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PersonioActive Directory

Connect Personio to Active Directory

Turn Personio hires, changes and departures into account updates in Active Directory. Follow the setup steps, preview changes with a dry run, then go live.

Personio fields mapped
13
Steps to go live
9
Employee records stored in our cloud
0

Joiners, movers and leavers

How Personio updates Active Directory

HR updates Personio. ezOnboard updates accounts based on your rules.

Joiner

An account before day one

A person is added to Personio with a hire date and Onboarding status.

  • Account created in the role’s OU, disabled until the start date
  • Name, email and attributes set from Personio
  • Department and site groups added
  • Account enabled on the start date; password change required at first sign-in

Mover

Access for the new role

A position, department, office or supervisor changes in a Personio employee profile.

  • Title, department, office and manager updated
  • Account moved to the OU your rules specify
  • Groups added and removed to match the new role

Leaver

Offboarding on schedule

A termination date is set in Personio, or the person’s status changes to Inactive.

  • Account disabled on the termination date, never deleted
  • Groups removed and the account moved to the disabled OU
  • Mail forwarded and licenses recovered with connected Exchange and Microsoft 365 services

Before you start

What to have ready

Work with a Personio admin and a directory admin to complete the setup.

In Personio
  • Personio Administrator access to create API credentials
  • A work email or employee ID for each person in Personio to match them to their account
In Active Directory
  • A domain-joined server running Windows Server 2019 or later
  • A group managed service account or service account to run the agent
  • Outbound HTTPS to the HR system and ezOnboard; no inbound access required
  • OUs for staff accounts, disabled accounts and the groups ezOnboard will manage

Step by step

Set up Personio with Active Directory

Start in Personio and on your server. Then finish in the ezOnboard portal with our implementation team.

  1. 01

    Personio

    Create a custom integration for ezOnboard

    Settings → Integrations → API credentials

    Create a dedicated custom integration for ezOnboard. It uses its own client ID and secret and has only the permissions you grant.

    Choose Create custom integration, name it ezOnboard and choose Next. Grant Read access to Employees. Under Readable employee attributes, select every attribute your mappings need. Unselected attributes return empty values. Leave Write and other modules unchecked.

    • First name (legal), Last name (legal), Name (preferred) and Email
    • Employee ID, Position, Department, Office and Supervisor
    • Hire date, Status, Employment type and Termination date

    Custom integration. Read access to Employees, with the readable attributes selected.

  2. 02

    Personio

    Copy the client ID and secret

    Settings → Integrations → API credentials

    Choose Create integration. Personio shows the client ID and secret on the final step.

    Copy both to a secure location before choosing Finish. The secret is shown only once. If you lose it, create a new integration. You’ll need both in step 5.

    API credentials. Copy the client ID and secret before choosing Finish.

  3. 03

    Your server

    Install the ezOnboard agent

    The agent runs as a Windows service on a domain-joined server with Windows Server 2019 or later. It connects to Personio and ezOnboard over outbound HTTPS. No inbound firewall rules are needed.

    Download the signed MSI and enrollment bundle from the portal. Save the install code. The portal shows it only once. Run the MSI, enter the code and choose a service account, preferably a group managed service account. The installer checks the domain connection, LDAP access, outbound access and clock before making changes.

    Installer screen with the setup requirements.

  4. 04

    Active Directory

    Delegate the OUs the agent will manage

    Run the installer’s delegation script once as a domain administrator. It lets the agent’s service account create, update and disable accounts only in the OUs you choose. The agent doesn’t need Domain Admin rights.

    Include the OUs for staff accounts, disabled accounts and managed groups. The agent blocks changes outside these OUs, even if a rule requests them.

    PS C:\> & 'C:\ProgramData\ezOnboard\northwind\ou-delegation.ps1'
    Delegated NORTHWIND\svc-ezonboard$ on OU=Staff,DC=northwind,DC=com
    Delegated NORTHWIND\svc-ezonboard$ on OU=Disabled,DC=northwind,DC=com
    Delegated NORTHWIND\svc-ezonboard$ on OU=Groups,DC=northwind,DC=com
    Done

    Run the installer’s delegation script once on a domain controller.

  5. 05

    ezOnboard portal

    Add Personio as an HR source

    In the portal, add Personio as an HR source using the client ID and secret. Your credentials are encrypted with your organization’s key and sent to your agent. The agent reads Personio from your network. Nobody at ezOnboard can read the credentials.

    Choose a field to match people across both systems, usually work email or employee ID. The agent checks Personio every five minutes and catches up on any missed changes.

    HR source. Your agent uses these credentials to read Personio.

  6. 06

    ezOnboard portal

    Map Personio fields to Active Directory attributes

    Choose which Personio fields update each directory attribute. Start with the defaults below, add custom fields or combine values. For example, build a display name from first and last names, format a job title or look up an office address by site.

    Blank Personio fields leave directory values unchanged unless you configure the mapping to clear them.

