Introduction to Mapping
💡 This guide is intended for Reflect account administrators or data managers.
It's perfectly normal that data from your source software (HRIS, ATS, Payroll), which is built for operations, isn't naturally optimized for analytics.
Examples
To help you visualize, here are a few classic examples of readability issues that appear in Reflect :
Organizational Overload: Your HRIS contains so many departments or divisions that your charts become unreadable.
Inconsistent Labeling: Source values for your compensation categories or absence reasons look similar but contain minor typos (e.g., "Seniority Bonus" vs "Senority bonus").
Cluttered Visuals: Contract types or socio-professional categories use excessively long descriptions that crowd the graphs.
Multi-Source Friction: When merging data from multiple tools, the same attribute (like nationality) might use different naming conventions.
Non-Standard Processes: In your ATS, every recruiter names interview stages differently according to their own habit.
All these examples become real challenges when a tool such as Reflect is implemented. They highlight a lack of naming conventions or data rigor in the source software.
Solution
It is usually impossible to correct these problems retroactively in your source software.
This is why Reflect developed a solution to clean and correct these problems : Data Mapping.
You can group, rename, or exclude specific source values to ensure your dashboards remain consistent, clean, and easy to read.
By applying mapping to Example #1, you'll get a clearer graph :
How it works?
Mapping your data
To begin, navigate to the mapping page.
You will see a table containing all the source values from your software for the selected Reflect dimension. You can also filter by a specific source of your choice.
💡 Use the date range selector in the top right to only view source values that appear during a specific timeframe. This is helpful to avoid worrying about legacy data from a distant period.
To modify a dimension's mapping, click "Edit mappings" button. Mapped value column will then become editable.
Each cell is a free-text field : you simply rename a source value into a mapped value by typing in the text field. Then select the value in black.
You can then select that same value for all other source values you wish to group together.
⚠️ Once your changes are complete, don't forget to click "Save mappings" button in the top right.
Updates
Once saved, the mapping is not updated instantly. You must wait for the next data update in Reflect to apply the mapping.
Once the mapping is done, you no longer need to worry about source values, including historical data !
However, if new values are added to your source software, you will need to periodically map these new entries in Reflect.
This is why Reflect recommends establishing naming conventions and maintaining data rigor in your source tools.