Flexible Field Mapping and Transformations in HRIS Integrations

While our integration covers a standard set of fields synced from your HRIS to Remote, we offer the option to sync additional fields or change which HRIS field maps to which Remote field. Additionally, your system might store values in a different format than what Remote expects, and we offer a way for you to tweak those values before they get inserted in Remote. For example, your HRIS might label a field "Per hour" while Remote expects "hourly", or it might split a name into separate fields while Remote needs a single full name.

The flexible mapping and transformations feature lets you define rules that automatically convert your HRIS data into the right format as it syncs to Remote. You set the rules once, and Remote handles the conversion automatically from then on, keeping data accurate without any manual re-entry.

Note: Custom field mapping is available for both Global Payroll and Employer of Record customers, and must be configured separately. On Global Payroll this is done at a legal entity level, while Employer of Record defines a single mapping for all of Remote’s employer entities.

To access the user interface to configure the field mappings please follow these steps. (This article uses HiBob integration as an example)

1. Go to your integration page after it’s been connected.
2. Go to the Settings tab and click Map Employee Data, for either the Employer of Record (EOR) or Global Payroll products.
   
3.  If you chose to map Employer of Record fields, the list of fields will appear without a legal entity selection.
   
4. In the case of Global Payroll, a list of all legal entities in your account will appear. Click Map next to the one you want to configure.
   
5. You will see a list of available Remote fields on the left, and the available fields from your HRIS on the right. You can link any HRIS field to a Remote field to define where the data should come from.
   
6. You can map fields directly using the dropdowns, or click the ellipsis button next to any field to open the detailed mapping drawer where you can also set up transformations (covered in the sections below).
   

Field mapping is the simplest option. It lets you directly connect a field from your HRIS to the corresponding field in Remote. Use this when your HRIS field and Remote field store data in the same format and you just need to point one to the other.

1. Click on the ellipses against field to edit mapping.
   
2. In the mapping drawer, go to Field mapping.
   
3.  Select which HRIS field should map to the Remote field. The interface also shows all existing unique values for the selected field so you can review what data is being synced. Click Save.
   

Transformations go a step further than field mapping. Instead of just connecting two fields, you define a rule that modifies the value from your HRIS before it gets sent to Remote.

There are four guided (basic) transformation types, plus an advanced option to write a custom formula. Each one is explained below.

This transformation always sends the same value to Remote, regardless of what is in your HRIS.

Example: All employees are billed hourly and there is no dedicated billing type field in your HRIS. You can set a Fixed value of hourly to apply it to all employees automatically.

1. From the mapping drawer, select Fixed value.
   
2. Enter a fixed field to apply to all employees within that legal entity and click Save.
   

This transformation takes two fields from your HRIS and joins them together with a separator you define. It then takes that value and applies it to the chosen Remote field.

Example: Your HRIS does not have a single "full legal name" field, but it does have separate "First name" and "Last name" fields. You can combine them using a space as the separator so Remote receives the full name correctly.

1. From the mapping drawer, select Combine fields.
   
2. Add your First variable, Second variable, and a Separator between the two. Click Save.
   

This transformation changes the format or casing of a value. This can be used for cases where the external system sends a value in a particular format and Remote accepts another format.

Example: Remote expects the "Pay frequency" field to be salary or hourly (lowercase), but your HRIS stores it as Salary or Hourly (capitalized). You can use the Lowercase format conversion to automatically conform to what Remote expects.

1. From the edit mapping dashboard, select Convert format.
   
2. Choose the desired conversion option and click Save.
   

This transformation maps specific values from your HRIS to the corresponding values Remote expects. The interface automatically shows all existing unique values for the field so you can assign each one a new value.

Example: Remote expects either male or female in the "Sex" field, but your BambooHR system stores this as M and F. You can map F to female and M to male. Any fields left blank will fall back to the default value, so employees with no value defined are not synced with incorrect information.

1. From the edit mapping dashboard, select Match values.
   
2. Configure the Variable against the field and add matching values. Save to continue.
   

If the guided options do not cover your use case, you can write a custom transformation using Remote's formula language. Slang works similarly to formulas in tools like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. To use this option, 

1. From the edit mapping drawer, scroll down to choose Write a formula.
   
2. There are two utilities available in this view:

• Syntax checker: Verifies that your formula follows valid Slang syntax. Note that this does not confirm the formula will produce the right result, only that it is syntactically valid.
• Variable lookup: Lets you search all fields exposed from your HRIS, see their variable names, descriptions, and types, and click to insert them directly into the formula input.
  

Examples:

• IF($payroll.employment.type="Apprentice","yes","no") — outputs yes if the employee's contract type is "Apprentice", otherwise no.
• SWITCH($payroll.employment.contract,"Full time","full_time","Part time","part_time","full_time") — maps "Full time" to full_time, "Part time" to part_time, and anything else to full_time.
• $home.custom.numberOfChildren+IF($home.familyStatus="married",1,0) — outputs the employee's total number of dependents (children, plus 1 if married).

Once you implement one or more transformations, please take a look at the Integration Events tab to see if they generated any sync errors.

If you need any additional help, please contact your assigned Customer Success Manager, or if you don’t have one reach out to us through our support chat.