How to show BambooHR employee info in Zendesk

By Jake Marsh · Updated

To show BambooHR employee information in Zendesk tickets, create or pick a BambooHR user whose access level covers only the fields you'll show, sign in as that user, click your name > API Keys > Add New Key, name it "Staffwell for Zendesk" and copy it. Install Staffwell and enter your BambooHR subdomain and BambooHR API key. The employee's record then shows in the ticket sidebar.

Steps

  1. Choose the user the key belongs to. A BambooHR API key sees exactly what its user sees. Create or pick a user whose access level covers only job information, employment status, hire and termination dates, work contact and the Assets tab.
  2. Create the key. Signed in as that user, click your name > API Keys > Add New Key, name it "Staffwell for Zendesk" and copy it.
  3. Find your subdomain. It's the part before .bamboohr.com in your BambooHR address. For https://acme.bamboohr.com, enter acme.
  4. Install Staffwell from the Zendesk Marketplace and fill in BambooHR subdomain and BambooHR API key. The key is a secure setting; Zendesk sends it only to BambooHR.
  5. Pick the fields for Fields every agent sees and Extra fields for HR roles, and set Who sees the HR fields.
  6. Open a ticket from an employee and check their record loads.

What agents can see from BambooHR

Staffwell fieldWhat it shows
statusEmployment status, with left, leaving, on leave, not started and out today warnings
title, department, manager, locationJob information
start_date, employment_typeHire date and employment type
work_phone, timezoneWork contact details
time_offTime off today and for the next two weeks, with leave types masked
equipmentWhat the Assets tab has on record

By default, every agent sees status, title, department, manager, location and time off. Start date, employment type, work phone, time zone and equipment are HR-only until you change the lists.

Keep the key narrow

Staffwell asks only for the fields the agent in front of it may see, but the key's user is the outer limit. Giving that user a narrow access level means even a misconfigured field list can't reach anything else. Staffwell never shows pay, ID numbers, birth dates, home addresses, benefits or health data, whatever the settings say.

Troubleshooting

What you seeFix
"did not accept the API key"The key was deleted or mistyped. Paste the current key. BambooHR also pauses a key after repeated bad attempts; wait and try again.
BambooHR subdomain refusedEnter only the part before .bamboohr.com.
A field is emptyThe employee has no value, or the key's user can't see that field.
No match for the requesterThey wrote in from an address BambooHR doesn't hold. Type their work email into Employee email and press Find.
"Your role cannot see employee records"Add the role or group to Who can see the panel.

What it costs

Staffwell is $499 a month per Zendesk account on the Standard plan, for any number of agents, with HiBob, Deel and BambooHR all included, billed monthly by Zendesk. It has a 14-day free trial; Zendesk asks for a card at install. The Staffwell documentation has the full settings table.

Staffwell

Employee profiles from HiBob, Deel or BambooHR on the ticket. You pick the HR fields agents see. $499 a month per Zendesk account.

Install StaffwellAbout StaffwellDocumentation

Questions

Does the BambooHR key need admin access?

No, and it shouldn't have it. The key sees what its user sees, so a user with a narrow access level is the safer choice.

Can agents edit BambooHR records from Zendesk?

No. Staffwell only reads. It never changes anything in BambooHR.

Can agents see equipment assigned to an employee?

Yes, from BambooHR's Assets tab, if the key's user can see it and equipment is in one of the field lists.

Can I save what the agent saw on the ticket?

Yes. Add to ticket as internal note lets the agent tick the fields to include, confirm, and add them as an internal note with the staffwell_note tag.

More Staffwell guides

More Zendesk guides