Overview

The Merge feature in iCIMS Applicant Tracking, iCIMS Onboarding, iCIMS Offer Management, and iCIMS Connect (Legacy CRM) allows the user admin login group to combine the information within two or more Person profiles for the same person into one profile. Instead of overwriting existing data, merging evaluates the data in both profiles and then fills gaps of information in the primary profile.

Example: There are two profiles for Jeff Smith in the system. The primary profile that you want to keep in the system is an Employee profile, while the other profile is Jeff Smith’s Candidate profile. Each profile includes a different contact phone number, and each profile is in a different folder. In addition, the Employee profile that you wish to keep does not contain an email address.
 
When merging these profiles, the folder and contact phone number on Jeff Smith’s Employee profile remain the same, since the Employee profile will be selected as the primary profile. However, because the email address field is blank on the Employee profile, the email address transfers from the Candidate profile to the Employee profile when the profiles are merged.
 
This feature can be activated for the user admin group by submitting a case to iCIMS Technical Support. Company and Job profiles cannot be merged.

Notes:

• The primary profile will keep its name and folder. The discarded profile will be renamed Merged with [Primary Profile ID] - [Date of Merge] and placed in the Purge folder to be removed the next time a Purge occurs.
• All field information from the primary profile will be kept. If there are blank fields on the primary profile that were completed on the discarded profile, those values will be brought to the primary profile.
  • Regardless of which profile is designated as primary or non-primary, the resulting merged profile will inherit the Created Date and Created By of whichever of the two profiles was created first.
• iForms on the primary profile that are in any status except Available (e.g., an iForm that has been requested, completed, or expired) will not be overwritten by their counterparts (if applicable) from the discarded profile. If you would like to retain any iForm responses from the discarded profile, iCIMS recommends downloading the specific iForm(s) prior to initiating the profile merge.
  • For example, if both profiles have a Federal I9 iForm filled out, only the primary profile's iForm will be retained. The discarded profile's Federal I9 iForm will be discarded with the profile.
• iForms on the primary profile that are in the Available status (e.g., an iForm that has not been requested, completed, or expired) will be overwritten by their counterparts (if applicable) from the discarded profile.
  • For example, if the primary profile has a Federal I9 iForm that has not been filled out, but the discarded profile has a Federal I9 iForm that has been filled out, the responses from the discarded profile's iForm will overwrite the blank iForm on the primary profile.

Merging Person Profiles Using the Reporting Center

1. Select Report from the menu bar, and select Reporting Center from the drop-down menu. 
2. Locate the Duplicate Persons Report section, and select the report you would like to run. 
3. View the report and review the potential duplicate profiles. When you are sure that certain profiles listed are for the same person, select the checkboxes beside them (not the checkbox for the grouping itself) and click the Merge button.

• Tips:
  • Depending on the amount of search actions you have access to, the Merge button may be within the More menu, located to the top right of your search results.
  • Only two profiles can be merged together at a time. To merge more than two profiles, you will have to merge two profiles together and then repeat the process for the newly merged profile and the remaining profile(s).

4. Select the Person profile to keep as the primary record by clicking the Keep option for the profile. Click the Merge button to merge the two profiles.
5. Review the confirmation message, and click the OK button to proceed and finalize the merge.
6. Review the results of the merge and click Close when finished.

 Tips:

• The Person profile that was not retained during the merge will be placed in the Purge folder, to be purged during the next applicable Purge window. The Person profile detail will indicate that it was merged with another profile and will display the number, date, and time of the merge.
• If you select one or more groups of duplicate profiles, you will be able to bulk merge each group of two profiles at once. The steps are similar, but you will be unable to select the profile to keep; the most recently updated profile will be kept for each group of duplicates.

Merging Person Profiles Using System IDs

Warning: This following method is not recommended for merges. Please see the Merging Person Profiles Using the Reporting Center section of this article, above, for the preferred method.

1. Select the Person option in the Quick Search dropdown list, and then type the name of the person whose profiles need to be merged in the Quick Search field. Then, click the – View Results – option from the dropdown.
2. Review the search results and identify the Person profiles to merge. Click the Search Form button to display the search parameters.
3. Change the data that is displayed in the report results by clicking the Add Column icon in the Person Search: Output section. 
4. Enter System and select System ID from the Reporting & Advanced Options - General section. Click the Add Selected button to add it to the list of selected columns.
5. Click the Search button to update the search results.
6. Copy or write down the System ID for each Person profile to be merged for later reference.
7. From the main menu bar, select Admin and choose Tools. Then select Merge Person from the submenu. 
   • Tip: If you do not have access to this menu item, try the method described in the Merging Person Profiles Using the Reporting Center section of this guide, above. If you are still unable to merge profiles, submit a case to iCIMS Technical Support.
8. Type the System ID numbers for each Person profile to merge within the System IDs field on the Merge Profiles (Person) screen. Click the Next button to continue.
9. Select the Person profile to keep as the primary record by clicking the Keep option for the profile. Click the Merge button to merge the two profiles.
   • Users can also select a rule for the mass merge to follow. The rule options are as follows (including descriptions):
     • None: No rule is applied, and the user initiating the merge can individually select which profile of each pair of profiles should be merged using the Keep radio buttons on the Merge Profiles (Person) screen.
     • First ID Given in Set: In each set of two profiles being considered, the profile listed on the left side of the Merge Profiles (Person) screen will be retained.
     • Second ID Given in Set: In each set of two profiles being considered, the profile listed on the right side of the Merge Profiles (Person) screen will be retained.
     • Updated Date Most Recent: In each set of two profiles being considered, the profile that has the more recent updated date will be retained.
     • Updated Date Oldest: In each set of two profiles being considered, the profile that has the older updated date will be retained.
     • Created Date Most Recent: In each set of two profiles being considered, the profile that has the more recent created date will be retained.
     • Created Date Oldest: In each set of two profiles being considered, the profile that has the older created date will be retained.
     • Last Access Date Most Recent: In each set of two profiles being considered, the profile that has the most recent last access date will be retained.
     • Last Access Date OIdest: In each set of two profiles being considered, the profile that has the older created date will be retained.
   • Note: Last Access Date reflects the date a user has last logged into the system or a portal. If a profile does not have a Last Access Date (i.e. the user has never logged into the system or a portal), and a merge is initiated with a Last Access Date rule, the system will retain both profiles in the set.
10. Review the confirmation message, and click the OK button to proceed and finalize the merge.
11. The merge results will be displayed to confirm the success of the profile merge.

Tip: The Person profile that was not retained during the merge will be placed in the Purge folder to be purged during the next applicable Purge window. The Person profile detail will indicate that it was merged with another profile and will display the number, date, and time of the merge.

Merge and Workflow Transfer FAQs

Q: What happens to resume files during a person merge?
A: If the primary (keep) profile already has a resume, the resume from the non-primary (drop) profile is not copied to the primary profile. If the primary profile does not have a resume, the resume is copied as part of the merge.

If your system has resume history enabled and both profiles have resumes and history, the non-primary resume and history are copied to the primary profile. The non-primary profile's resume is added to the historical list. The historical list is reordered by created date to reflect both profiles' resume history as appropriate.

All other documents (non-resume) are copied in the merge. All files ultimately associated with the primary profile have the file name generation logic rerun upon them so that they match the correct profile.

Q: What might cause a Merge Failed error?
A: If you receive an error of Merge Failed, it might be due to additional duplicate profiles. The merge must include all instances of the duplicate, or you need to change the email address of the extra duplicate.

Q: Are workflows transferred during a person merge?