Import people from a file
You can add people to MuchSkills in bulk from a CSV file, with their job title, manager, department, location and tags. It suits pilots and smaller organisations, or a start while your HR integration is prepared. File import is available on request: ask us and we switch it on for your organisation. People keep their MuchSkills data when you switch to an HR sync later.
- Who
- An Owner or Admin, once we have switched file import on
- Where
- Team/Org › Settings › Manage Members
- File
- CSV, up to 10 MB
- Columns
- First name, Last name, Email, Title, Direct report, Department, Location, Tags, Role
How to
How it works
An Owner or Admin downloads a template from Manage Members, fills in one row per person and uploads the file. MuchSkills adds the people to your organisation with the details from the file: job title, manager, department, location and tags. After the import, nothing updates on its own. You keep people up to date in Manage Members, or you connect your HR system later.
A file import suits:
- Pilots, with one team or department.
- Smaller organisations without an HR system.
- A start while your HR integration is prepared. People keep their MuchSkills data when the integration takes over.
Before you start
- In MuchSkills: the Owner or Admin role, and file import switched on. It is available on request: email support@muchskills.com or ask in the chat.
- Set up the names first. Add your departments and locations in Team Settings, and your tags in Manage Tags. Use exactly the same names in the file.
- Use the right email addresses. Each person's email must be the address they will sign in with. If you plan to connect an HR system later, use the same address it holds. For people with no email address, contact us first (see Important to know).
- Managers first. The Direct report column only works for managers who are already members. If they are not, import the managers in a first file, then everyone else.
- Import before you invite. Email invitations sent to the same people before the import stay under Pending Invites.
- Plan the launch. Tell people about MuchSkills before they find themselves in it. See Step 5: Launch to everyone.
Steps
Prepare the file
- Open Manage Members. Go to Team/Org › Settings › Manage Members.
- Download the template. Click the three dots on the right, below the Invite button, and choose Download template.
- Fill in one row per person. Keep the header row exactly as it is, and replace the example row with your own people. The table under step 4 shows what goes in each column.
- Save the file as CSV, comma separated. It can be up to 10 MB.
| Column | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| First name | The person's first name | Maria |
| Last name | The person's last name | Lopez |
| The address the person signs in with. Required | maria.lopez@example.com | |
| Title | Their job title | Data Engineer |
| Direct report | The email address of their manager, who must already be a member | sam.carter@example.com |
| Department | Their department, named as in Team Settings | Engineering |
| Location | Their location, named as in Team Settings. Put the value in double quotes if it contains a comma | "Gothenburg, Sweden" |
| Tags | One or more tags, separated by semicolons | Consultant; Leadership |
| Role | Member | Member |
Import
- Upload the file. Open the same three-dot menu, choose Import Members from CSV file and select your file. MuchSkills shows Uploading... while it works.
- Check the result. The people from your file appear in the list with their Department, Location, Direct Manager and Role.
- Set roles. Give Admin or Analyst to the people who need it, in the Role column. Reload the page to check that each role was saved. See Roles and permissions.
- Fill any gaps. Set a missing manager in Direct Manager, or a missing department or location, straight in the list.
Check it worked
- Manage Members lists the people from your file, with their department, location, direct manager and role.
- Team/Org › Members in the Hierarchy view shows the reporting lines you expect.
- Managers from your file see their people in My Circle.
Benefits
What you get
- Your organisation in one go. Everyone in the file joins at once, with their details filled in.
- Reporting lines from the start. The Direct report column builds the org chart and fills every manager's My Circle.
- An easy path to automation. When you connect your HR system later, people keep everything they have added.
Important to know
Important to know
Moving to an HR sync later. When an HR sync or SCIM takes over, MuchSkills matches people by email address, and they keep their profiles, skills and certificates. From then on your HR system or identity provider is the source of truth for names, managers and departments. See How HR integrations work.
Nothing updates on its own. Until you connect an HR system, add joiners and handle leavers yourself in Manage Members.
Invitations and the import. Import first, invite afterwards. Email invitations you sent to the same people before the import wait under Pending Invites in Team/Org › Members. To add someone the file missed, use Invite.
Roles. Set Admin and Analyst roles after the import, in Manage Members.
File import is available on request. If you do not see the three-dot menu, contact support and we switch it on.
People without an email address. Email is required for every person. If some of your people have no email address, contact us: we can create placeholder addresses for them, linked to their real employee IDs.
HR integrations set managers for you. With an HR integration or SCIM, reporting lines come from that system and you do not fill in manager emails at all.
Common errors
Troubleshooting
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| There is no three-dot menu in Manage Members | File import is not switched on for your organisation yet | Contact support and ask for it to be switched on |
| Maximum file size must be up to 10 MB | The file is larger than 10 MB | Split it into smaller files with different people in each, and upload them one by one |
| Oops! It looks like something went wrong uploading your .csv file | The file is not a CSV file, the headers were changed, or it uses another separator | Download the template again, keep the header row, and save as CSV, comma separated |
| Someone you made an Admin shows as Member | The role from the file was not applied | Set the role in the Role column of Manage Members, and reload to check |
| Some managers are missing | The Direct report cell holds a name instead of an email address, or the manager was not a member yet when you imported | Import the managers first and the rest afterwards, or set any missing manager in Direct Manager |
| Some people stay under Pending Invites | They were invited by email before the import | Ask them to accept the invitation, or contact support if someone appears twice |
Frequently asked questions
Which columns are required?
Every row needs an email address and a name. Fill in the other columns as far as you can, because each one makes MuchSkills more useful.
What goes in Direct report?
The email address of the person's manager, as in the example row of the template. The manager must already be a member of MuchSkills when you import. If your managers are not in yet, import them in a first file and everyone else in a second.
How do we add more than one tag?
Separate the tags with semicolons in the Tags column, for example Consultant; Leadership.
Can we make people Admins in the file?
Put Member in the Role column for everyone, and set Admin and Analyst roles afterwards in Manage Members. Reload the page to check the result.
Can we switch to an HR sync later?
Yes. People keep their profiles, skills and certificates when the HR sync takes over, as long as their email address is the same in both.
I cannot see the import menu. Why?
File import is available on request. Ask us at support@muchskills.com or in the chat, and we switch it on for your organisation.
Some of our people have no email address. Can we still import them?
Every person in MuchSkills needs an email address. If some of your people have none, for example in production or field roles, contact us. We can create placeholder addresses for them, linked to their real employee IDs.
Should we invite people before or after the import?
After. Email invitations you send before the import stay under Pending Invites. Import first, then follow Step 5 for the launch.