--- title: "Get User Role Information from HRIS / Directory" url: "http://35.223.47.52/solutions-use-cases/get-user-role-information-from-hris-directory/" date: "2026-08-13T12:31:17+00:00" modified: "2026-08-26T07:59:09+00:00" type: "use_case" --- # Get User Role Information from HRIS / Directory [Use Cases](http://35.223.47.52/solutions-use-cases) / Get User Role Information from HRIS / DirectoryGet User Role Information from HRIS / Directory =============================================== 01### Extract Job Titles and Organizational Structure from Employee Data Begin by syncing the organizational context available in Knit's standardized employee data models. While HRIS platforms don't provide a unified "role" API, they all maintain organizational structure information that indicates employee responsibilities and appropriate access levels. 02### Use Passthrough API for HRIS-Specific Role and Group Data While standardized employee models provide organizational structure, some HRIS platforms maintain proprietary role assignment or group membership systems. Use Knit's passthrough API to make direct calls to HRIS-specific endpoints when you need access to platform-specific role data. 03### Map HRIS Roles to Application Permissions and Access Policies With organizational attributes and any platform-specific role data extracted, implement the mapping logic that translates HRIS roles into your application's access permissions. Implementation: Extract and Map Role Information from HRIS ---------------------------------------------------------- ### Step 1: Extract Job Titles and Organizational Structure from Employee Data Begin by syncing the organizational context available in Knit’s standardized employee data models. While HRIS platforms don’t provide a unified “role” API, they all maintain organizational structure information that indicates employee responsibilities and appropriate access levels. **Key organizational fields for RBAC:** - `designation` (job title): Primary indicator of job function and responsibility level - `department`: Functional unit that determines baseline access requirements - `manager` relationship: Enables approval workflow routing and permission inheritance - `employmentType`: Contractors vs. full-time employees often have different access policies - Custom fields: Organizations store access-relevant attributes in custom HRIS fields ### Step 2: Use Passthrough API for HRIS-Specific Role and Group Data While standardized employee models provide organizational structure, some HRIS platforms maintain proprietary role assignment or group membership systems. Use Knit’s passthrough API to make direct calls to HRIS-specific endpoints when you need access to platform-specific role data. **Passthrough API Endpoint:** `POST https://api.getknit.dev/v1.0/passthrough` **When to use passthrough vs. standardized models:** - **Use standardized models** when job title and department provide sufficient role context - **Use passthrough API** when the HRIS has specific role/group assignment features - **Use custom fields** when organizations store role data in unmapped HRIS fields ### Step 3: Map HRIS Roles to Application Permissions and Access Policies With organizational attributes and any platform-specific role data extracted, implement the mapping logic that translates HRIS roles into your application’s access permissions. **Access policy patterns:** Policy TypeHRIS Attributes UsedAccess Rule ExampleDepartment-baseddepartmentAll employees in “Finance” department receive ERP system accessJob-title-baseddesignation (parsed)Job titles containing “Manager” receive approval permissionsHierarchy-basedmanager relationshipManagers receive access to direct reports’ data and approval authorityEmployment-type-basedemploymentTypeContractors (CONTRACT) receive restricted access vs. full-time (FULL\_TIME)Custom attributecustomFieldsEmployees with “Security Clearance: Confidential” receive classified system accessKey APIs and Employee Fields for Role-Based Access Control ---------------------------------------------------------- ModelFieldAccess Control Use Caseemployee\_orgStructuredesignationJob title-based permission assignment (e.g., “Senior Engineer” → development environment access)employee\_orgStructuredepartmentDepartment-based baseline access (e.g., “Finance” → ERP system access)employee\_orgStructuremanagerApproval routing and permission inheritanceemployee\_profileemploymentTypeContractor vs. employee access policies (FULL\_TIME → full access, CONTRACT → restricted)employee\_customFieldsPlatform-specific attributesCustom role indicators (e.g., “Security\_Clearance: Confidential” → classified system access)### Job Title Parsing Patterns for Role Classification Job Title PatternRole ClassificationTypical PermissionsContains “Manager,” “Director,” “VP,” “Head of”Management roleApproval authority, team resource access, elevated permissionsContains “Senior,” “Lead,” “Principal”Senior individual contributorWrite access, code review approval, mentor permissionsContains “CEO,” “CFO,” “CTO,” “Chief”Executive roleOrganization-wide read access, strategic approvals, audit accessContains “Engineer,” “Developer”Technical roleDevelopment environment access, code repository, technical toolsContains “Analyst,” “Specialist”Operational roleFunctional tool access based on department, read-focused permissionsWrapping Up: Systematic Role-Based Access Control from HRIS Data ---------------------------------------------------------------- Implementing role-based access control becomes systematic and audit-ready when built on authoritative HRIS organizational data. Instead of maintaining separate role assignment spreadsheets or relying on manual permission requests, extract job titles, departments, manager relationships, and custom role attributes directly from the HRIS source of truth. **Key capabilities unlocked:** - **Standardized organizational data:** Extract designation (job title), department, and manager relationships from 30+ HRIS platforms in unified format - **Job function-based access:** Parse job titles to automatically categorize employees and assign appropriate baseline permissions - **Department-based permissions:** Use department assignments to grant functional access - **Manager-based approvals:** Extract manager relationships to automatically route access requests to appropriate approvers - **Platform-specific role access:** Use passthrough API to retrieve HRIS-specific role assignments when standard fields are insufficient - **Audit-ready role assignments:** Create documentation showing access permissions derived from verified HRIS data Put Integrations on Autopilot. 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