Testing your HRIS integration with a sandbox environment is a valuable step to ensure smooth functionality when using Donut, particularly for Journeys auto-enrollment. Follow these best practices to avoid issues and streamline your testing process.
Ensure HRIS Sandbox Emails Match Slack Emails
To ensure Donut can locate users successfully, ensure the work_email field in your HRIS sandbox matches the Slack user email in the workspace you are using for testing.
For example, if you’d like to test the Journeys HRIS auto-enroll flow, you create a test employee in your HRIS sandbox with the email test.newhire@yourcompany.com, then there must be a corresponding Slack user in your workspace with the email test.newhire@yourcompany.com.
💡If there is no matching Slack user, Donut will not be able to locate the user and create a Journeys session for that user.
Best Practices for Creating Test Data
Make Test Data Similar to Real Employee Records
When creating test data, replicate real employee records as closely as possible. Key fields Donut uses for Journeys enrollment include:
work_email
personal_email
start_date
manager
If you assign Journeys based on specific locations or groups, ensure your test data reflects employees associated with locations or groups. Use unique and understandable names for these attributes.
Create Test Employee Records Before Connecting HRIS to Donut
It is recommended to create test employee records in your HRIS sandbox before connecting it to Donut. Here’s why:
When an HRIS is connected to Donut via Merge, the initial sync will pull employee data immediately.
While the initial sync begins promptly, it may take a few hours to complete, depending on your HRIS system.
Subsequent syncs can take up to 24 hours to reflect changes.
By creating test employee records in advance, you can ensure they are included in the initial sync, reducing the time needed to validate your integration.
Please note: The Donut dashboard tracks the progress of the initial sync, allowing you to monitor completion.
Tips for Specific Fields in Test Employee Records
work_email
Ensure that the work_email matches a Slack user in your testing Slack workspace.
Avoid reusing email addresses for different employee records in your HRIS sandbox. Duplicate email addresses can lead to unpredictable behavior and make debugging syncing issues more difficult.
start_date
Use a future start date, as Donut’s HRIS integration only imports new hires with upcoming start dates.
Select a start date 1-2 weeks in the future. This allows adequate time to test before the start date passes. If a start date is missed due to misconfiguration, you’ll need to modify the employee record or create a new one with a future start date to continue testing.
manager
To test manager roles in new hire Journeys, ensure the manager’s work_email in your HRIS matches a Slack user in the test workspace.
Workday-Specific Tips
If you are connecting via Workday, consider the following recommendations:
Set Up Custom Fields for Manager Information
Configure custom fields to provide Donut access to manager information for pending employees before enabling HRIS auto-enroll rules.
Testing without setting up these fields can lead to delays and require additional configuration with a Workday admin.
Employment Type Custom Mapping
By default, Donut maps employees to FULL_TIME or PART_TIME for employment types, which might not be granular enough for your needs.
If you use more specific employment types (e.g., Intern, Contractor, Remote), Donut supports creating custom mappings from Workday fields like WorkerType. To set this up, please chat with our support team using the purple Donut button on the lower right of the screen.
Set up custom fields and mappings before enabling auto-enroll rules to ensure efficient and successful testing.
For additional Workday HRIS tips, please review this FAQ.
By following these best practices, you can ensure a smooth and efficient testing process for your HRIS integration with Donut.
If you have additional questions or concerns, please reach our support team by clicking the purple Donut button on the bottom right of your screen.