How to Set Up Departments and Locations in Ashby

Introduction

If you're implementing Ashby, one of the first steps to optimize your recruiting operations is configuring your departments and locations. This foundational Ashby setup step unlocks better job organization, smoother hiring workflows, and accurate reporting. Whether you’re a growing startup or a distributed enterprise, setting this up properly ensures you get the most out of your applicant tracking system.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through exactly how to configure departments and locations inside Ashby, provide best practices from our Certified Ashby Experts, and show you how to use these configurations to manage user permissions and power custom reporting.

TL;DR

A well-structured Ashby configuration improves job management, workflows, and analytics
Set up departments and locations early to align your hiring structure with team needs
Certified Ashby Experts can help implement scalable configuration strategies across growing teams

Need an Ashby Expert? Our team can assist with account configuration, feature implementation, and maximizing the Ashby ATS experience for your entire hiring team.

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Why Department and Location Configuration Matters

Setting up departments and locations within Ashby provides several key benefits:

Clear Organizational Structure – Ensures job postings are categorized under the appropriate department and location
Efficient Recruiting Workflows – Helps recruiters and hiring managers easily navigate open roles by team and geography
Enhanced Reporting and Analytics – Enables department- and location-specific hiring insights
Permission and Access Control – Assigns access levels based on department and location, ensuring the right people see the right information

Step 1: Setting Up Departments in Ashby

Accessing the Department Configuration Section

Log in to your Ashby account
Navigate to Admin Settings from the dashboard
Click on Departments & Locations
In the Departments section, click Add Department

Creating a New Department

Enter Department Name – Example: Engineering, Sales, Marketing
Add a Description (Optional) – Define the department’s function
Assign a Department Manager – Choose the responsible hiring lead
Click Save to confirm

Editing or Removing a Department

Edit: Select from the list, update the fields, click Save
Delete: Ensure no jobs are linked, then click Remove

Department Best Practices:
✔ Use consistent naming across departments for cleaner filtering
✔ Assign at least one admin or manager to every department
✔ Review and update department structures quarterly as your team scales

Ashby Expert Tip: When creating departments, think ahead. You can streamline reporting and workflow visibility if you group roles logically – for example, instead of lumping all technical hires into "Engineering," consider sub-departments like "Frontend," "Backend," or "DevOps."

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Step 2: Configuring Locations in Ashby

Adding a New Location

Go to Admin Settings > Departments & Locations
In the Locations section, click Add Location
Enter Location Name – e.g., Remote, New York Office, San Francisco HQ
Specify Location Type:
- Physical Office
- Remote
- Hybrid
Click Save to finalize

Assigning Locations to Jobs

When creating or editing a job, go to Jobs > Create Job
Fill in the job details
In the Location field, select from the dropdown
Click Save to confirm

Locations Best Practices
✔ Use consistent location names to avoid duplicates
✔ Assign job-specific locations for better reporting
✔ Keep location records up to date with office moves and remote policy changes

Step 3: Managing User Access by Department and Location

Assigning Users to Departments

Go to Admin Settings > Users & Permissions
Select a user
Under Department Assignment, select the appropriate team(s)
Click Save

Configuring Department-Based Permissions

Navigate to Permission Groups under Users & Permissions
Create or edit a group
Define access levels tied to department (e.g., view jobs, manage candidates)
Assign users accordingly
Click Save

Ashby Expert Tip: Role-based access can get complicated quickly. Before assigning users, create a matrix that outlines who needs visibility into what data. This will help avoid bottlenecks and unintentional data exposure. Need help?

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Limiting Access Based on Location

Under Permission Groups, create a new Location-Based Access Policy
Assign recruiters or hiring managers to specific locations
Limit visibility to jobs, candidates, and reports by region
Click Save

Best Practices for Limiting Access:
✔ Ensure managers only see data tied to their teams
✔ Use location-based permissions to protect data integrity
✔ Perform quarterly audits of permissions to maintain security

Step 4: Leveraging Departments and Locations for Reporting

Ashby’s reporting engine becomes much more powerful when departments and locations are properly configured.

Generating Department-Specific Reports

Navigate to Reports > Custom Reports
Choose the Hiring Metrics report type
Apply the Department Filter
Click Generate Report

Creating Location-Based Reports

Go to Reports and select your report type
Use the Location Filter to sort data by office or region
Customize additional filters as needed
Click Generate Report

Location Reporting Best Practices:
✔ Monitor time-to-hire by department to improve speed
✔ Track performance by office to identify top-performing regions
✔ Use reports to justify resourcing decisions and support leadership visibility

Final Thoughts

Configuring departments and locations isn’t just about system setup – it’s foundational to how your team scales recruiting. By setting these fields up with intention, you enable accurate reporting, efficient workflows, and appropriate data access.

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Looking for help with Ashby configuration or system optimization? TalentLink’s Certified Ashby Experts are here to support you through implementation, configuration, and ongoing strategy.