Build your org structure

Your org structure tells Kelola who manages whom. You add departments and positions, then set which position each one reports to. Kelola uses this chart to find each person's manager.

Before you start

• You need the Owner or Admin role.
• Have a rough chart ready: the top position, and which positions report to it.

See what the org structure controls

Kelola finds a person's manager from the chart. That manager:

• sees the person in My team → Team overview and My team → Team calendar
• approves the person's leave requests and shift fixes in My team → Approvals
• can plan the person's shifts in My team → Schedule

This applies to people with the Manager role. Owners and admins see and act on everyone in the company, whatever the chart says.

The chart also decides who hears about a new request. Kelola notifies the person's own manager about a new leave request or shift fix, plus every admin and owner. These are the same people who see that request in My team → Approvals and can decide it.

Add a department

A department is a company-wide group, such as Finance or Operations.

1. Open Settings → Org structure.
2. Under Departments, type a name in Department name.
3. Select Add.

Each department name must be unique in your company.

Add a position

A position is a place in your chart, such as Accountant or Cashier. One or more people can hold the same position.

A position can only report to a position that already exists. So add the top position first, then work down.

1. Under Positions, type a name in Position title.
2. Optional: choose a Department.
3. In Reports to, choose the position directly above this one. For the top of your chart, choose No parent (top level), or leave the field empty.
4. Select Add position.

Each position title must be unique in your company.

Each row in the list shows the position's department, the position it reports to, and how many people hold it. The count includes every Active, Invited, and Suspended employee in the position, because each of them stops you from removing it. When some holders are invited or suspended, the row also shows how many. It also shows how many Offboarded records still have the position.

For example, a small shop might use this chart:

• Store Manager, at the top level
  • Shift Lead, reports to Store Manager
    • Cashier, reports to Shift Lead

Change who a position reports to

1. Find the position in the list.
2. In the dropdown on its row, choose the new position above it. To move it to the top, choose No parent (top level).

Kelola saves the change right away. It stops you if the change would make a loop, for example two positions that report to each other.

Rename a department or edit a position

You can rename a department, and change a position's title or its department, at any time.

1. Select the pencil icon on the row.
2. For a department, change the Department name. For a position, change the Position title, or choose another Department. Choose No department to take the position out of every department.
3. Select Save.

Names must stay unique in your company. Employees and positions point to the item, not to its name, so they show the new name at once.

Moving a position to another department changes only the position. Each person who holds it keeps the Department on their own record. Change it on their employee form if it should match.

Put people in their positions

You give each person a department and a position on their employee form. Each person holds one position.

1. Open People.
2. Select Add employee for a new person. To change someone who is already there, select the pencil icon on their row.
3. Choose their Department and Position.
4. Select Create & invite for a new person, or Save changes for an existing one.

Choosing a position does not fill in the department. Set both fields. The position decides who the person's manager is. The department groups people, for example on the Schedule grid.

A CSV import does not set a department or position. If your file has a department or jobTitle column, Kelola ignores it, and the import preview warns you about it. After you import, set both fields on each person's form.

Add a department or position from the employee form

If the department or position you need is not in the list yet, you can add it from the form.

1. Click the Department or Position field, and type the new name.
2. Select Create "…". The option shows the name you typed. It appears only when nothing in the list matches what you typed.

Kelola adds it to your org structure right away and picks it for this person. It stays, even if you then cancel the form.

Understand how Kelola finds each manager

A person's manager is whoever holds the position directly above theirs.

• Empty positions are skipped. If no active employee holds the position above, Kelola moves up the chart to the next position that someone holds.
• Two or more holders are co-managers. If several active employees hold the position above, each of them is the person's manager. Any of them can approve the person's requests.
• People in the same position never manage each other. Their manager always comes from a position above.
• Only active employees count. Someone who was invited but has not activated their account yet, or who is suspended, manages no one.

In the shop example, the cashiers' manager is the Shift Lead. If no one holds Shift Lead, the cashiers' manager is the Store Manager. If two people hold Shift Lead, both are co-managers of every cashier.

The manager also needs the Manager role to see their team and approve requests. You set roles on Settings → Roles & access. Kelola does not skip a holder who has the Employee role. In the shop example, if the Shift Lead has the Employee role, no manager sees the cashiers, and only owners and admins can approve their requests.

Set a fallback manager

Some people have no filled position above them. For example, they have no position yet, or they hold the top position. For these people, Kelola uses a fallback manager, if you set one.

You can set the fallback manager in either of two places. Both change the same setting.

• The Line manager field on the employee form, under People.
• The Reports to column on Settings → Roles & access.

Kelola uses the fallback manager only when the chart gives the person no manager. It never overrides the chart. If someone holds a position above the person, that holder is their manager, whatever the fallback says. The fallback manager must be an active employee too.

To remove a fallback manager, choose No manager in the Reports to column.

Remove a department or position

1. Select the trash icon on its row.
2. Kelola asks you to confirm. Select Remove, or select Cancel to keep the item.

You cannot undo a removal.

Kelola blocks the removal while the item is still in use:

• A department is in use while any employee or any position belongs to it.
• A position is in use while any employee holds it, or any other position reports to it.

Move those people and positions first, then remove the item. Invited and Suspended employees count too, and the holder count includes them. An Offboarded employee's record also keeps its department and position. Kelola tells you when offboarded records stop you from removing a department or a position. You cannot change an offboarded employee's record, so for now, keep that department or position.

Next steps

• Onboard your team
• Edit an employee's record
• Manage roles and access
• See your team