If your company has a user data integration, your HR system is the source of truth for every integrated account in Cognexo. Any change made directly in Cognexo will be overwritten the next time the integration runs.
A user data integration is a regular feed of employee data from your own systems into Cognexo. It keeps your employee list accurate as people join, leave or move teams, without anyone updating lists by hand.
How the load file works
The integration sends Cognexo a load file containing your current employee data. Cognexo processes it and updates every integrated account to match.
Each run treats the load file as correct. If a field in Cognexo differs from the file, Cognexo replaces it with the value from the file. This is what keeps Audiences accurate automatically: when someone moves from Sales to Marketing in your HR system, their Audience membership in Cognexo updates on the next run.
Don't make manual changes to integrated accounts
Manual edits to integrated accounts in the Admin Portal will not stick. The change may look correct straight away, but the next load file will overwrite it – at midnight for nightly integrations, or within the hour for hourly ones.
This applies to any field the feed provides, including:
- Name and email address
- Department, team, location and job title
- Line manager
- Active or inactive status
What to do instead: make the change in your HR system. It will flow through to Cognexo on the next run.
New users and manager changes start in your HR system
New starters and manager changes must be entered in your HR system first. Cognexo picks them up on the next load file run.
Adding a new user
- Add the employee to your HR system with all required fields.
- Wait for the next integration run.
- Check the user now appears in the Admin Portal.
If you create the user manually in Cognexo instead, the account won't match the feed. This can create a duplicate when the feed later sends the same person, or the manual account may be deactivated because it isn't in the file.
Changing a line manager
- Update the manager in your HR system.
- Wait for the next integration run.
- The manager change, and any reporting or Audience changes that depend on it, appears in Cognexo.
If a change is urgent, make it in your HR system as early as possible so it's included in the next load file.
Don't use bulk upload on integrated accounts
Bulk upload is for companies without an integration. If your company has one, don't use bulk upload to create or update users.
A bulk upload on integrated accounts will either be overwritten by the next load file, or create accounts and data that conflict with the feed. Both lead to duplicates and inaccurate reporting.
If you need to change many users at once, make the changes in your HR system and let the integration apply them.