Data Import

On the Data Import page, click the “Download Template” button to download the data import template file to your computer. This file is in .csv (comma separated values) format and should easily open in Excel or other similar spreadsheet. If you scroll to the bottom of this help page, you’ll find links for a “Data Dictionary,” which provides you definitions of each data element in the Template file.

SimplyMerit does require the data to be in the same format as the template but not in the same column order. During the import process, a best practice is to monitor the Data Import page by clicking your browser’s Refresh button until the upload completes. The parsing engine will report any errors that it finds directly on this page.

SimplyMerit absolutely supports different parts of the organization being on different merit cycles. Each group will need to be processed separately unless a separate “company” is created for each group. MorganHR will help to ensure that the initial setup is done correctly.

Once you have successfully imported your data, the best place to view it is on the My Org page. As the HR Administrator, you see the My Org page as if you were the CEO of the company, so you have access to all branches of your organizational hierarchy.

The easiest method is to do exactly that… go to the uploaded data file (or download it directly from SimplyMerit’s Configuration|Export page if you do not have a current copy), make changes in the data file, and upload it to the system. When SimplyMerit sees another upload of the data, it will add any new employee records it finds, it will apply any data changes coming across in the new upload file, and it will remove any employees with a “term_date” (“Departure Date” for Namely import files). A best practice is to upload only the employee records that are new or need to be changed rather than uploading the entire file again. This will save considerable time for large employee populations.

On the Configuration | System Control screen, there is a “Reset Employee Data” button that will completely erase all of your employee data but preserve your configuration settings. This is often used when resetting for a new year’s Compensation cycle.

You will receive an email when the import process has completed that will indicate success or failure. If the data fails to import, none of the data is added to SimplyMerit until all validation errors are resolved in the import data. A best practice is to monitor the Data Import page by clicking your browser’s Refresh button until the import completes. The parsing engine will report all import errors on this page. If you need additional help to import the data, please do not hesitate to contact MorganHR at support@simplymerit.com or +1-847-719-9060 x3.

Yes, on subsequent imports, changed data elements will be updated in SimplyMerit, any new employee records will be added to SimplyMerit, and any terminated employees will be removed from SimplyMerit. SimplyMerit looks for a date in “term_date” (or “Departure Date” with Namely) to determine if the employee is no longer with the company.

You may perform a subsequent import to merge that data into SimplyMerit. All that is needed is the employee ID (EMP_ID) and the additional data field(s).

An employee can have unlimited incentive programs. There is a limit of five (5) programs on the main data import file. For employees with more than five programs, you may use the Incentives Only Import process and “stack” each incentive program by entering it on its own row in the file. Our Support Team can help if needed by emailing us at support@simplymerit.com or calling us at +1-847.719.9060 x3.

Yes, the data import does allow for an employee to change bonus plans mid-year and will prorate the bonus calculations accordingly. These configuration details are specified in the data import file by using the four date fields: “incentive_program_x_start_date,” “incentive_program_x_end_date,” “incentive_program_x_cycle_start_date,” and “incentive_program_x_cycle_end_date,” For more details, please refer to the “Import File Data Dictionary” found at the bottom of this Admin Help Page.

MorganHR support can assist with establishing multiple “companies” for your organization when required. This would typically happen if you have groups of employees who are on different merit cycles as in a situation of a recent acquisition.

Company Information

MorganHR support can assist with this if required. Typically, this will only happen when a company has a group of employees who are on a different merit pay cycle as in the case of a recently acquired company. Please contact us at support@morganhr.com or +1-847-719-9060 x3.

Budget Amounts

The Merit Budget amount on this screen is calculated by first applying the Merit Allocation Percent to all employees and then applying any Exceptions identified on the Exceptions configuration page. Additionally, there are settings on the Currencies and Timeline pages that also impact the calculation of the Merit Budget.

