How Do I See New or Updated Departments After a BambooHR Update?

Last updated: February 3, 2026

Overview

When departments or cost centers are added, renamed, or moved in BambooHR, they don’t automatically become active in TeamOhana. Instead, they first appear as Unclaimed so you can review and control how those changes affect your org structure.

This prevents duplicate departments, broken approvals, and reporting issues.

When Will BambooHR Updates Appear?

  • BambooHR updates typically sync to TeamOhana within ~3 hours

  • Once the sync completes, any new or renamed departments will appear as Unclaimed in TeamOhana

Why Do I Need to “Claim” Departments?

HRIS data can change frequently, and automatic updates can cause confusion or duplicates.
Claiming gives you full control to decide how BambooHR changes should map to your existing TeamOhana structure.

Unclaimed departments are not active until you take action.

How to Claim New or Updated Departments

  1. Wait for the BambooHR sync to complete (usually ~3 hours)

  2. Go to Settings → Org Setup → Departments

  3. Open the Unclaimed tab

  4. Review the incoming department(s) from BambooHR

  5. Choose one of the following actions:

    • Claim as New
      Use this if the department is truly new

    • Claim as Existing
      Use this if the department was renamed in BambooHR and should map to an existing TeamOhana department

  6. Confirm your selection

Once claimed, the department becomes active and available across TeamOhana.

What Happens After a Department Is Claimed?

  • The department becomes available for:

    • Headcount creation

    • Filters and reporting

    • Approval workflows

    • Access controls

  • If the department was renamed:

    • Existing headcounts, workflows, and reports will reflect the updated name

Important Follow-Up Steps

After claiming new or updated departments, we recommend:

  • Reviewing approval policies to ensure the new department is covered

  • Reviewing user access if department-level permissions are in place

Users with division-level or “all departments” access will automatically inherit access to newly claimed departments.

Need Help?

If you have additional questions, please reach out to support@teamohana.com