Extracting Staff Data
To help you extract staff data from your MIS (if used), we have provided report definition files for SIMS and iSAMs. If you use Arbor as your MIS, we have also provided a link to their website containing report definition files for this. These resources are available in the Extracting Data from your MIS section.
If you do not use an MIS, you would just need to ensure you extract or collate the data required into Excel, which depends on how your profiles are set up. For staff data, you can see an example of the data required by clicking Admin > Data > Staff > Staff Filter Profile.
Preparing Staff Data
Once you have extracted staff data into Excel, you can run this through the Excel Add-In to ensure this is in the required format for import into Observe. To do this, click the SISRA Observe tab in Excel > Prepare Staff Data.
| You should have one row, per subject, per member of staff! |
A pop-up window will then appear (shown below), allowing you to select the corresponding columns in your file for each staff filter set up within your Staff Filter Profile. You must ensure you make the correct selections here, to ensure your staff data is formatted accurately.
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If there are any yellow warning icons, this indicates that a column has been selected however this contains no values for any classes (all cells are blank). If any red warning icons are displayed, this indicates that no column has been selected. We recommend double checking these if this is the case, as all columns must have an option selected. Then, click ‘Prepare Data’. |
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Q: Some of my staff filters are not appearing as a dropdown? A: If there are filters missing here, we’d recommend checking these have been added to the Staff Filter Profile correctly (Admin > Data > Staff > Staff Filter Profile). We would also recommend checking whether Online or Offline mode is being used in the Excel Add-In, which is shown in the pop out window. |
You will then be prompted to save the file. Please ensure that the file format CSV (MS DOS) is selected, as this is required for all imports into Observe. Then, give your file an appropriate name, browse to a suitable location on your computer and click ‘Save’.
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Q: What should I do if my staff ID doesn’t contain a number? A: If your staff ID doesn’t contain a number, when formatting the file with the Add In these cells may be highlighted yellow stating ‘Staff ID doesn’t contain a number’. If this is the ID you wish to use, click ‘OK’ to continue to close the error, then save the file in CSV (MS-DOS) format. This would not cause any issues within the reports once imported. |
You’re now ready to import your staff data file, which is covered in more detail in the following article: Importing Staff Data.
Thanks for reading!