Managing custom employee fields

Add, edit, and remove your own custom fields on an employee from their side panel, and understand the "in use" and duplicate-field warnings.

Custom fields let you store extra information on an employee that the built-in fields do not cover, such as a cost center, a pension policy, or a reporting manager. You manage them in Employee data on the Overview tab of the employee's side panel, alongside the standard details. This article explains how to add, edit, and remove them, when each change is saved, and what the warnings you may see along the way mean.

Find the custom fields

In the HR menu, select View All Employees and select an employee. Their side panel opens on the Overview tab. Employee data lists the standard fields (name, email, role, salary, and more) and the Manager.

Below those, under Custom fields, you will find the fields CLVR knows about, plus any of your own. Fields appear even when this employee has no value yet, so you can see what is available without having to know it exists. An empty field simply shows an empty control.

Edit an existing field

Each field gives you the right control for what it holds, so you do not have to remember the format:

| Field holds | You get | | --- | --- | | Yes or no (for example Work Permit) | A checkbox | | A fixed set of choices (for example Pension Policy) | A dropdown | | A number (for example Vacation Entitlement) | A number box | | A date | A date picker | | Another employee (for example Manager) | A searchable name picker | | Anything else | A text box |

Fields of your own that came in from a file import stay as plain text boxes, because CLVR does not know what they are meant to hold.

A changed value is tinted, and the change waits in the bar at the bottom of the panel together with any other changes to Employee data, for example "2 unsaved changes to Anna". Select Save changes to save them, or Discard to drop them. Some fields, such as a pension policy, also ask when the change takes effect; CLVR does not save the change until you pick that date.

If a value does not fit the field, it is not saved. CLVR says which field was not saved and why, and the change stays waiting so you can fix it and save again.

Add a custom field

Remove a custom field

Hover over a field that has a value to show a red trash icon next to it. Select it to mark the field for removal: the field's name is struck through, and the removal waits in the save bar like any other change. Select the arrow that replaces the icon if you change your mind, or Save changes to remove the field.

It is removed for this employee only and does not affect anyone else. A field that has never been filled in has nothing to remove, so it has no icon.

Warnings you may see

A couple of small markers can appear with a custom field, and both are there to keep your data clean:

• A small purple link under a field name, such as Payroll reporting, means a CLVR feature relies on that field. Select it to see which feature and why. For example, a Cost Center field feeds payroll reporting, and a Pension Policy field is read by the pension features. Editing these is fine; just be aware that changing or removing them can affect that feature.
• A yellow warning triangle means the field name overlaps a built-in field (for example a custom field called Email when there is already a built-in email field). Hover for the details. To avoid two versions of the same information, prefer the built-in field and remove the custom one.

Where custom fields show up

A custom field is not limited to one employee. Once any employee has it, it becomes available across the employee pages:

• As a column in the employee list, under Custom fields in Columns, which you can show, hide, filter and sort by like any other column. You can also save it into a view.
• During a file import, where any extra columns in your file beyond the template's are saved as custom fields automatically. If a column matches a field CLVR knows about, its values are checked as the file is read, and a value that does not fit is shown on its row in the preview for you to fix before anything is saved.

Custom fields are not part of the Add them here grid on Add employees. Add the person first, then add their custom fields from their side panel.

Troubleshooting

• A field I expected is not there. Fields CLVR features use are always listed, even when empty. A field of your own only appears once at least one employee has a value for it, so add it on an employee first.
• My change is gone. Changes to existing fields wait in the save bar until you select Save changes. If you chose Discard, or Discard changes when leaving the panel, the change was dropped. Make it again and save.
• My value was refused. The message says which field and why. A yes or no field stores only "true" or "false", which is why it is a checkbox rather than something to type into; a dropdown accepts only its listed choices.
• CLVR asks when the change takes effect. That field records from which date a change applies, such as a pension policy. Pick the date, then select Save changes.
• I see two similar columns. They are two different field names (for example a difference in spelling or capitalisation). Decide on one name, move the values over, and delete the other.
• I cannot edit a field. If your employee data comes from an HR system, the fields it owns are locked, with a note saying why. Former employees who have been anonymised cannot be edited either.
• System fields are not listed. Internal fields that CLVR uses behind the scenes (such as sign-in and preference data) are hidden on purpose and cannot be edited here.