CSV Template for Adding Participants Only (17)

CSV Template for Adding Participants Only (17)

How to Fill Out the 17-Column CSV File

The 17-Column CSV file is what Dialog Health utilizes to transfer your data to our platform. This file is meant to only hold participant/employee data and not event data. CSV stands for Comma Separated Values and is a commonly used format to exchange data between two different platforms. CSV files can be tricky to read, however, by viewing the file in a platform like Excel, Google Sheets or Apple Numbers the data is organized into columns and makes the data a lot easier to digest. 

Let's go ahead and walk through each column of this file so you can personalize it to your facility's needs. Below is the example that will be referenced throughout each column description. 



Scroll to the bottom of this article to download our template of the 17-Column CSV file

Column A:  *Required*

Last Name  
In this cell, input your employee's last name.
(i.e. White, Doe)

Column B: *Required*

First Name  
In this cell, input your employee's first name.
(i.e. Bob, John)

Column C: *Required*

Mobile Phone Number 
In this cell, input your employee's primary contact number. If they have an additional phone number, this can be placed in Column F.
Accepted Formats: xxxxxxxxxx or xxx-xxx-xxxx or (xxx)xxx-xxxx
(i.e. 1234567890, 5555555555)

Column D: *Required*

Emp ID 
In this cell, input the ID number associated with that employee. If your organization does not use an identification number, you can place their phone number in this cell.
This column is important for distinguishing employees who may have the same names. If you do not enter anything into this field, Dialog Health will create it's own identification number for the employee.
It is also important that this number is unique per person you assign it to. You may not use the same ID number across different people. 
(i.e. ABC123, DEF456)

Column E:

DOB
In this cell, you can input the employees date of birth (DOB).
Accepted Format: MM/DD/YYYY
(i.e. 10/12/2000, 12/22/1972)

Column F:

Additional Phone Number
In this cell, if the employee has a secondary phone number on file, you can place it here.
If there is a secondary number on file Dialog Health will automatically try to contact that number if the primary phone number is not working.
Accepted Formats: xxxxxxxxxx or xxx-xxx-xxxx or (xxx)xxx-xxxx
(i.e. 1111111111)

Column G:

Address 1
In this cell, input the employees street address.
(i.e. 12 Main St, 231 West Rd, etc.) 

Column H:

Address 2  
In this cell, if the employee has any secondary information to their address such as an apartment number or suite number, this can be input here.
(i.e. Unit B)

Column I:

City
In this cell, input the city associated with the employee's address.
(i.e. Franklin)

Column J:

State
In this cell, input the state associated with the employee's address.
Accepted Format: 2-letter abbreviation, e.g. OH, TN, FL, IN, etc.,,
(i.e. TN)

Column K:

Zip  
In this cell, input the zip code associated with the employee's address.
Accepted Format: xxxxx or xxxxx-xxxx
(i.e. 37067)

Column L:

Email
If the employee has an email address on file that you'd like to add, you can input that in this cell.
Accepted Format: example@example.com 

Column M-Q:

EmpMisc1-5
These columns are unique because they are customizable to what you'd like to view in your console. In the example above, EmpMisc1 was used to show employment type.
Creating unique selections in this column can help you set specific rules on the text messages you send when you want to reach out to a specific subset of employees. 
(i.e. Full-time, Part-time)

Ideas for EmpMisc1-5

  1. Employment Type : Full-Time, Part-Time, Temporary, Contractor
  2. Employment Status : Employed, Terminated 
  3. Department : Marketing, Sales, Production, IT
  4. Geographical Location : Regions, Cities or States 
  5. Location Type : Warehouse, WFH (work from home), Office
  6. Leadership Role : C Suite, Manager, Supervisor


Each cell can only contain a maximum character count of 50 except for Address 1 and Address 2 and Email, these may contain up to 250 characters. 

Key Points

  1. The basic information required to text a person is Last Name, First Name, Mobile Number and Employee ID; It is up to your discretion if you wish to utilize Columns E through L in order to better identify your participants. 
  2. The Employee ID (Emp ID) must be unique per each person you add to your file. If your facility does not use an identification number you may use their phone number, 
  3. If you have two phone numbers for a patient, you can use the Additional Phone Number field to add the second number. Dialog Health will try both numbers in order to validate the mobile number.
  4. The template must be saved in CSV format and the 17 columned Header Row must always be present in order to successfully transfer your data into Dialog Health. 

Best Practices for Naming your CSV File 

When naming your CSV file, the ideal configuration would include, the facility name associated with the data, a short description of the data and the date and time of when the data was retrieved. Naming the file this way will help you keep track of the data you have uploaded into Dialog Health. 

Standard -   FacilityName_ContentDescription_MMDDYY_HHMM.csv 

Examples: 
  1. HRNational_NewEmployees_011521_1400.csv
  2. TobysHRFirm_FallBenefitsEnrollment_120221_1045.csv
  3. EmployeesFirstHR_OnboardingIncomplete_060621_0545.csv

If you need further assistance on creating your CSV file, please email Support@DialogHealth.com or call 877-666-1132 and a member of our team can help you decide the best approach to use.
Questions? Please reach out to: support@dialoghealth.com or 877.666.1132
Our support line is monitored Monday through Friday from 8:00 am – 6:00 pm CST

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