gender - demographic_race - demographic_ethnicity - demographic_birth_date

1. Enter the attribute value for each employee row. Leave a cell blank to leave that field unpopulated.
2. Save the file as a CSV.
3. Navigate to People → Manage People.
4. Click Import and upload your CSV file.
5. Confirm the import to apply changes.

Populate Custom Attributes

1. Open your CSV file in a spreadsheet editor.
2. Delete all columns except your unique identifier column (employee_id or email, depending on your account's import settings).
3. Add one column for each custom attribute using the format custom_attribute_name (for example, custom_certification_level, custom_tshirt_size).
4. Enter the attribute value for each employee row. Leave a cell blank to leave that field unpopulated for that employee.
5. Save the file as a CSV.
6. Navigate to People → Manage People.
7. Click Import and upload your CSV file.
8. Confirm the import to apply changes.

If Something Goes Wrong

Not Covered Here

This article covers CSV import only — for HRIS sync or manual one-at-a-time attribute updates, see the related articles below.

Related Articles

• Understand People Attributes in 15Five
• Connect and Sync Your HRIS Integration
• Update a Single Employee's Attributes Manually