What does the Role Hierarchy control?

See the answer below.

Profile controls what a user can do (read, create, edit, delete) with records.

The Role Hierarchy in Salesforce is a feature that controls access to records in the system based on the level of authority or seniority of users. It defines the reporting structure of an organization, allowing users at higher levels in the hierarchy to view and access records owned by users at lower levels.

In other words, the Role Hierarchy determines which users can view or modify the records of other users, based on their position in the hierarchy. This is achieved by assigning roles to users, and then defining the relationships between those roles.

The Role Hierarchy is particularly useful for organizations with a complex structure, where there are multiple departments and levels of management. By using the Role Hierarchy, administrators can ensure that users only have access to the records that they need to do their jobs, while also providing managers with the ability to view and modify the records of their subordinates.

In addition to controlling record access, the Role Hierarchy also plays a key role in other Salesforce features, such as sharing rules and approval processes. For example, sharing rules can be created to extend access to records beyond the Role Hierarchy, while approval processes can be configured to require approval from a user at a certain level in the hierarchy.

Overall, the Role Hierarchy is a critical feature in Salesforce that enables organizations to manage record access and maintain data security in a flexible and customizable way.