---
title: "Platform user profiles and custom attributes"
slug: "platform-user-profiles-and-custom-attributes"
tags: ["Data", "Full User Profile"]
updated: 2025-10-20T14:43:17Z
published: 2025-10-20T14:43:17Z
canonical: "docs.thrivelearning.com/platform-user-profiles-and-custom-attributes"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.thrivelearning.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# 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]
> Note:
> 
> For guidance on creating Smart Audiences, see How to [Create a Smart Audience](https://thrivetribe.learn.link/content/610261a11409660012f21e69) 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.

### 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]
> Note:
> 
> For more information, see [What are Audience Managers](https://thrivetribe.learn.link/content/6102bc2b0f724300146cc5d4) on Thrive Tribe.

## Example User Profile

An example user profile combining standard and custom fields:

| Field | Example Value |
| --- | --- |
| First Name | Jane |
| Last Name | Doe |
| Email | jane.doe@example.com |
| Ref | 12345 |
| Job Title | Project Manager |
| Start Date | 2023-01-15 |
| Manager | John Smith |
| Department | IT |
| Location | London |
| Employee Type | Full-Time |
| Cost Centre | CC-789 |
| Out of Office | No |

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

Any learning material in Thrive, including courses, quizzes, videos, documents, external links, and user-generated resources. Content serves to educate, engage, and assess learners, supporting a wide range of learning experiences across the platform.

Tracking refers to the process of sending a grade or completion status to Thrive when a learner reaches a specific point. It can also involve bookmarking a point in the course, allowing the learner to return and continue from where they left off.