Who it’s for: Administrators
Platform: Web app
Available on: Elite and Enterprise plans
Before you begin, make sure you’re:
☑️ Logged into the Sense Workplace web app
☑️ Assigned administrator permissions
Overview
Screen Designer gives you complete control over how employee information is structured, displayed, and captured in Sense HR.
It is the foundation of customisation inside profiles and workflows, and understanding this model will make the rest of the Screen Designer articles much easier to follow.
This article introduces the five key components that make up the Screen
Screen designer system:
1. Screens
2. Fields
3. Profile templates
4. Access roles (handled via Settings > Access roles)
5. Variants
You will learn what each component does, how they relate to one another, and which tool to use in different situations.
This is a high-level guide — the practical steps for creating or editing screens and templates are covered in dedicated articles.
Navigation paths
To open the Screen Designer:
Dashboard > Settings > Screen designer
You will find two main areas:
Screens
This is where you create, edit, and manage the structure of custom screens.
Dashboard > Settings > Screen designer > Screens
Profile templates
This is where you choose which screens appear for each worker group and in what order.
Dashboard > Settings > Screen designer > Profile templates
Core Concepts
Screen Designer is built around five interconnected components. Once you understand how these pieces fit together, the entire feature becomes much simpler to use.
1. Screens — the structure of your data
A screen is a container that holds fields.
Every page you see in an employee’s profile (Personal details, Training records, Equipment issued, Job details) is a screen.
There are three types of screens:
System screens
Built-in screens that support essential system behaviour.
Examples: Overview, Documents, To do, Planner, Leaver details.
These cannot be edited, deleted, or renamed.
Locked screens
Sense-created screens that include system-protected fields.
Examples: Personal details, Job details, Pay details.
These can be partially edited but not deleted, and some fields cannot be removed.
Custom screens
Screens created by administrators or automatically created by workflows.These are fully editable, can be renamed, and can be added to any profile template.
Screens answer the question:
“What information do we want to collect?”
Screens define the fields, structure, and formatting of that information.
2. Fields — the individual pieces of data
Fields are the building blocks inside each screen — such as text fields, dropdowns, dates, checkboxes, and attachments.
There are two types:
Existing fields
Fields already available in your system that can be reused.
Reusing fields keeps reporting clean and avoids duplication.
New fields
Fields you create from scratch when designing screens.Once a new field is created and saved on a screen, it becomes an existing field and can be reused elsewhere.
Fields answer the question:
“What is the specific data point we want to store?”
3. Profile templates — availability and order (not visibility)
Profile templates control:
• Which screens appear for a worker
• The order in which those screens appear
• The structure of the left-hand navigation inside People > Profile
Templates do not control visibility.
They simply determine whether the screen is available for that worker type.
Common worker groups include:
• Employees (locked system default)
• Interns
• Contractors (system default)
• Volunteers
• Seasonal or temporary workers
Profile templates answer the question:
“Which screens should this worker type have in their profile?”
🖊️ Note:
Once a template is assigned to a person, it cannot be changed. This rule ensures that existing data remains accessible and avoids structural conflicts.
4. Access roles — who can see or edit what
Access roles determine visibility and permissions inside the employee profile.
They control:
• Whether a role can see a screen
• Whether they can update it
• Whether they can add or delete records
• Whether they can see or edit individual fields
• Whether the screen appears at all to that role
Access roles answer the question:
“What should this role be able to see or do?”
Visibility is controlled here, not in Screen Designer.
To manage visibility:
Settings > Access roles > [Role] > Permissions > Own profile
5. Variants — workflow-specific visibility
Variants are used for workflows only.
They do not affect what appears in the employee profile.
Variants control:
• What each workflow participant can see
• What they can edit
• Which fields must be completed
• Which fields are hidden during a workflow step
Variants answer the question:
“What should this person see during this workflow task?”
Use variants when you have a single screen but different workflow participants (such as Employees, Managers, HR) need different view/edit rules.
How the components fit together
A simple relationship map:
Screens define your data
Fields define the details
Profile templates define who uses which screens
Access roles define who can see or edit the screens
Variants define what workflow participants see during tasks
Or put another way:
Screens build the structure.
Profile templates organise it.
Access roles control visibility.
Variants control workflow behaviour.
[ What data exists? ]
│
▼
┌──────────────┐
│ Screens │
│ (fields) │
└─────┬────────┘
│
▼
[ Who uses which data structure? ]
│
▼
┌──────────────────────┐
│ Profile Templates │
│ (screen availability)│
└──────────┬───────────┘
│
▼
[ Who can see/edit it? ]
│
▼
┌──────────────────────┐
│ Access Roles │
│ (profile visibility) │
└──────────┬───────────┘
│
▼
[ What do people see during workflow tasks? ]
│
▼
┌──────────────────────┐
│ Variants │
│ (workflow visibility)│
└──────────┬───────────┘
│
▼
[ How is the data reported/exported? ]
│
▼
┌──────────────────────┐
│ Reporting │
└──────────────────────┘
When to use Screens, Access Roles, or Variants
Choosing the right tool prevents duplication and ensures your HR system remains easy to maintain.
Use Screens when:
• You need different fields for different worker groups
• The data structure is unique (form vs table)
• You want truly separate datasets
• You need separate reporting categories
Use Access roles when:
• The screen is the same, but visibility must differ
• You want some roles to see more or fewer fields
• You want fields to be read-only or hidden on profiles
• You want to limit add/edit/delete rights for table entries
Use Variants when:
• Different workflow participants need different view/edit/required settings
• You are dealing with workflow behaviour only
• The underlying screen structure must remain consistent
⚠️ Important:
Variants never affect the employee profile.
For profile visibility, always use Access roles.
FAQs
Click here to see answers to frequently asked questions
Click here to see answers to frequently asked questions
Why can I see some screens in Screen Designer > Screens but not others?
The reason you can see some screens in Screen Designer > Screens but not others is because only custom screens and certain locked screens appear there. System screens never appear in the Screens area because they cannot be edited or deleted.
Why does the Overview screen appear greyed out?
The reason the Overview screen appears greyed out is because it is a system screen that is always required in every profile template. Some system screens are required for the system to function and system screens cannot be edited, deleted, or removed from templates.
What’s the difference between a Screen and a Profile template?
The difference between a screen and a profile template is that a screen defines the data and layout, while a profile template determines which screens are active for a particular workforce segment. Screens hold the content; templates organise them.
Why don’t variants change what my employees see on their profile?
The reason variants don’t change what employees see on their profile is because variants only affect workflow task visibility. To change profile visibility, you must use Access roles.
Why can’t I change someone’s profile template later?
You cannot change a person’s profile template later because templates define structural data availability. Changing a template after data exists could hide or orphan information, so the system prevents reassignment for safety.