Dynamic structure is a faster, more reliable way to create and maintain your teams in Workleap. Whether you’re onboarding thousands of employees or just getting started with a few, dynamic structure:
Automatically builds a full team structure from your employee data.
Ensure teams stay up-to-date with organizational changes.
Connect existing teams without losing their history.
Note: Dynamic structure builds a team structure based on the properties you select. Every user is placed in the lowest level in your structure that they have a value for, starting from the top.
E.g., if Susan belongs to the Energy department and the Operations function but has no Team value, she'll be placed on the Operations team under the Energy department.
For more info. on structure options, click here.
Note: Only Administrators can set up a dynamic structure.
Who should use dynamic structure?
Dynamic structure is a great fit if:
You have a clear, consistent org hierarchy.
You want fewer manual actions to keep team structures up-to-date.
Your HRIS has accurate, up-to-date employee info.
You want to clean up a messy workspace without starting over.
You’re in a trial phase and want to show value fast.
Dynamic structure may not be a good fit if:
Your employee info is missing or inconsistent.
You mostly use one-off or project-based teams.
Your org structure is highly customized or informal.
You want to manually control exactly who’s on each team.
Set up a dynamic structure
Before you start
Check the accuracy of employee data: Make sure your account has correct and consistent values for the properties you want to base your structure on (e.g., Division, Department, and Manager).
Make sure Direct Managers are correctly assigned: Workleap assigns managers based on the Direct Manager role.
If not already created in Workleap, create any properties you want to use for your structure: Create and assign any properties you want to use for your structure if needed.
Set up an HRIS integration (optional): A user provisioning HRIS integration updates your teams automatically as your organization evolves.
Step 1: Create your team structure
Workleap creates and updates teams based on the properties you choose for your structure. The order of the properties you select in Workleap determines their structural level. Users are assigned to the deepest level they hold a value for.
Log in to Workleap and open Settings.
Select Dynamic structure from the side menu.
Add one or more properties to your dynamic structure.
Properties must be configured in Workleap.
You can enable the toggle to automatically assign managers to the resulting teams based on the Direct Manager property (optional).
You can enable the toggle to split dynamic teams into sub-teams if there is more than one Team Manager (optional).
Teams are only split into sub-teams if there are no existing sub-teams further down in the structure.
Select Next to preview your team structure (this does not activate the dynamic structure).
Note: You can reorder your structure's properties at any time.
Missing team property values
If there are any, Workleap shows how many users have no value(s) for the properties you chose for your structure. Select View the list to see a complete list of all users who are missing 1 or more of your selected properties. You can use this list to know which users to assign properties to in your HRIS if needed.
Tip: You can filter the list by each property and search for specific users.
Note: If you choose a property for your structure at any level with no users, no teams will be created until it applies to at least 1 user.
Step 2: Preview the team structure
In the Preview the team structure tab, you see how your team structure would be reflected in a dynamic structure right now based on your selections in step 1.
The preview tab shows team names, team managers, team members, sub-teams, and the number of dynamic teams that would be created.
Use the search bar to search for specific teams, if needed.
Select a team's members in the preview list to see a full list of team members and managers.
Here, you can search for specific team members, if needed.
Tip: Go back to step 1 and try different property or order combinations to test the result.
Step 3: Automate your existing teams
Map your existing teams to your dynamic structure to preserve their data history and avoid duplicates.
Workleap automatically detects perfect team matches based on member lists (not user names, team names, or managers). These teams are shown as Auto-detected in the Existing Workleap team column.
Caution: Before enabling your dynamic structure, take some time to ensure your existing teams are mapped to it. You only need to do it once, but unmapped teams will be duplicated, and your teams' data history before creating your structure will only be in the version outside your dynamic structure.
To map a team to your structure
In the Automate your existing teams tab, select the drop-down in the Existing Workleap team column to see all teams Workleap detects as a potential match.
See the match percentage next to the teams shown as auto-detected.
Find the existing Workleap team in the drop-down you want to map to your new dynamic team and select it.
Repeat steps (1) and (2) until all the dynamic teams in the list are mapped to an existing team (if applicable).
To create your dynamic structure, select Save and apply and confirm.
Tip: You can filter the list by teams that have already been mapped and those that have not been mapped to an existing team.
Note: If you create your structure with unmapped teams, they are not changed or deleted; they just will not be part of your dynamic structure. You can manage those teams manually or map them to your structure later. To do so, return to the dynamic structure page and select Edit structure.
Toggled options
Automatically assign Team Managers
If you toggle on the option to automatically assign Team Managers based on the Direct Manager property, Workleap dynamically assigns Team Managers from your employee data.
If enabled, Workleap:
Assigns Team Managers to dynamic teams automatically.
Creates a direct reports team (where applicable).
Dynamic teams can have multiple Team Managers. Only if you enable the toggle to split teams by manager will each manager have their own sub-team of direct reports.
When wouldn't you want to automatically assign Team Managers?
You may prefer to assign managers manually if:
Your employee data is missing the direct report property, or it isn't consistently assigned to all your managers.
You want to create a structure quickly and assign Direct Managers later.
Tip: We strongly recommend enabling automatic manager assignment, as it keeps your structure up to date and optimizes your structure for many Workleap products and features.
Caution: Know your HRIS’ fallback manager behavior. Some systems assign a higher-up when users are missing a direct manager. This can lead to unexpected manager assignments. Check all manager assignments in the preview before applying changes.
Automatically split into sub-teams
If you toggle on the option to split teams with several Direct Managers into sub-teams, Workleap intuitively separates teams with multiple managers based on their direct reports.
For example:
Corporate.
Operations - Uba's department.
HR - Alicia's team.
HR – Kim’s direct reports (sub-team).
HR – Jordan’s direct reports (sub-team).
Payroll.
Finance.
Finance – Rachida's direct reports (sub-team).
Finance – Susan’s direct reports (sub-team).
Each Team Managers can see:
Their direct reports.
Sub-teams under their team (regardless of who manages them).
Note: If enabled, new sub-teams are only created if there is no existing sub-team further down in that branch of the structure. Sub-teams are never automatically created for teams without a Direct Manager.
Still have questions about dynamic structure?
See our dynamic structure FAQ.