How to set up Division and Sub-division for reporting

How you set up Division and Sub-division decides how much insight your reporting can give you. With the right structure, you can see where wellbeing is strong, where it isn't, and which groups need attention. Changes are not retrospective. They only apply from the day you make them, so it's worth settling your structure before you launch.

In short

Division is your top-down view of the organisation.
Sub-division breaks each Division into smaller groups (cohorts).
A Division or Sub-division needs at least 10 activated members before its data shows in your reporting.
Changing either field does not update historical reports. New values only show from the day of the change.

Before you start

Think about the questions you want your reporting to answer. Your Division and Sub-division structure should help answer them. If the structure doesn't match how you plan to act on the results, your data can look flat or hard to act on.

Designing your Division

Use Division as the top-down view of your organisation. Look past your formal org chart and think about which groups' employee experience you want to compare.

For example, ask yourself:

Do you have a blue collar and a white collar employee group?
How might the wellbeing experience differ between them?
Are there other demographics or working arrangements where the experience is likely to differ?

Choose Divisions that reflect the comparisons you want to make, rather than simply copying your org chart.

Designing your Sub-divisions

Sub-divisions let you split each Division into smaller groups. You might segment by:

Location
Job type
Another grouping that matches how you plan to act on the results

Choose groupings you actually want to compare. The groupings you choose decide what your reporting can show you.

The 10 activated member rule

A Division or Sub-division needs at least 10 activated members before its data shows in your visualisations. If a group has fewer than 10, it appears as 'Other'.

When you design your structure, check how many members you expect to activate in each Division and Sub-division. Very small or detailed groups may fall below the threshold and show as 'Other', or be rolled up to the company level.

Why changes are not retrospective

If you change your Division or Sub-division, the change only applies from the day you update your data. Reports for earlier periods are not altered. They keep the values that applied at the time.

This means changing your structure later creates a break in your reporting:

Before the change date, reports show the old structure.
After the change date, reports show the new structure.

Please note: Reverting to a previous structure counts as another change. It also applies only from the day you make it.

Setting up Division and Sub-division through an API

If you send member data to the Sonder Portal through an API, the system feeding that data must be the source of truth for Division and Sub-division. This applies whether the system is your HRIS (human resources information system) or another platform.

Keep Division and Sub-division up to date in the feeding system, so the values arriving in the Sonder Portal match your records.
Decide which system owns these fields before you connect the API.
Make changes in the feeding system, not in the Sonder Portal.

Please note: This doesn't apply to manual uploads, where you control the values in each file you upload.

Checklist before you set or change Division and Sub-division

Write down the questions you want your reporting to answer.
Identify the groups whose experience you want to compare, such as blue collar and white collar employees.
Choose your Divisions as the top-down view.
Choose your Sub-divisions, such as location or job type.
Confirm each Division and Sub-division will have at least 10 activated members.
Accept that changes apply only from the day you make them, and earlier reports will not change.
Record the change date so you can set report date ranges to match.

Troubleshooting

Problem: I changed my Division and Sub-division values and re-added members, but my reports still show every area.

Possible cause: Your report date range starts before the change, or some groups have fewer than 10 activated members.

Solution:

Check that your report date range starts on or after the day you made the change.
Check that each Division and Sub-division has at least 10 activated members.
If both are correct and your filters still look wrong, contact Support. Include the date of the change and the report you're viewing.

Problem: A Division or Sub-division shows as 'Other' in my reporting.

Possible cause: The group has fewer than 10 activated members.

Solution: Check how many activated members are in that group. Once it reaches 10 activated members, its data will be visualised.

Frequently asked questions

Can historical reports be updated to show my new structure?
No. Historical reports keep the structure that applied at the time.

Can I revert my classifications and keep the changes?
Reverting is another change, so it only applies from the day you make it. It won't restore or rewrite earlier reports. Before reverting, decide which structure you want to report on going forward.

Why is one of my groups showing as 'Other'?
Groups with fewer than 10 activated members appear as 'Other'. See the 10 activated member rule section above.

Should my Divisions match my org chart?
Not necessarily. Choose Divisions based on the groups whose wellbeing experience you want to compare.

We use an API. Where should we update Division and Sub-division?
Update them in the system feeding data to the Sonder Portal, such as your HRIS. That system should be the source of truth.