Step 1: Fill in your Employee Import Template.

ContrastHR is very helpful once you have your employees in the system. First things first:

• Download this Employee Import CSV.
• Enter your Employee Information in the fields as they are provided. (Helpful hint – cut and paste this information from your current spreadsheets!)
• If any fields don't apply, simply leave them blank.
• Send your ContrastHR representative the file and we will upload your employees on your behalf.

Download Employee Import Template

Step 2: Set up your company's GENERAL SETTINGS.

Settings > General Settings

One of the first things to do as an administrator is customize your General Settings to better suit your organization. General Settings include the ability to:

• Customize your Date & Time Settings.
• Customize preferred Day Labels such as "Vacation Days", "Sick Days", "EDO", "Unpaid Leave", etc.
• Set a date to have the system force employees to update/confirm their profile information.
• Outline how Employee Benefits are provided including values and % of coverage for individuals, couples, and families.
• Add any additional Employment Perks your employees receive such as a gym membership, etc.
• Outline additional Paid Benefits such as EI, CPP, WCB, Stat holidays, etc.
• Customize Roles in the system to match your organizational structure such as changing "Employee" to "Team Member", etc.

View General Settings How-To

Step 3: Customize your SYSTEM TAGS.

Settings > System Tags

System tags are important for categorizing employees and events. They are also helpful for your company to customize how employees track time.
Examples include:

• Company System Tags allow you to categorize your organization's Divisions, Departments, and Locations.
• Timesheet System Tags allow you to customize the ways you want your employees to track their time by entering applicable Projects, Clients, Internal Tags, or Codes. These are the options your employees will be able to select when they are tracking their time.
• Event System Tags allow you to customize standard events that take place in your organization such as "Training", "Sales Meeting", etc.
  • You can also decide if you would like to display employee birthdays or work anniversaries.
• To add a new tag, enter the data into the field, then click "Enter/Return" key.
• To delete a tag, click the corresponding "X".

View System Tags How-To

Step 4: Draft a WELCOME MESSAGE for new employees.

Settings > Welcome Message

The Welcome Message can be turned on or off depending on if you would like to use this feature.

​Welcome Messages are sent to new employees as you add them to the system.

Step 5: Draft an ONBOARDING CHECKLIST for new employees

Settings > Onboarding

The Onboarding Letter is a place to organize onboarding for HR Administrators. It can be customized in any way you see fit to help managers know what the process is for onboarding new employees in your company.

• Create lists and reminders
• Link to important sites or information
• Include instructions for the first day or the first week
• Etc

Step 6: Understand the difference between the Admin View and Employee View

Admin View

As an administrator, you have a full dashboard giving you access to every section with data for every employee, including:

• Employee Management
  • Ability to add, edit and delete all employee details
• Recruitment
• Events
• Compensation
• Wellness App
• Benefits
• Performance
• Total Rewards
• Reporting Tools
• Timesheets
• Settings
  • Ability to customize System Tags
  • Add documents
  • Customize messaging
• View and approve all Vacation requests​

Employee View

Employees only have access to their own personal information, including: 

• Profile
• Events
• Compensation
• Wellness App
• Benefits
• Performance
• Total Rewards
• Timesheets
• Vacation Requests (and approvals)

View Additional FAQs for Administrators