Platform user profiles and custom attributes

This article outlines best practices for defining user profiles and selecting custom attributes in Thrive. Your Implementation Specialist or Customer Success Manager can guide you through this process.

Required Fields

To create or update a user, the following four fields must contain values:

• First Name: A text string that supports foreign characters.

• Last Name: A text string that supports foreign characters.

• Email: A unique email address in a valid format.

• Ref: A unique, immutable identifier for the user.

Optional Standard Fields

The following standard fields are optional:

• Language: A full list of supported languages is available on Thrive Tribe.

• Timezone: If available, the user's time zone can be stored in their profile.

• Job Title: A text string representing the user's job title.

• Start Date: The date the user joined your company (YYYY-MM-DD format). If left blank, it defaults to the date the account was created in Thrive.

• Manager: Defines reporting hierarchies by associating a user with a manager. Each user can have only one manager, who can view direct and indirect reports.

• Organisation: Commonly used when provisioning users through Microsoft Azure to associate them with their Azure security group.

Hierarchies

Custom profile fields are text-only and do not inherently form a hierarchy. However, you can structure them to simulate one. For example:

• Single field hierarchy: A "Location" field storing values like "London."

• Multi-field hierarchy:

  • Country: US

  • Region/State: California

  • City: Los Angeles

  • Building: Hawthorne Plaza

Common Custom Profile Fields

Each organisation has unique data needs. When deciding which fields to include, review your HRIS or equivalent system and consider what data is required for audience creation and reporting. Common fields include:

• Department, Directorate, or Division

• Country and City/Location

• Job Family or Function

• Grade or Level

• Onboarding Status: Identifies new employees in the onboarding process.

• Employee Type: Defines full-time, contractor, or other employment status.

• Company or Legal Entity: Specifies the employing entity.

• Cost Centre

• Out of Office Status: Tracks long-term leave and can exclude users from mandatory training.

• Employee ID: If not used in the "Ref" field, it can serve as an additional report identifier.

Audiences

Audiences allow users to be grouped for targeted content sharing and reporting. There are two types:

• Manual Audiences: Static lists where users are added manually.

• Smart Audiences: Dynamic groups based on user profile data and rules.

Smart Audiences

Smart Audiences use AND and OR rules to filter users dynamically. Example configurations include:

• Users in Sales AND the North-West division.

• Employees in Facilities OR Systems OR Back Office AND in the Europe region.

Note:

For guidance on creating Smart Audiences, see How to Create a Smart Audience on Thrive Tribe.

Using Audiences

Audiences can be used to:

• Share content with specific user groups.

• Restrict content visibility to certain audiences.

• Assign mandatory learning with completion deadlines.

• Invite users to Events and Broadcasts.

Reporting and Analytics

Audiences also support analytics by enabling:

• Compliance tracking: Monitoring completion rates for assigned learning.

• User activity filtering: Viewing audience-specific engagement trends.

• Content performance analysis: Measuring engagement across specific user groups.

Audience Managers

Audience Managers are non-administrator users with permissions to manage specific audiences. They can:

• Assign and share content.

• Report on and filter audience data.

Note:

For more information, see What are Audience Managers on Thrive Tribe.

Example User Profile

An example user profile combining standard and custom fields:

These fields can be leveraged for audience creation, targeted content delivery, and reporting.