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Navigation Guide

Learn how to navigate Sparko efficiently and find what you need quickly.

Main Navigation

Sidebar Navigation

The left sidebar has eight top-level entries (what you see depends on your permissions):

Home                   # Your personalized dashboard
My Hub                 # Approvals, reviews, tasks, updates, announcements & handbooks
People                 # Directory, org chart & (for recruiters) hiring tabs
Career                 # Skills, certifications & career framework
Time & Leave           # PTO & timesheets
Engagement             # Recognition, surveys & reflections
Performance            # OKRs, reviews, 1-on-1s & (for managers) compensation tabs
Analytics              # Cross-company reporting (managers and admins)

Recruiting lives as a labeled tab group inside People, and Compensation as a labeled tab group inside Performance. Only users with the matching permissions see those groups. My Profile and Admin Settings are in the avatar menu at the bottom of the sidebar.

Switching products

Your company can use more than one Sparko product: People (HR), Legal (contracts and vendor risk) and Books (bookkeeping, see the Books guide). The name under the Sparko logo shows which one you are in.

  1. Click the Sparko logo at the top of the sidebar
  2. Pick a product from the list

Each product has its own sidebar. Your profile, notifications and settings stay the same. Search and Ask Sparko cover People, so they appear on People pages only.

Books is in beta. Until Sparko turns it on for your company, the switcher lists it as Accounting · coming soon.

Starting a trial. If your company does not use People or Legal yet, admins who manage billing see Start trial next to it. A trial lasts 14 days with the Business feature set included, and needs no card. Everyone else sees a page asking them to contact an admin.

When a plan ends. You can still open the product and read everything in it. Changes are paused until an admin picks a plan under Plans and billing.

Collapsing the Sidebar

  • Open Appearance from your avatar menu and set Sidebar layout to Collapsed
  • Hover over the icon rail to peek at module names
  • On phones and small windows the sidebar collapses automatically and opens from the menu button in the top bar

Module Sub-Navigation

Each module has its own tab strip in the top bar. For example, Performance includes:

  • Dashboard
  • Goals
  • Roadmap
  • Reviews
  • Peer Surveys
  • 1-on-1s
  • Compensation group (managers and HR): Comp Hub, Salary Bands, Payroll Run

Your Home dashboard

Home opens on the Ask Sparko bar, with your daily check-in below it.

If you are still onboarding, a "Finish setting up" card sits above the hero with your remaining tasks. Continue opens your onboarding portal. Remind me later puts the card away for the rest of the session; it comes back at your next sign-in.

Under those come the cards you can rearrange: Team updates, Company updates, My goals, Your team, Upcoming events, Coaching prompts, Time off, My awards, and My interviews. You only see the cards that apply to you: My interviews appears if you conduct interviews, Your team if you manage people.

Your stat tiles are hidden until you ask for them. Click the stats icon in the blue bar at the top of Home to show or hide them.

Team and Company updates

Both update cards have a row of tabs across the top with a count on each, so you can see at a glance where the activity is. Team updates filters by All, OKRs, Kudos, Milestones, Roles, and Needs you. Company updates has its own set. A tab with nothing in it is disabled rather than empty.

Rows carry an action when there is one to take, and only then:

  • +1: add a clap to a colleague's recognition.
  • Schedule: a 1:1 is overdue; opens the scheduling window with that person filled in.
  • Ack: acknowledge a handbook update that needs your sign-off.
  • Nominate: put a colleague forward for the award named in the row.
  • Watch: follow an announcement, handbook or hiring plan and get notified when it changes. The button reads Watching once you do.

My interviews

If you conduct interviews, this card lists your upcoming and just-finished ones. Rows colour-code by urgency: an interview happening right now, and a finished interview whose scorecard is more than a day overdue. A finished row carries an inline 1 to 5 rating that saves a draft scorecard on the spot; Full scorecard opens the interview to finish it properly.

Rearranging the cards

  1. Click Customize layout above the card grid.
  2. Each card gets a small drag handle at its top-left corner and a dashed outline.
  3. Drag the cards into the order you want.
  4. Click Done to finish.

Your order is remembered on that browser.

Your order is saved in the browser, so it follows you on that device and browser rather than across your account. Clearing site data resets Home to the default order.

Rows balance themselves: cards fill each row two or three across depending on how many you have, so there is never a half-empty row. The Insights card is the one exception. It always takes a full row of its own, slotted nearest to where you dragged it. The hero and the check-in always sit in the same place because they change with your role and the time of day.

