How to Manage Department Hierarchy in Workwisely CoreHR

Department Hierarchy

ADMIN HELP CENTER · ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE

Department Hierarchy

Build the nested reporting tree — Corporate → Division → Department → Sub-Department — that every HR process, approval workflow, and report reads from.

Core HR ▸ Organization Structure ▸ Department Hierarchy
Before You Start
  • HR Admin or Org-Design lead formalizing the company's reporting structure.
  • The Department Hierarchy is a layered tree: Corporate sits at the top, Divisions branch below, Departments live under them, and Sub-Departments sit at the leaves.
What You'll Achieve
  • Map every reporting relationship once so attendance approvals, leave approvals, payroll ownership, and org charts all route correctly.
  • Activate or retire departments over time without losing historical records.

The four levels

Department Header controls the nesting depth.

DIVISION
Major business unit (e.g. People, Product, GTM)
SUB-DIVISION
Specialized segment within a Division (e.g. Talent)
DEPARTMENT
Functional unit that runs day-to-day work (e.g. Human Resources)
SUB-DEPARTMENT
Specialized team inside a Department (e.g. Recruitment)
Example flow: Corporate HQ → People Division → Talent Sub-Division → Human Resources Department → Recruitment Sub-Department.

How to configure

Three steps to register a new Department.

On This Screen
The Department Hierarchy screen shows every department, its Header level, and its Parent. Use search to filter; click Add New to create a department.
Department Hierarchy — list view
1
Open Department Hierarchy
Go to Core HR ▸ Organization Structure ▸ Department Hierarchy.
2
Click Add New
The Add Department dialog opens with fields for code, name, header level, and parent.
3
Fill in and save
Enter Department Code, Name, select the Department Header, pick the Parent Department, then click Save.
On This Screen
The Add Department dialog is where you place this unit in the hierarchy by choosing its Header level and Parent.
Add new Department dialog

Field reference

What each field on the Add Department form controls.

FieldDescriptionRequired
Department CodeA unique identifier for the department. Example: HR001 for Human Resources.Required
Department NameThe full display name. Example: Human Resources.Required
Department HeaderThe level this unit sits at — Corporate, Division, Sub-Division, Department, or Sub-Department.Required
Parent DepartmentThe department this one rolls up under. Drives the reporting tree visible in charts and reports.Conditional
StatusActive makes the department assignable to employees; Inactive hides it from new assignments but keeps historical records intact.Required

Manage an existing department

Edit, activate, or retire a department in place.

On This Screen
Hover any row in the list view to reveal the actions — Edit opens the form prefilled, Status toggles Active / Inactive, Delete is allowed only for unused entries.
Hover actions on a Department row
Edit Department dialog — change code, name, parent, or header
Status toggle confirmation for retiring a Department
TIP
Build the hierarchy top-down — add Corporate first, then Divisions, then Departments. Parent-selection lookups only offer already-created higher levels.
WARNING
You cannot delete a Department that has employees mapped to it. Toggle the Status to Inactive instead — employees and history stay intact, and the entry disappears from pickers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can one employee belong to two departments?
An employee has one primary department for reporting. Secondary assignments (e.g. matrixed project teams) are handled via Custom Groups rather than the primary hierarchy.
How deep can the hierarchy go?
Workwisely supports up to five levels — Corporate, Division, Sub-Division, Department, and Sub-Department. This covers almost every mid-to-large-size org structure.
Can I re-parent a department later?
Yes. Open the department, change its Parent Department, and save. The reporting tree re-draws immediately and downstream reports pick up the new path.
What happens to an employee's history if I retire their department?
Nothing breaks. Historical records keep pointing to the (now Inactive) department so attendance, payroll, and performance data stays accurate.
Do approval workflows read the Department Header or the exact Department?
Most workflows read the exact Department and then traverse upward using the Parent Department chain to find the next approver.
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