This article explains how to set up employee registration with an activation code. With this feature, employees without email addresses can access Personio. This article also explains how to generate activation codes and check authentication status.

If you are an employee with an activation code, see our article on how to register with Personio using an activation code.

Enable registration with activation codes

To enable employee registration with activation codes:

1. Go to the employee’s profile.
2. Enter a non-existent email as the employee's email. They use this as their login username. See the section on employee login options for more information.
3. Update the employee’s Birthday to the correct date.
4. Update the attribute Register With Activation Code to Yes.
5. Save the changes.

You can update the attribute for multiple employees at once using the People list.

Employee login options

Employees have two options for the type of login username they can use:

• Non-existent email: This is an email address that doesn’t have a real inbox. You use this email as the employee’s username for logging in.
• Username-based login: If you prefer to use a username format, make sure the non-existent email ends with @noemail.personio.com. This specifies that the login is username-based. For example, if the desired username is "jdoe", the email should be jdoe@noemail.personio.com.

Generate activation codes

You need to be a Personio Administrator or have the necessary access rights to generate activation codes. To grant access rights to generate activation codes:

1. Go to Settings.
2. In the People section, click Employee Roles.
3. Select the employee role you want to grant access to.
4. Click Access Rights.
5. Go to Account configuration.
6. In Authentication, set the edit rights to All.

To generate activation codes for employees:

1. Go to Settings.
2. In the Integrations section, click Authentication.
3. In Login Without Email, select the employees you want to generate the activation codes for.
4. Generate the activation codes.
5. Share the activation codes and the email each employee uses to log in.

Activation codes are only valid for 14 days from the date of generation. After that, you need to generate a new activation code.

Unblock employees by regenerating activation codes

Employees without a real email address may need a new activation code if:

• They have forgotten their password and can’t reset it through email.
• They have entered the activation code incorrectly more than three times.
• Their activation code has expired.

To check which employees are blocked or whose activation code has expired:

1. Go to Settings.
2. In the Integrations section, click Authentication.
3. In Login Without Email, check the Authentication Status column.

This table explains the authentication statuses:

Security considerations and best practices

Registration with an activation code comes with limitations that increase security risks.

• All users need to have the Personio suspicious login calculator disabled.
• Employees don't receive any email notification.

Personio recommends the following to mitigate some of the risks:

• It's important to set a non-existent email for all employees without a corporate account under the same domain as the valid corporate accounts. This prevents the Administrator or anyone else from having access to email notifications on behalf of employees.
• You should prepare the activation code in an envelope addressed to the employee:
  • Print the code so it's on the inside when you fold the paper.
  • On the opposite side of the paper, directly behind the printed code, cover the area with black ink.
  • Seal the envelope and make sure you address it to the correct employee
  • Instruct employees to dispose of the paper safely after activation.
• We highly recommend that employees complete basic security training.
• Don’t print the secret (date of birth) or any other identifying information with the activation code.

These suggested recommendations are non-exhaustive. You must perform your own internal review and assessment of these recommendations. This review must align with your security obligations under Personio’s General Terms and Conditions.

Frequently asked questions

What if I can't see any employees to generate their activation codes?
You can only generate activation codes for employees with the attribute Registration With Activation Code set to Yes. Check if you have enabled this for the employees you want to generate code for, and refresh the Login Without Email page.

How do I disable registration with an activation code for employees?
Set the attribute Register With Activation Code to empty and update the email for the affected employees. The next time they log into Personio, they need to create a password. To do this, they need to click Forgot your password? on the login page (hostname.app.personio.com/login) and follow the instructions. If using single sign-on, employees can log in without creating a new password.

Where is the file with the activation codes?
Check your browser's download folder and search for a CSV file named Activation_codes.

How can I format the file with the activation codes correctly?
Import the CSV file, selecting a comma (,) as a delimiter. If the issue persists, check the regional settings of the tool you are using. If the decimal separator in number format is a comma, change it to a period (‘.’).