> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.gowindmill.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Employee Field Sources

> Choose the source of truth for each employee field — set company-wide defaults, override them per person, and control which system updates names, titles, managers, and more.

Field sources let you decide which system is the source of truth for each piece of employee information in Windmill. You might sync job titles and managers from your HRIS (Human Resources Information System), pull profile pictures from Slack, and manage job levels by hand. Windmill enforces your choices: only a field's assigned source can update it, so a sync never overwrites data you manage elsewhere.

You set sources in two places:

* **Company defaults** apply to every employee. For example, "BambooHR owns job titles."
* **Per-person overrides** apply to a single employee and take priority over the defaults. For example, "manage this employee's first name manually."

## How field sources work

Every field on an employee profile (name, job title, manager, start date, and so on) has a source. The source is either a connected integration (your HRIS, Slack, Google Workspace, Outlook, or SCIM) or **manual**, meaning the field is edited by hand in Windmill.

The source controls who can write the field:

* **An integration source** updates the field automatically on each sync. The field is locked in the employee editor so a stray edit doesn't fight with the sync.
* **SCIM source** will update the field when new data is pushed from the IdP into Windmill.
* **A manual field** is yours to edit in Windmill. No other sources will ever write to it.
* **A field with no source set** behaves like a manual field until you assign a source or a connected integration starts supplying it.

You can see each field's source at a glance in [Settings > Org Chart](https://app.gowindmill.com/COMPANY/config/org-chart). Cells show the logo of the integration that manages the value, a pencil icon for manually managed fields, and a spinner while a sync is in progress. Hover over the icon to see details, like "Syncing from Rippling" or "Managed manually."

<Note>
  Windmill keeps a history of every source change and field update, including
  who made the change and where the value came from.
</Note>

## Setting company defaults

Company defaults define the org-wide source of truth for each field.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Go to Settings > Org Chart">
    Open the [Org Chart](https://app.gowindmill.com/COMPANY/config/org-chart).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open the Company defaults tab">
    You'll see every employee field grouped into Personal, Role & reporting,
    Employment, and Contact.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose a source for each field">
    Each field lists the connected systems that can supply it. Pick one, or
    select **Not set** to clear the source and manage the field manually.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Changes apply on the next sync, not immediately. HRIS data syncs daily, so a new source can take up to a day to bring its values in. See [Data Sync and Freshness](/data/data-sync-and-freshness) for timing by integration. When you update a source from an integration, a sync will be triggered immediately, but can take up to 10 minutes to propagate.

<Info>
  The Company defaults tab shows sources once you've connected an integration
  that can supply employee fields. Until then, every field is managed manually.
</Info>

## Overriding sources for one employee

Sometimes one person is the exception: a contractor who isn't in your HRIS, or an executive whose title you want to control directly. Per-person overrides handle these cases without changing your company defaults.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Go to Settings > Org Chart">
    Open the [Org Chart](https://app.gowindmill.com/COMPANY/config/org-chart).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open the employee">
    Select the employee row to open the employee details.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open the Sources tab">
    Each field shows its current source. Fields that differ from the company
    default are labeled as overrides.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose a source for the field">
    Pick the system that should manage this field for this employee. Select
    **Not set** to clear the override and fall back to the company default.
  </Step>
</Steps>

To undo all of an employee's overrides at once, select **Reset overrides** on the Sources tab. The fields fall back to your company defaults on the next sync.

## Editing a synced field

Fields owned by an integration appear locked on the employee's **Info** tab, with a hint like "Synced from BambooHR. Editing creates a manual override."

You can still edit the field. When you save, Windmill switches that field to manual for that employee (a per-person override), and the integration stops updating it. This is useful when your HRIS has a stale value and you need the fix in Windmill now.

To hand the field back to the integration later, clear the override on the employee's **Sources** tab. The integration takes over again on its next sync.

<Warning>
  A manual override sticks until you clear it. If you fix a value in Windmill,
  also fix it in the source system, or the two will stay out of sync.
</Warning>

## Which sources can manage which fields

Not every system can supply every field. Windmill only offers sources that actually provide the data.

| Source                                                                                           | Fields it can manage                                                                                                     |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| HRIS integrations (BambooHR, Rippling, Gusto, Workday, and [others](/integrations/integrations)) | First name, last name, display name, job title, job level, manager, employment status, start date, work location, gender |
| Slack                                                                                            | First name, last name, display name, profile picture, job title, pronouns, phone number, timezone                        |
| Google Workspace / Outlook                                                                       | First name, last name, display name, profile picture, primary email, phone number                                        |
| SCIM provisioning                                                                                | First name, last name, display name, job title, primary email                                                            |
| Manual                                                                                           | All fields                                                                                                               |

SCIM (System for Cross-domain Identity Management) appears as a source if your identity provider provisions users into Windmill. See [SSO and SCIM](/security/sso-and-scim).

## Who can manage field sources

Only Admins and HR Admins can change company defaults and per-person overrides. Team Members, Integration Managers, and Data Analysts can't view or edit field sources. See [Permissions and Access](/permissions-and-access) for the full role breakdown.

## FAQs

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What happens to existing values when I change a field's source?">
    Nothing is deleted. The current value stays in place, and the new source
    brings in its value on its next sync. Changes apply on the next sync, not
    immediately.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why is a field locked when I edit an employee?">
    The field is synced from an integration, shown in the field's hint. You can
    still edit it. Saving the change creates a manual override for that
    employee, and the integration stops updating that field.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="I added an employee manually. What happens when I connect an HRIS?">
    Fields on manually created employees start without a source. When you
    connect an HRIS that includes the employee, it picks up those fields on its
    first sync. Fields you've edited by hand in Windmill stay manual until you
    assign them a source.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I sync some fields from my HRIS and manage others by hand?">
    Yes, that's the main use case. Set each field's company default
    independently. For example, sync managers and titles from your HRIS and
    manage job levels by hand in Windmill.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="We don't have an HRIS. Do we need to set up field sources?">
    No. Without a connected integration, every field is managed manually and
    there's nothing to configure. Sources appear once you connect an
    integration that can supply employee data.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>