Unified User Record: Permissions, Import/Export, and Full-Record Changes

Description

The Unified User Record is the strategic foundation for user data in Cornerstone, replacing the legacy user record with a single global structure, configurable templates, and clear permissions. This release introduces three headline capabilities. First, modification history via template permissions integrates history visibility into the template-based access model, so what a user sees in the record now matches what they see in its history. Second, import and export of structure and templates lets administrators move and reuse configuration across environments through a guided, validated flow. Third, view changes on the entire user record adds an effective-date dropdown that re-renders the full record as a governed snapshot for any past, current, or future date.

These enhancements are complemented by the ability to cancel scheduled updates from within the new experience, two new export/import security permissions, and a set of accessibility and usability improvements. Field visibility throughout is driven by template configuration and evaluated per field and per time state.

Business Need

Previously, modification history visibility was governed by legacy security role permissions disconnected from the template model, creating discrepancies where a user could see a field in the record but not in its history, or vice versa. Auditing was limited to Cornerstone HR customers, and there was no per-role or per-audience control. Separately, there was no way to move a structure or template between environments, so every new portal required rebuilding tabs, sections, fields, and permissions by hand, introducing overhead and error risk. Effective data was also only visible at the section level, with no way to view the full record at a single point in time.

For organizations like the example Crystal Lake Corporation operating across many companies and countries, this meant days of manual rebuilding and fragmented history. By aligning history to template permissions, enabling configuration portability, and providing a complete record snapshot, this release reduces administrative effort, strengthens governance consistency, and delivers trusted, persona-appropriate data access.

Key Features

• Modification history via template permissions: History visibility is governed by the same template configuration as the record itself, available to all organizations and controlled per role and per template.
• Import and export of structure and templates: Administrators can export and import the user record structure and individual templates across environments, with built-in validation that surfaces conflicts before applying changes.
• View changes on the entire user record: An effective-date dropdown re-renders the full record as a governed snapshot for any date, with visual indicators highlighting impacted fields and sections (Cornerstone HR only).
• Cancel scheduled updates: Administrators can cancel all scheduled changes for a selected date directly within the new experience, configured per role (Cornerstone HR only).
• New security permissions: Two admin-level permissions govern export and import of structure and of templates respectively.
• Accessibility and usability enhancements: Improvements across the user record experience for clearer, more consistent interaction.

Deployment & Considerations

Availability is staged: enhancements arrive in stage environments at the start of UAT, and in production with the production release. The Unified User Record is not activated by default; customers self-activate through Admin Tools, Core Functions, Core Preferences, Feature Activation Preferences. Modification history via template permissions is available to all organizations, while the full-record effective-date view and cancel scheduled updates are Cornerstone HR only and require effective dated user records to be activated with at least one template configured.

Two new security role permissions ship with this release — User Record Builder - Structure - Export and Import and User Record Builder - Templates - Export and Import — both assigned to System Administrator by default on initial activation. Structure imports always overwrite the existing structure, while template imports always create a new template to protect existing configurations; nothing is committed until the administrator clicks Save. Known limitations include several workflows that still redirect to the legacy user record (for example, Recruit Manage Hired Applicants), and Hierarchy and Branch Dropdown custom fields are not yet available in the Unified User Record, with the new Field Groups capability targeted for Q4. The legacy user record remains available until its planned deprecation in July 2027, with no forced migration announced.