Odoo Employees
Centralize employee information with digital records, organizational charts, and employee self-service.
One Employee Database Behind Your Whole HR System
The Odoo Employees app, usually just called Odoo HR, is the record every other HR function is built on. It holds each person's profile: job position, department, manager, work contact, and personal details. Recruitment, Time Off, Expenses, Appraisals, and Payroll all read from this same database, so once someone is set up as an employee they exist consistently across the system. You avoid the duplicate lists and drifting spreadsheets that fragment employee data in most companies.
It scales from a handful of staff to several hundred. A small business can add employees and departments in an afternoon and get a working org chart the same day. Larger organizations model multiple companies, job positions, and reporting lines, and control who can see sensitive fields such as salary or national ID. Skills and resume history live on the profile too, so a manager can review someone's experience and training without hunting through paperwork.
In the Community edition the Employees app runs free with unlimited users, which removes the per-seat fees most HR subscriptions charge. One honest limitation: Odoo does not calculate US payroll on its own, so American employers connect a payroll provider such as Gusto or ADP, or export hours and pay data for processing. At Aerya we implement, host, and customize Odoo HR for employers across the United States, and we set up that payroll hand-off as part of the project.
Complete Employee Management
Employee Directory
Searchable database with photos, contact info, and roles.
Org Chart
Visual organizational hierarchy with department structure.
Contract Management
Track employment contracts with terms, dates, and renewals.
Skills Management
Track employee skills, certifications, and training needs.
Department Management
Group employees into departments with managers and reporting lines, and Odoo builds the organization chart automatically.
Document Storage
Store employee documents with expiration tracking.
Setting Up HR in Odoo, Step by Step
How an employer typically rolls out Odoo HR, from the first employee record to a self-service team.
Create the employee record
Add the person's name, job position, department, manager, and work contact, plus any private details your policies require. This profile becomes the single reference every other HR app points to, so the information is entered once and reused everywhere, from time-off requests to expense claims.
Organize departments and the org chart
Group employees into departments and assign managers, and Odoo draws the reporting structure automatically. The org chart on each profile shows who reports to whom and updates the moment a manager or department changes, which keeps the picture accurate as the company grows.
Add contracts and documents
Record contract start and end dates, job title, and wage on the employee's contract, then attach signed agreements, ID copies, and tax forms to the file. Access rights keep these documents visible to HR only, so sensitive paperwork stays with the people allowed to handle it.
Track skills and development
Log each person's skills, languages, certifications, and resume history on their profile. Managers use this to plan training, staff projects by capability, and prepare for reviews. Formal appraisal campaigns are an Enterprise feature, but the underlying skills data is available in Community.
Open self-service to the team
Give employees portal access so they update their own contact details, view their documents, request time off, and submit expenses without emailing HR. Every change lands on the same record HR already works from, which cuts the back-and-forth and keeps the directory current.
HR Benefits
Industries
Works With Other Modules
This module integrates seamlessly with other Odoo applications to create a unified business system.
Odoo HR in Community vs Enterprise
The Employees app itself is Community, but a few HR add-ons are Enterprise-only, so it helps to know where the line sits.
Community Edition
The Employees app is part of the free Community edition: employee directory, departments, job positions, the org chart, contract records, skills and resume tracking, and document attachments, all with unlimited users and no licensing fee. For most small and mid-sized employers this covers day-to-day HR administration, and it is our default recommendation. OCA modules extend it further at no license cost.
Enterprise Edition
Enterprise adds Appraisals, Referrals, Planning for shift scheduling, the Documents management app, and the Payroll module with its country localizations. These can be worth the per-user subscription for larger teams, though it bears repeating that even Enterprise Payroll has no US localization, so American payroll still runs through an external provider. We will tell you honestly whether the Enterprise apps earn their cost in your case.
Popular OCA Modules
HR Extensions Available
The Odoo Community Association provides additional modules that extend this functionality. We can help you find and implement the right OCA modules for your needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Odoo HR free to use?
Does Odoo handle US payroll?
Can employees update their own information?
Does Odoo include an org chart?
Where is sensitive employee data stored, and is it GDPR-friendly?
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