Odoo HR & Employee Management: Complete Setup Guide

HR Module Overview

Odoo HR manages the complete employee lifecycle: recruitment, onboarding, daily operations (attendance, leave, expenses), performance, and offboarding. The module integrates with Payroll, Timesheets, and Fleet for a complete workforce management platform.

Core Setup

1. Departments & Positions

# Create department hierarchy:
# Company
# ├── Engineering
# │   ├── Backend Team
# │   └── Frontend Team
# ├── Sales
# │   ├── Inside Sales
# │   └── Field Sales
# ├── Operations
# └── Finance

# HR → Configuration → Departments
# Each department has: name, manager, parent department

2. Job Positions

# HR → Configuration → Job Positions
# Define roles with:
# - Title: Senior Software Engineer
# - Department: Engineering → Backend
# - Expected employees: 5
# - Description: responsibilities, requirements
# - Published on website: Yes/No (for recruitment)

3. Employee Records

# HR → Employees → Create
# Employee profile includes:
# - Personal info: name, photo, address, DOB
# - Work info: department, job position, manager, work location
# - Private info: emergency contact, visa, bank account
# - HR settings: PIN, badge ID, user account link
# - Contract: salary, schedule, benefits

Key HR Features

Attendance

• Check in/out via web interface, mobile, or hardware terminal
• Automatic overtime calculation
• Attendance reports per employee/department
• Integration with Payroll for hours-based compensation

Leave Management

# Leave types:
# - Annual Leave (25 days/year, accrual)
# - Sick Leave (unlimited, requires doctor note > 3 days)
# - Maternity/Paternity Leave
# - Compensatory Leave
# - Unpaid Leave

# Workflow:
# 1. Employee requests leave
# 2. Manager approves/rejects
# 3. HR validates (optional)
# 4. Calendar updated, team notified

# Allocation methods:
# - Fixed: allocate 25 days at start of year
# - Accrual: earn 2.08 days/month (25/12)

Expense Management

• Employee submits expense with receipt photo (mobile)
• Categories: travel, meals, accommodation, supplies
• Manager approval workflow
• Reimbursement via payroll or separate payment
• Mileage tracking for travel expenses
• Per diem rates for business travel

Contracts

# Employee contract defines:
# - Start date, end date (if fixed-term)
# - Wage (monthly/hourly)
# - Working schedule (Full-time, Part-time, custom)
# - Benefits (health insurance, car allowance)
# - Probation period
# - Notice period

# Contract states:
# Draft → Running → Expired / Terminated

Organizational Chart

Odoo auto-generates an org chart from department/manager relationships. Each employee links to their manager, creating the reporting hierarchy visually.

Recruitment (Optional)

• Job postings on Odoo website
• Application tracking (kanban pipeline)
• Interview scheduling (Calendar integration)
• Offer letter generation
• Onboarding checklist on hire

Employee Self-Service

• View and update personal information
• Request leave and check balance
• Submit expense reports
• View payslips (if Payroll installed)
• Check attendance records

DeployMonkey + HR

Deploy Odoo HR on DeployMonkey. The AI agent configures departments, leave types, attendance tracking, and expense categories. Start managing your workforce digitally from day one.