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Defining a Head of Structure

Assigning someone as the lead of a company structure lets them see and manage all employees inside that structure, and optionally its sub-structures. Use it when a manager's responsibility follows the org chart rather than direct reporting lines.

When you need this​

Imagine a company with two offices:

  • The USA HR manager should see everyone — USA and UK.
  • The UK manager should see only UK employees.

Solution: make the USA HR manager a lead of the top-level company structure, and the UK manager a lead of the UK office structure only.

Company (Lead: USA HR Manager)  ← sees everyone
├── USA Office
│   ├── Engineering
│   └── Sales
└── UK Office (Lead: UK Manager) ← sees only UK employees
    ├── Engineering
    └── Support

How to assign a lead​

  1. Go to People > Company Structure.
  2. Click the edit (pencil) button on the structure.
  3. In the Leads field, pick one or more employees.
  4. Click Save.

Leads field in the Company Structure form

The lead needs the right user level

To actually see the employee list, the lead's user account must have the Admin or Manager user level — see Users, user levels and managers.

System settings that control this​

Two settings under System > Settings > System decide whether a lead actually sees the employees in their structure. Both are off by default.

System Settings tab

  • System: Company Structure Managers Enabled — lets a lead view employees in the structure they are assigned to.
  • System: Child Company Structure Managers Enabled — extends that to every structure beneath it as well.

The two company structure manager settings

Turn on the first for a lead who should only see their own structure, and both for a lead whose responsibility covers the branches underneath it too.

What a lead can do​

  • See employees in the structure and all structures beneath it
  • View reports scoped to their structure
  • Approve requests (leave and similar) for those employees

Troubleshooting​

  • Lead can't see any employees — confirm they are set as a lead on the right structure, their user level is Admin or Manager, and System: Company Structure Managers Enabled is on.
  • Lead sees too many people — they are probably a lead of a higher-level structure than intended; move the assignment to the more specific structure, or turn off System: Child Company Structure Managers Enabled if they should not see the structures beneath theirs.