Skip to main content

Connecting an HRIS

ReFresh syncs users and groups from your HRIS or identity provider. **User Auto-Sync** pulls people; **Group Sync** pulls organisational structure (locations, departments, divisions).

Written by Harrison Kennedy

ReFresh syncs users and groups from your HRIS or identity provider. User Auto-Sync pulls people; Group Sync pulls organisational structure (locations, departments, divisions).

  • Supported HRIS providers: Employment Hero, BambooHR, HiBob, Deel

  • Identity providers can also act as a user source: Google Workspace, Azure AD/Entra ID

  • Group Sync supports providers like Donesafe for location and organisation structure

  • Sync is one-way (HRIS to ReFresh) and scoped to org chart data only

  • HRIS-synced fields are locked from manual editing


Supported HRIS providers

Employment Hero, BambooHR, HiBob, and Deel are all supported as HRIS sources. They can sync user records, employment data, and organisational structure. Google Workspace and Azure AD/Entra ID can also act as user sources, syncing directory and group membership.

For group-level sync (locations and organisations as groups), ReFresh supports providers including Donesafe.


How User Auto-Sync and Group Sync differ

Setting

What it syncs

Use it when

User Auto-Sync

People (employees), employment data, identity-provider group membership

You want users created and updated automatically from your HRIS or identity provider

Group Sync

Organisational structure (locations, departments, divisions) as ReFresh groups

You want your group hierarchy mirrored from a source like Donesafe

Both features require a connected integration before they can be enabled.


Connecting an HRIS provider

Both User Auto-Sync and Group Sync direct you to the Integrations area when no source is connected.

  1. Open Settings → User Auto-Sync (or Group Sync).

  2. Click Go to Integrations.

  3. Find your provider in the list and click Connect.

  4. Authenticate using OAuth 2.0 (or OAuth 1.0a where required) with your provider.

  5. Configure the sync scope, including which fields to import and how to map to ReFresh fields.

  6. Save the connection.

Once connected, return to User Auto-Sync or Group Sync to enable the sync and trigger an initial run.


Smart sync features

ReFresh's HRIS integration includes:

  • Multi-source sync: pull from multiple HRIS platforms simultaneously

  • Priority-based conflict resolution: when sources disagree, the higher-priority source wins

  • Field locking: HRIS-synced fields are locked from manual editing in ReFresh, preventing drift

  • Smart grouping: AI-assisted suggestions for grouping users based on HRIS attributes

  • Auto-assignment: users are automatically assigned to groups based on HRIS attributes (department, location, etc.)

  • Incremental sync: only changed records are processed on each run


What is not synced

HRIS sync is one-way (HRIS to ReFresh) and scoped to org chart data only. The following are not synced:

  • Compliance, risk, or incident data: this stays in ReFresh

  • Performance, payroll, or benefits data: not pulled from HRIS

  • ReFresh-specific configuration (group types, framework activation, control assignments): set within ReFresh


Related articles

  • Setting up SSO (2.6)

  • Adding and managing users (2.3)

  • Creating and managing groups (2.2)

Did this answer your question?