Please note: this article is about the Justworks Payroll product. Not sure which product you're using? Check out: How Do I Know Which Justworks Product I Have?
What are custom fields?
In addition to the categories that automatically appear in an employee's profile, employers can now add new, custom information to an employee's profile through custom fields. Information related to your physical office and company culture, or details that track employees’ career development and performance at your company can be captured through the use of custom fields. Admins can edit and view custom fields as well as give permission for other members to be able to view and edit custom field information entered. Any other members not given permission by the admin will not be able to see the information entered.
You can use custom fields to capture short structured data, such as desk location, company ID number or favorite birthday treat, to track information across your entire team or specific user groups, and to record information that you want to be able to pull in a report.
How do I create a custom field?
STEP 1. BUILD THE FIELD
From Company Settings, select “Custom Profile Fields”.. Next, click “Add Custom Field.” Name your custom field and choose from a variety of answer types, including free-form and single/multi select (you define the list of options). The answer type is editable once it has been selected and the custom field is created, however if the field type is changed all existing values will be deleted.
STEP 2. CHOOSE APPLICATIONS
Decide where a custom field lives within an employee's profile. This could be in Personal Information or Job Information. You can also determine which user groups a particular custom field applies to:
- All members
- Employees
- Owners
- Contractors
- Third party admins
STEP 3. CHOOSE PERMISSIONS
Finally, set permissions to define who can do what.
- To create, edit, and remove custom fields, you must have “Edit Company Settings” or “Manage Employees”permission
- All custom fields can be viewed and edited by those with “Manage Employee” permission
- All custom fields can be viewed by those with “View All Employee Information” permission
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When creating the custom field, you can determine who else can view and answer custom fields
- You can select “yes” to allow members to view and edit the custom field on their own profile
- You can select “yes” to allow those with “View Basic Employee Information” to view the custom field.
- To export all of the answers from custom fields in your company census report, you must have reporting permissions.
All information contained in custom fields is for your internal reference only. Changes made in custom fields will not impact anything else in the Justworks platform or the services Justworks provides to your company. So, for example, payroll, benefits eligibility, permissions, and member type are not affected by any information you add or change in custom fields.
Remain compliant!
Custom fields are a great way to track information that enhances the employee experience and makes your life easier. However, even with the best intentions, seemingly harmless data can expose a company to legal and compliance risks. Custom fields should not be used to record medical or confidential information, non-factual information or commentary, or information that would run afoul of anti-discrimination laws. We've created some helpful best practices to get you started.
Disclaimer
This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, legal or tax advice. If you have any legal or tax questions regarding this content or related issues, then you should consult with your professional legal or tax advisor.