Create Roles: Build Your Hierarchy Step by Step

Before you start#

Read Understanding the Role Hierarchy first. Sketch your org chart on paper — that sketch becomes your role structure. Build roles top-down: create the CEO role first, then manager roles, then individual contributor roles. Each role needs its parent to exist before you can select it.

Step 1 — Open Settings#

Click the Settings icon in the left sidebar.

Step 2 — Go to Roles#

Under Security Control, click Roles. The page shows a tree view of your existing hierarchy.

Step 3 — Click New Role#

Click New Role. Start with your top-level role (e.g. CEO or Owner).

Step 4 — Enter the role name#

Type the role name exactly as it appears in your org — for example CEO, Sales Manager, or Sales Representative. This name appears in user assignments, reports, and sharing rules.

Step 5 — Set the parent role#

Choose the role directly above this one in your hierarchy. For the CEO, leave this empty (top level). For Sales Manager, select CEO. For Sales Representative, select Sales Manager.

Step 6 — Mark as active and Create Role#

Mark the role as active and click Create Role. After all roles are created, go to Settings → Users and assign each user their correct role.

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For a typical small sales team, three levels is enough: CEO → Sales Manager → Sales Representative. You can always add more levels later without affecting existing data.

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After creating your role hierarchy and assigning users, every user will automatically see only the records they should — based on where they sit in the tree.

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