    Field mapping. See the full list of defaults below.

  7. 07

    ezOnboard portal

    Set rules for accounts, OUs and groups

    Rules define who gets an account, which OU it belongs in, how it’s named and which groups it joins. They also control offboarding. Use Personio fields, such as department and site, to make those choices.

    Our implementation team helps you write the rules. With approvals enabled, your team must approve each rule change before the agent uses it.

    Rules page with the placement rule open.

  8. 08

    ezOnboard portal

    Preview changes with a dry run

    Run a dry run for your whole workforce. The agent matches Personio records to existing accounts by employee ID, then work email, and previews changes without applying them. If two accounts match one person, that action stops for review.

    Review the planned changes and the rules behind them in the portal. Adjust your rules and repeat the dry run until the results match your expectations.

    Dry run. No changes are applied while dry run is on.

  9. 09

    ezOnboard portal

    Go live

    Turn off dry run to apply changes. If a run would disable or move more accounts than your safety limits allow, it stops and alerts your team before making changes. We review the first runs with you.

    HR continues working in Personio. Your rules handle new accounts, updates and offboarding on schedule. Get alerts by email, in the portal or by webhook when a run stops, the HR feed stops updating or the agent stops reporting. An inactive feed never triggers offboarding.

    Reports with account activity, tickets avoided and agent uptime.

Field mapping

Personio fields and Active Directory attributes

Start with these defaults and adjust any mapping. Dates and lifecycle status control when accounts are created, enabled or disabled.

Personio fieldActive Directory attributeHow it’s used
First name (legal)Personal infogivenNameSets the first name at account creation and keeps it up to date.
Last name (legal)Personal infosnKeeps the last name up to date. Also updates the logon name if your naming rule uses it.
Name (preferred)Personal infodisplayNameUses the preferred name for the display name and email. Uses the legal first name if blank.
EmailPersonal infomail, userPrincipalNameSets the email address and sign-in name. A mail rule can also generate them from the person’s name.
Employee IDPersonal infoemployeeIDAdded to new accounts and used first to match existing accounts.
PositionPersonal infotitleKeeps the job title up to date and sets groups based on your rules.
DepartmentPersonal infodepartmentKeeps the department up to date. Rules can use it to choose account placement and groups.
OfficePersonal infophysicalDeliveryOfficeNameKeeps the office up to date. A lookup table can also fill in the street, city and country.
SupervisorPersonal infomanagerLinks to the manager’s account to keep approvals and org charts in sync with Personio.
Hire datePersonal infouserAccountControlSets when the account is created and enabled. You choose how many days before the hire date to create it.
StatusPersonal infouserAccountControlOnboarding and Active keep the account enabled. Inactive disables it when no other record keeps the person active.
Employment typePersonal infouserAccountControlRules can use Internal or External to assign accounts, groups and licenses.
Termination datePersonal infouserAccountControlSets the date for disabling the account and starting offboarding. Your rules set the time.

Frequently asked questions

Does ezOnboard write to Personio?
No. ezOnboard only reads Personio, so the integration needs Read access to Employees only. No Write access is needed. Make any corrections in Personio.
Which Personio permissions does the integration need?
Grant Read access to Employees only. Select every attribute your mappings need under Readable employee attributes. If a value is missing, check that its attribute is selected.
Do we need Personio’s Entra ID integration or SCIM?
No. ezOnboard reads Personio’s API and uses your rules to manage accounts in Active Directory or Entra ID. Its agent runs on your network and can also manage Exchange.
Do we need a server for the agent?
Yes. Use a domain-joined Windows Server with LDAP access to a domain controller and outbound HTTPS to Personio and ezOnboard. The agent needs no inbound firewall rules or Domain Admin rights. The delegation script grants access only to the OUs it manages.
How quickly does a Personio change reach Active Directory?
The agent checks Personio every five minutes and usually applies changes within seconds of finding them. Scheduled changes follow your rules: accounts are created before the start date, enabled on that date and disabled on the termination date at the time you choose.
How does Personio trigger offboarding in Active Directory?
On the termination date, the account is disabled, removed from its groups and moved to your disabled-accounts OU. It is never deleted. With Exchange and Microsoft 365 connected, your rules also schedule mail forwarding and license recovery. Every step is recorded for audit.
Where does our employee data go?
The agent reads Personio and updates Active Directory from your server. Names, emails and HR records stay on your network, where your team can view them on a local status page. The portal receives events with pseudonymous IDs, the rule used and the result.
Can ezOnboard also connect Personio to Entra ID?
Yes. One agent and one set of rules can manage Active Directory, Entra ID and Exchange from Personio. For accounts synced from Active Directory, the agent updates the on-premises account and assigns licenses and mailboxes in the cloud.

Get a demo

See Personio connected to Active Directory

Get a demo for your Personio and Active Directory setup. For questions, email sales@ezonboard.io.

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