If your company does not use these budgets, you may leave them set to zero. Additionally, the Active Features configuration page will allow you to hide or show these fields to the managers as well as rename the “Other” fields.

It allows you to control how the Promotion Percent and Other Percent calculations are performed. If the checkbox is NOT checked, the Promotion Percent is calculated against the Salary after Merit, and the Other Percent is calculated against the Salary after Promotion. If the checkbox IS checked, then both the Promotion Percent and the Other Percent are calculated on the Current Salary.

Exceptions

These values are pulled from the import data file.

You are only able to choose the values from the drop down list. Now, with that being said, you can apply exceptions at the employee level across a group of employees that are not represented by “Country,” “Division,” and “Department” groupings.

These are pulled directly from the import data file. If there are values that are missing, please check to the data import file to ensure that employees are assigned to the right groupings.

Currencies

The currency values shown on the screen in these two areas are pulled directly from the data import file. First, choose your company’s Base Currency Code and then enter the exchange rates. When you click “Submit” to save these entries, SimplyMerit will kick-off a background process to recompute the Merit Budget amount that is displayed on the Budget Amounts, Exceptions, and Timeline pages.

Rating Scale

If your organization supports annual performance ratings, then it would be beneficial to provide that information here so that managers can document their performance ratings and that SimplyMerit can provide additional analytics driven by performance ratings.

The Performance Ratings page can be left empty. If you do not enter any Performance Ratings, then the Performance Rating column on the My Org and My Team pages is then hidden.

No, managers are not required to input their employee ratings.

Timelines

SimplyMerit does not currently prevent continued use of the application. The dates are captured for communication purposes.

You can modify the Target Completion Dates at any time. No additional notifications will be made to the managers from SimplyMerit.

Reminders will be sent via email to all managers who have NOT completed their merit and/or bonus requests as well as who have NOT completed their approvals by the date associated with the reminder.

System Control

Initially, SimplyMerit is in “Configuration Mode” allowing HR Administrators to load data, to configure the application, and to test the workflow processes. Any emails triggered by SimplyMerit while in “Configuration Mode” will be redirected to the primary HR Administrator. To activate the application for managers, check the “Finalize Company” check box and click “Submit.” This will enable the “Send Manager Invites” button, which is used to send an email to managers inviting them to connect to SimplyMerit and to create their personal credentials. Additionally, any emails that SimplyMerit sends out will now go to the managers instead of being redirected to the HR Administrator.

When you click the “Send Manager Invites” button on the Finalize page, SimplyMerit will send emails to each manager in your organization that will invite them to connect to create their credentials. Note that SimplyMerit will only send invitations to managers who have the “enable_invitation” data value set to “yes” or blank on the data import file.

No, SimplyMerit will send an email with a unique link to each manager inviting them to connect to SimplyMerit. When they click this link, they will be taken to a unique page for them to enter their password. Future logins can be made directly at https://app.simplymerit.com using their corporate email address and the password they just created.

SimplyMerit builds the organizational hierarchy based on the reporting relationships in the employee data import file. If a manager does not have any managers reporting to him/her, then that manager will not see the My Org page as the information is redundant with the My Team page. All “managers of managers” will see both My Org and My Team pages.

Getting Started Guide for HR Admins (PDF)
SimplyMerit Import Export Guide – Namely (PDF)
SimplyMerit Import Export Guide – BambooHR (PDF)

Import File Data Dictionary – Universal (Excel)
Import File Data Dictionary – ADP (Excel)
Import File Data Dictionary – Namely (Excel)

Additional Supported Data Fields for Trusaic (Excel)

Supported Currencies (PDF)

Sample Implementation Plan (PDF)

Compensation Planning Memo Template (Word)

Manager Training Guide (Word)

Guide to Proration Rules (PDF)
Proration Calculation Examples (Excel)
Proration Calculation Examples Data Import File (CSV) (Excel Version)

Sample Merit and Bonus Adjustment Letters (ZIP)