This article provides a summary of employee relationships in Personio. You can set up primary supervisors, additional supervisors, and general relationships. This article explains each type and how they differ.

• Learn how to set up and assign supervisors and relationships.
• Learn how reporting line access works. 

Primary supervisor relationships

A primary supervisor manages other employees. They oversee performance, attendance, and development. They're responsible for an employee's performance.

Here are the main things to consider for primary supervisors:

• They form the basis of the Org Chart structure.
• You assign one primary supervisor to each employee. That employee becomes a direct report. The employee's direct reports become indirect reports of the primary supervisor.

Additional supervisor relationships

Note:
The additional supervisors feature requires a subscription to the Personio Core Pro plan. It's also available with our Enterprise plan, which we no longer offer to new customers.

An additional supervisor has managerial duties for specific tasks or projects. Examples include "Project Supervisor" or "Functional Lead." They aren't usually responsible for an employee's performance, unlike primary supervisors. In some companies, they do assume this responsibility. Learn how to set up and assign supervisors and relationships.

Here are the main things to consider for additional supervisors:

• They reflect more person-to-person connections and dotted lines. They're common in matrix organizations with cross-departmental teams.
• You can assign up to five additional supervisors of one type per employee. For instance, an employee can have five different "Project Supervisors". That employee becomes a dotted-line report.

General employee relationships

Note:
The general relationships feature requires a subscription to the Personio Core Pro plan. It's also available with our Enterprise plan, which we no longer offer to new customers.

A general relationship doesn't involve managerial duties, unlike primary or additional supervisors. It can involve a less formal supervisory role, for example, "Mentor." It can also be non-supervisory, like "Business Partner."

Here are the main things to consider for general relationships:

• You can assign up to five employees from each type of general relationship. For instance, an employee can have five different "Mentors". That employee becomes a dotted-line report.

Compare relationship types

This table compares supervisors, additional supervisors, and general relationships: