SupportPartners
Understand partner types, delegations, permissions, and how partners fit into the Human Cloud platform.
A partner is any external party that helps a buyer manage their solution sourcing workflow on Human Cloud. Partners act on behalf of buyer organizations — they don't use Human Cloud for their own purchasing needs, but rather manage the process for their clients.
Think of it like an accountant who manages your finances: you give them access to your accounts, they do the work, and you review the results.
An individual user with delegated access to one or more buyer organizations. A solo consultant signs up with their own email, gets invited by a buyer, and works independently.
Example: A freelance HR consultant who helps three mid-size companies evaluate and select workforce solutions.
An organization on Human Cloud whose members get delegated access to buyer organizations. The firm itself has a presence on HC, and individual team members within the firm receive delegated access.
Example: A workforce strategy consultancy whose team manages the solution sourcing process for enterprise clients.
A solution vendor that also manages buyer accounts — for example, an MSP (Managed Service Provider) that sets up their clients' accounts and helps them evaluate complementary solutions.
Example: An MSP that onboards new clients by building shortlists of staffing vendors and running RFI processes on their behalf.
| Buyer | Partner | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Sources solutions for their own organization | Manages sourcing for other organizations |
| Data ownership | Owns their shortlists, briefs, and engagements | Creates resources scoped to the buyer's organization |
| Access | Full access to their own org | Permissioned access defined per buyer org |
| Identity | Always themselves | Can appear as the buyer, as themselves, or anonymously |
| Account | Standard HC account | Standard HC account + one or more delegations |
The relationship between a partner and a buyer organization is called a delegation. A delegation defines:
A single partner can have delegations with multiple buyer organizations, and a single buyer organization can have multiple partners — each with independent permissions.
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | Invitation sent but not yet accepted by the partner |
| Active | Partner has accepted and can act on behalf of the buyer |
| Revoked | Access has been permanently removed by the buyer |
Permissions control what actions a partner can perform for a buyer organization. They are additive — each permission grants full access to that capability.
| Permission | What it grants |
|---|---|
| Shortlists | Create, edit, delete, and publish shortlists. Add, remove, and reorder solutions within shortlists. |
| Briefs | Create, edit, send, and close briefs/RFIs. View responses and quotes from solutions. |
| Notes | Create and manage personal and shared notes attached to solutions, shortlists, and briefs. |
Permissions the partner does not have result in the corresponding UI being hidden entirely (not just disabled).
Identity mode controls how the partner appears to solutions when acting on behalf of a buyer:
| Mode | What solutions see | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| As Buyer (default) | The buyer's org name and contact info. Partner is invisible. | Buyer wants to appear as if they're managing directly. |
| Transparent | Partner's name + "on behalf of [Buyer Org]" | Buyer is fine with solutions knowing a partner is involved. |
| Anonymous | "Anonymous Buyer" | Full anonymity for both buyer and partner. |
Data visibility controls what the partner can see of the buyer's existing resources:
| Level | What partner can see | Use case |
|---|---|---|
| Full | All buyer org resources (shortlists, briefs, engagements) | Trusted partner managing entire process. |
| Partner-created (default) | Only resources this partner created | Scoped engagement; buyer keeps internal work private. |
| None | Nothing existing — can only create new | Partner is starting fresh; buyer will review output. |
A partner working for multiple buyers switches between buyer contexts — similar to switching Slack workspaces. The Partner Switcher dropdown in the header lists all buyer organizations the partner has active delegations with.
When a partner selects a buyer context:
When no buyer context is selected, the partner sees their own personal account.
When a partner creates a shortlist for a buyer, it starts as a draft. Drafts are only visible to the partner until they choose to publish. Publishing makes the shortlist visible to the buyer's team.
This gives partners a private workspace to curate and organize before sharing their work.
Whether the buyer can peek at drafts before publishing is controlled by the buyer_can_see_drafts setting on the delegation (defaults to off).
When a buyer revokes a partner's delegation: