> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.exterview.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Foundation

> Set up the foundation of an Exterview configuration by defining your organization structure, competencies, and what a strong candidate looks like for the role.

<Info>
  **Applies to Enterprise.** Foundation is part of the full configuration set,
  guided during Enterprise onboarding. Starter and Growth don't configure this.
  See [Configure Overview](/configure/overview).
</Info>

## Purpose

Foundation sets the org structure every evaluation is scored against. You define it once, in business language, and it shapes everything downstream.

## What Foundation covers

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Departments" icon="building">
    Your top-level organizational structure.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Job Families & Roles" icon="briefcase">
    Your role library: the roles candidates are evaluated for.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Bands" icon="layer-group">
    Seniority and responsibility levels.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Skills Taxonomy" icon="list-check">
    Technical, functional, behavioral, and leadership skills.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Responsibilities" icon="clipboard-check">
    What strong candidates should own at each level.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## What Foundation informs

Once set, Foundation becomes the context for the rest of the platform:

| Downstream         | How Foundation shapes it                                             |
| ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Role creation      | Roles are built from your job families, bands, and responsibilities. |
| Candidate matching | Candidates are matched against your defined structure.               |
| Evaluation design  | Rubrics are grounded in the skills and responsibilities you defined. |
| Scoring context    | Every score is interpreted against the right band and role.          |
| Reporting          | Reports roll up along your departments and job families.             |
| Governance routing | Reviews and access route by department and region.                   |

## The hyper-calibration layer

Foundation is where Exterview builds your organization's **hyper-calibration layer**, the scoring context unique to your organization. It's set up once, taken through a staging journey, and then frozen, so results stay consistent and reproducible.

```mermaid theme={null}
%%{init: {'theme':'base','themeVariables':{'primaryColor':'#EEF2FF','primaryBorderColor':'#4B6CFE','primaryTextColor':'#0F172A','lineColor':'#64748B','clusterBkg':'#F8FAFC','clusterBorder':'#E2E8F0'}}}%%
flowchart LR
  A([Capture]) --> B([Stage]) --> C([Freeze]) --> D([Compound])
  D -.-> A
```

<Steps>
  <Step title="Capture">
    Your competencies, role definitions, bands, and responsibilities are
    captured in business language.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Stage">
    The calibration is assembled and validated in staging before it goes
    anywhere near live hiring.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Freeze">
    Once signed off, the calibration baseline is frozen to your organization.
    Every evaluation is scored against it the same way, every time.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Compound">
    Post-hire outcomes (D30, D60, D90) feed back in, so your calibration
    sharpens over time, and stays yours.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  This layer is **Enterprise-only** and unique to your organization. It is never
  pooled into a shared model. Starter and Growth run on standard and light
  department-based configuration without it.
</Note>

Next, [Operations](/configure/operations) turns this foundation into how evaluations actually run.

## FAQs

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Do we need technical knowledge to define this?">
    No. Foundation is described in business language: your departments, roles, levels, and skills.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can we change the structure later?">
    Yes, through change control. Changes that affect scoring re-baseline to a new
    version.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does our structure stay private?">
    Yes. Your Foundation is specific to your organization and never shared or used to build a shared model.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Operations Setup" icon="gears" href="/configure/operations">
    Turn structure into how evaluations run.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Governance Setup" icon="shield-halved" href="/configure/governance">
    Control access, privacy, and oversight.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>