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Windmill automatically pulls employee information from your connected systems to create and maintain user profiles. This ensures your team’s information stays up to date without manual data entry.

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Employee data collection

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What Windmill collects

Your HR Information System (HRIS) provides the foundation for Windmill—your org chart and employee roster. What Windmill collects:
  • Employee first name
  • Employee last name
  • Employee email
  • Manager/reporting structure
  • Job title
  • Department
What Windmill does NOT collect:
  • Payroll information or salary data
  • Social Security Numbers, addresses, or other sensitive PII
  • Employment contracts
  • Benefits information
Windmill is selective about employee data. We only collect what’s necessary to build your org chart and determine access permissions.

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Profile pictures

Profile pictures are automatically pulled from Slack. Your Slack profile picture syncs to Windmill automatically. If you don’t have a profile picture set in Slack, no picture will appear in Windmill.
You can’t change your profile picture directly in Windmill. To update your picture, change it in Slack and it will sync to Windmill automatically.

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Data sources and syncing

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Employee data sources

Primary source: Your HRIS If you have an HRIS connected (BambooHR, Rippling, Gusto, etc.), Windmill uses that as the source of truth for employee data. Updates in your HRIS automatically sync to Windmill. Fallback sources If you don’t have an HRIS connected, Windmill pulls employee data from other connected systems like Google Workspace or Slack. However, this data may be less complete or accurate than HRIS data. Manual entry If you don’t have an HRIS and your other systems don’t provide complete employee data, you can manually add and edit employee information in Windmill.

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Sync timing

Employee information syncs automatically on different schedules: Profile pictures:
  • Update within a few hours of being changed in Slack
  • No manual sync required
Employee data from HRIS:
  • Syncs daily
  • Updates to job titles, departments, or reporting structure appear within 24 hours
Manual updates:
  • Take effect immediately in Windmill
  • However, if you have an HRIS connected, manual changes will be overwritten by the next HRIS sync
If you have an HRIS connected, don’t edit employee information manually in Windmill. Make changes in your HRIS instead—they’ll sync to Windmill automatically and won’t be overwritten.

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How employee data is used

Windmill uses employee information to: Build your org chart Your reporting structure determines who can see what data in Windmill. Managers have access to their direct reports’ information. Determine access permissions The org chart controls visibility throughout the platform. Only managers and higher-level leaders can access their team’s data. Sync information across the platform Employee names, titles, and departments appear consistently in Recaps, Feedback, 1-on-1s, and Reports. Enable Windy interactions Windy uses employee data to identify who to reach out to and when, based on collaboration patterns and reporting relationships.

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Managing employee information manually

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Manually updating employee profiles

If you need to update employee information and don’t have an HRIS connected, you can manually edit profiles in Windmill:
  1. Go to Settings > Org Chart
  2. Click on the employee’s name
  3. Update their information
  4. Click Save
What you can update:
  • First and last name
  • Email address
  • Job title
  • Department
  • Manager
  • Access level (Admin or Team Member)

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Adding new employees

To manually add a new employee to Windmill:
  1. Go to Settings > Org Chart
  2. Click Add Employee in the top right
  3. Fill out their information (name, email, manager, title)
  4. Select their access level (Admin or Team Member)
  5. Click Save
The employee will appear in your org chart immediately. You can then invite them to access the Windmill Dashboard.

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Profile visibility and access

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Profile visibility

Who can see employee profiles depends on your org chart structure: Managers can view:
  • Their own profile
  • All direct reports’ profiles
  • Indirect reports (their team’s direct reports)
Individual contributors can view:
  • Their own profile
  • Public information about other team members (name, title, department)
  • If they manage anyone, they can see their direct reports’ full profiles
Admins can view:
  • All employee profiles across the organization
This access model ensures managers have visibility into their team while respecting privacy for individual contributors.

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Missing profile pictures

If a profile picture doesn’t appear in Windmill:
  1. Check Slack - Make sure the employee has a profile picture set in Slack
  2. Wait for sync - Profile pictures can take a few hours to sync after being added
  3. Verify Slack connection - Ensure your Slack integration is still active in Settings > Connections
If profile pictures still don’t appear after checking these items, reach out to support@gowindmill.com.

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Archived employees

When an employee leaves your organization, their profile needs to be archived in Windmill. If you have an HRIS connected:
  • Archived employees automatically sync from your HRIS
  • Their profile is removed from Windmill within 24 hours
  • Historical data (Recaps, feedback) is preserved but archived
If you don’t have an HRIS:
  • Admins must manually archive employees in Settings > Org Chart
  • Click the employee’s name and select Archive
Archive employees:
  • No longer have access to Windmill
  • Don’t appear in active team lists or reports
  • Have their historical data archived (not deleted)
Keep your org chart up to date as people join and leave your organization. This ensures the right people have access to the right data in Windmill.