This article explains how to create and manage attributes and sections. These features organize employee information in the Personal information tab.

Before you start

You need edit access for Personal Information to create and manage attributes and sections. This permission gives you access to manage settings for the About tab and the Personal information tab in the employee profile. Administrators grant it as follows:

1. Go to Settings.
2. In the People section, click Roles & permissions.
3. Select the relevant role or create a new role.
4. Go to Permissions > Account configuration.
5. Select the checkbox next to Personal Information.

Learn about attributes

There are two categories of attributes: preset attributes and custom attributes.

Preset attributes

• Personio creates, manages, and translates preset attributes to connect to core functionalities.
• They show a lock icon.
• You can't edit, archive, or delete them. You can’t apply them to specific legal entities.

Integration-specific attributes

If you manage a payroll integration in your account, you likely have an additional set of system-managed attributes. Personio translates them automatically.

• You can’t edit, delete, or archive them.
• They show a lock icon.
• You can apply them to specific legal entities. 

Custom attributes

• You create custom attributes to fit your specific needs.
• You can edit, archive, or delete custom attributes.
• Personio doesn't automatically translate them. Instead, you translate them, and you can edit the translations if needed.

Attribute types

Every attribute has a type that determines the data it stores. Attributes support different data formats. These include text, numbers, dates, selections, and employee links. Learn more about attributes, attribute types, and technical properties.

Add an attribute

Create a custom attribute to store employee information that existing attributes don't include. To add a new attribute:

1. Go to Settings.
2. In the People section, click Roles and permissions.
3. Click the Personal information tab.
4. Select the profile section where you want to add an attribute.
5. Click + Create > Create attribute. 
6. Select the attribute type.
7. Give the attribute a name.
8. In the attribute configuration, you can configure properties including:
   • Section: choose the section for the attribute.
   • Must be unique: choose this if you need unique attribute values. For example, use this to make sure only one employee has a particular employee number.
   • Translations: you can create and edit the translations if needed. There are no translations for option values of Multi-selection attributes.
9. Optional: for list-type attributes, add your options under Define options.
10. Save your changes to add the attribute.

Note:
You can't change the attribute type once you create the attribute.

Customize, archive, or delete an attribute

You can edit, archive, or delete custom attributes. You can’t change or delete preset attributes.

Edit an attribute

1. Click the custom attribute you want to edit.
2. Make and save your changes to the attribute.

Rearrange attributes

You can change the order of attributes within a section. Use the handle next to an attribute’s name to drag and drop it to your preferred position within that section.

You can also move attributes to a different section, for example, from Personal data to HR information. Drag and drop the attribute to the relevant section in the left sidebar.

Archive or delete an attribute

1. Click the custom attribute you want to archive or delete.
2. Click the three-dots icon in the top-right.
3. Select an option and confirm your decision.

Deleting an attribute is permanent. You cannot undo it. When you delete an attribute, Personio deletes all related employee data from profiles and histories.

Archive attributes when you no longer use them. This preserves the existing data for reporting purposes. You can unarchive attributes at any time. Archived attributes don't appear in other areas of Personio.

Display archived attributes

Personio hides archived attributes from employee profiles and prevents edits. However, as an Administrator, you can display archived attributes if needed. Go to the employee’s Personal information tab and click Active attributes at the top. From the dropdown, select Active and archived attributes.

You can also give other employees access to this feature via their employee role. This allows them to view archived attributes on employee profiles. Go to People data and grant permissions for View archived attributes.

Define legal entity-specific attributes

Note:
This feature only affects how attributes appear in the employee profile. It doesn’t affect permissions. Employees with permissions to see an attribute in reports or the People List retain those permissions. This is regardless of which legal entities they’re assigned to. To grant or limit access to certain attributes, use the employee roles and permissions functionality.

If you have multiple legal entities, you can specify which attributes apply to which legal entity. This is only possible for custom and integration-specific attributes. With this feature, you can define which attributes appear in an employee’s Personal information tab, depending on their currently assigned legal entity. This allows you to:

• Simplify the appearance of an employee’s Personal information tab. 
• Make sure that employees only see attributes relevant to their legal entity. This is especially relevant if you have legal entities in different countries.

Example:

Let’s say you have a custom attribute called “Parking spot number.” Your only legal entity with a car park is Legal Entity A. Therefore, you only make this attribute applicable to Legal Entity A. Employees who belong to Legal Entity A then have this attribute in their Personal information tab. For employees who belong to Legal Entity B, this attribute is hidden in their profiles.

To specify which attributes apply to which legal entity:

1. At the top, click Manage applicability to legal entities.
2. Go to the relevant section.
3. For each attribute, select which legal entity it applies to. Personio applies all attributes to your entire organization by default. 
4. Save your changes.

After you set this up, you can check the Personal information tab of an employee’s profile. Only the attributes that you specified for the respective legal entity appear. 

Display hidden legal entity-specific attributes

Sometimes you may need to view attributes not applicable to an employee’s current legal entity. To display all hidden legal entity attributes, go to the employee’s Personal information tab. At the top, click Assigned to person’s legal entity. From the dropdown, select All attributes from any legal entity.

You can give other employees access to this feature via their employee role. This allows them to display all legal entity attributes in another employee’s Personal information tab. Go to People data > Personal data and grant edit permissions for the relevant attribute section. 

Learn about sections

Sections group related attributes together. They define the setup of employees' Personal information tabs. Employees view and edit attributes based on their permission for each section.

Personio has two types of sections: preset sections and custom sections. 

Note:
You can move any attribute to any section, except the preferred name attribute. Personio locks this to the Public profile preset section.

Preset sections

Personio creates and manages preset sections. You can identify them with the lock icon. Examples of preset sections are:

• Public profile: defines access to a person.
• HR information: includes employment-specific data such as hire date, supervisor, and working arrangements.

Custom sections

You create and manage custom sections. Examples of custom sections include:

• Payroll information: contains payroll-related data such as tax information and bank details.
• Personal data: stores personal employee information. This includes birth date, address details, personal contact information, and emergency contacts.
• Extra sections: any other sections you create to organize information for your company

Note:
Personio creates Payroll information and Personal data sections during account setup. These function as custom sections that you manage.

Add a section

To add a new section:

1. In Settings, go to the People section.
2. Click Person Information.
3. Click Add.
4. Click New section.
5. Give your section a name.
6. Optional: translate your section into other languages.
7. Save your changes.

The new section appears at the bottom of the sections list. You reorder its position in the employee profile by dragging it to your preferred position. 

Customize or delete a section

You can edit custom sections and delete them when you no longer need them. 

Edit a custom section name

1. Click the section you want to rename.
2. Click the three dots.
3. Edit the section name and save your changes.

Delete a custom section

1. Click the section you want to delete.
2. Click the three dots.
3. Click Delete and confirm the deletion.

Rearrange sections

You can change the order of sections:

1. Drag the section using the handle next to its name.
2. Drop it in your preferred position.

Manage columns

You can customize the table columns in the Person information page:

1. Click Columns.
2. Click the toggle next to each available column to add it to the table or remove it from it.

Next steps

• Explore detailed attribute information.