A little reminder … if you have just one or two learners to add to your learning platform, then the quickest way is to use the + Add learner function.
However, if you’ve got a lot of people that you want to add, for example when you first set up the platform and want to get everyone uploaded from your payroll/HR platform, then it’s well worth the effort to create an import spreadsheet and then import the whole lot in one go.
Here’s how.
Go to your Learners menu and pick Import Learners:
Everything you need is on this screen:
Let’s walk through each section.
Upload file
Here’s where you click to go and find a csv file you’ve already prepared, or you can just drag and drop it straight in, it’ll start processing straightaway.
Queued Imports
This will show you that your CSV file is waiting to import, it’ll only take a minute or so to get going. As soon as it’s finished it will appear in the following list. If it’s a really big file (we can quite happily import all of your people even if there are tens of thousands of them) then you’ll see your file in the Current Imports list.
Previous Imports
We keep a history of your import files so you can see how many rows of data were imported, when it happened and if there were any errors or warnings. Have a look here for what the warnings mean.
How to prepare your import CSV file
Your import file is a comma separated, or CSV, file and it has a fixed format of 17 columns. You can name the columns as you wish, but you cannot configure your own column order!
Note that some of the columns must still be included even though their data has historical significance and is no longer used.
It’s advisable to make sure that your CSV file format is set to UTF-8. This is especially important when your data comprises special characters, particularly those associated with names, like ä, ö, ü. Whilst these are used primarily in German to change vowel pronunciation or signify grammar shifts, if it’s not possible to correct your file format then substitute with an 'e' (ae, oe, ue).
Here’s how the columns should be populated:
Column # | Column Name | What does it do? | Must have data in this column? |
1 | Username | This is the unique name that the learner will use at the login screen. This must be unique to them (e.g. email, company ID, or payroll number). | Yes
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2 | User Type | Previously used to determine what tools were assigned to a person. You must put something in here, it will be ignored by the import process. | Yes |
3 | First Name | User's first name (this can not be left blank or be longer than 128 characters) | Yes |
4 | Last Name | User's surname (this can not be left blank or be longer than 128 characters) | Yes |
5 | This is used to send a password reset link and for occasional communications. It is highly recommended to include an email address! |
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6 | Password | Used to define a password for new starters. If left blank a default password is used. Best practice is to not include a password and to include an email address so that a reset link can be provided. |
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7 | Location | This is the name of the location for this learner. It must exist in the learning platform before importing this file. | Yes |
8 | Date Of Birth | This is optional and can be left blank. If included then it must be in the format dd/mm/yyyy. |
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9 | Country Code | This is optional and will default to 'GB'. |
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10 | Language Code | Use this to assign the language in which this person will see the learning platform. It will default to ‘en’ (English) if left blank. |
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11 | Job Code | Based on your job codes (a short description e.g. MGR for a manager). | Yes |
12 | Job Description | Based on your job types (a full description e.g. team member, assistant manager). A person's "Job Type" determines what learner profile they will be given(list of courses on their road map) as well as any additional tools they’ll be assigned. | Yes |
13 | Company Start Date | Company join date, must be in the format dd/mm/yyyy. |
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14 | Company Leave Date | This is required when a learner leaves. It automatically sets them inactive and they can no longer log in but their records are kept. Leave this blank if they are still part of your team. If included then it must be in the format dd/mm/yyyy. |
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15 | Employment Type | This is optional and may be used for filtering in reports. It will default to 'Permanent' if left blank. |
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16 | Old User Name | If originally set up with a temporary learner number then use this field to update the platform with their permanent learner ID (e.g. payroll number). |
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17 | Tmp Exclude | This is a simple 1 or a 0. Set this to 1 if you want to exclude this person from all reports. |
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When your file has imported, be sure to check for any warnings or errors. Then correct any errors in the CSV file and manually upload it again.
You might also find these guides useful to help you get up to speed with how the various applications all work together:
Your organisation menu explained
Automating learner imports - what you should know Want to automate your learner imports? Get in touch with us today.
Just to help you out we’ve got this handy template below that you can use as your starting point! Just remember to export the files you create as CSV files: USP User Import Template explained.xlsx