Pinned announcements

A company announcement can be pinned, which floats it to the top of Home for everyone it targets until it is unpinned or expires. Pinning is for the handful of things everyone genuinely has to see. Pin everything and nothing stands out.

Once you have read it, Dismiss clears it from your Home for good. That is saved to your account, so it stays gone on every device.

Header Navigation

Global Search

The search bar at the top lets you find anything:

Search Examples:

  • Employee names: "John Smith"
  • Job titles: "Software Engineer"
  • Candidates: "candidate:jane"
  • OKRs: "okr:revenue"
  • Documents: "handbook"

Search Tips:

  • Use quotes for exact phrases
  • Use prefixes to filter by type
  • Press Ctrl/Cmd + K to open search

Finding people by name: anyone who can open the Employee Directory finds anyone in it by name, and managers find people outside their own team too. A result shows the name, title, department and work email the directory already shows. Opening the person shows only what your role allows on their profile.

Notifications

Click the bell icon to view notifications:

  • Red badge: Unread notifications
  • Categories: Approvals, mentions, updates
  • Mark as read: Click notification or "Mark all read"

Profile Menu

Click your avatar/name for:

  • View my profile: Open your employee profile
  • Profile Settings: Personal preferences
  • Help & Support: Open this help center
  • Admin Settings: Company configuration (admins only)
  • Sign Out: Log out of Sparko

Page Structure

Standard Page Layout

Most pages follow this structure:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Breadcrumbs (Home > Module > Page)          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Page Header                                 │
│ ├── Title                                   │
│ ├── Description                             │
│ └── Action Buttons (Create, Export, etc.)   │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Filters & Search (if applicable)            │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                             │
│                                             │
│              Main Content                   │
│                                             │
│                                             │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Pagination (if applicable)                  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs show your location and enable quick navigation back to parent pages.

Action Buttons

  • Primary Button (colored): Main action (e.g., "Create New")
  • Secondary Buttons: Additional actions (e.g., "Export", "Filter")

Working with Data

Tables

Interactive tables allow you to:

  • Sort: Click column headers to sort
  • Filter: Use filter dropdowns or search
  • Select: Check rows for bulk actions
  • Paginate: Navigate between pages

Cards

Data cards show summary information with quick actions:

  • Click the card to view details
  • Use action buttons for common tasks
  • Hover for additional options

Forms

When entering data:

  • Required fields: Marked with asterisk (*)
  • Validation: Errors shown inline
  • Auto-save: Some forms save automatically
  • Cancel: Discard changes and go back

Common Actions

Create New Items

Multiple ways to create:

  1. Click "+ Create" button on list pages
  2. Use Ctrl/Cmd + N shortcut
  3. Ask the AI Assistant

Edit Items

  1. Navigate to the item
  2. Click "Edit" button
  3. Make changes
  4. Click "Save"

Delete Items

  1. Navigate to the item
  2. Click "Delete" or trash icon
  3. Confirm deletion in dialog

Note: Some items can only be archived, not deleted.

Export Data

Most list views support export:

  1. Click "Export" button
  2. Choose format (CSV, Excel, PDF)
  3. Select columns to include
  4. Download file

Mobile Navigation

On smaller screens:

  • The sidebar hides and opens from the menu button in the top bar
  • Wide tables scroll sideways; card lists stack one card per row
  • Dense list rows show a compact summary, with full details one tap away
  • Buttons and inputs grow to touch-friendly sizes

Accessibility

Sparko supports accessibility features:

  • Keyboard Navigation: Tab through elements
  • Screen Readers: ARIA labels on all controls
  • Color Contrast: Meets WCAG 2.1 AA standards
  • Focus Indicators: Visible focus states

Appearance

Open Appearance from your profile avatar at the bottom of the sidebar. Your choices are saved to your account and follow you across devices.

  • Theme: Light, Dark, or Auto. Auto follows your device's system setting. Light and Dark override it.
  • Sidebar: expand or collapse the sidebar, and show or hide the section labels.
  • Density: Comfortable or Compact. Compact tightens the row spacing across lists and tables so more fits on screen.

Getting Help

In-Page Help

  • Info icons: Hover for tooltips
  • Help links: Context-sensitive documentation
  • Empty states: Guidance when no data

AI Assistant

Access the AI Assistant:

  • Press Ctrl/Cmd + K (or /) and type your question
  • Open My Hub > Sparko AI for the full chat page, and its Runs view for hires in progress
  • Type your question naturally

The AI can help with:

  • Finding features
  • Completing tasks
  • Explaining processes
  • Answering HR questions

Still need help? Reach us at [email protected].

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