Using BambooHR actions in action flows



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By connecting the action builder to external systems, such as BambooHR, admins
can integrate Zendesk with external systems in automated workflows, improving
collaboration and maintaining a seamless experience across multiple platforms.
Note: The
steps associated with external systems in action flows are referred to collectively
as external actions.

This article contains the following topics:
Connecting BambooHR to action builder
Using BambooHR actions in action flows
Recipe: Automatically creating a time off request in BambooHR after it's approved in a Zendesk ticket




Connecting BambooHR to action builder

Before you can include external actions in your action flows, you must connect the
action builder to the external system.
When connecting to external systems for use in action flows, the following best practices are recommended:
All external actions performed by an action flow are attributed to the user who connected the
external system. Therefore, it's a best practice to use a dedicated service
account rather than personal credentials when connecting to each external
system.
All integrations request access to necessary scopes. However, it's important that you review and validate the scopes before authorizing the connection to the external system.
When managing credentials for API key-based tools, such as OpenAI, it's best to store keys in a secure vault or credential manager.



To connect action builder to BambooHR
In Admin Center, click
Apps and integrations in the sidebar, then select Actions > Action
flows.

Create or edit an action flow.
Open the step sidebar.
Under External actions, click BambooHR.
Click Connect.
Follow BambooHR's prompts to authenticate and complete the connection. The
following scopes are required: Claims - read,
Employee - read/write, Time Off -
read/write, Reports - read,
Company - read, Miscellaneous - read meta
data.

Note: All external actions performed by an
action flow are attributed to the user who connected the external
system. Therefore, it's a best practice to use a dedicated service
account rather than personal credentials when connecting to each
external system.



After you've connected to the system, you'll see an indicator that it's connected and
details about the instance you're connected to, as well as the actions available for
BambooHR.



Using BambooHR actions in action flows

BambooHR action steps can be used to add and manage employee details and time off
requests in BambooHR.
The following BambooHR actions are available:
Get employee
details
Add employee
Update employee
Request time off




Getting details about an employee from BambooHR

Use the Get employee details action to retrieve the personal and
employment data for an individual employee.
This action has the following inputs and outputs:










Variables




Inputs

Employee ID or Work email
address



Output
The employee's personnel data








Adding an employee to BambooHR

Use the Add employee action to add a new employee to BambooHR.
This action has the following inputs and outputs:










Variables




Inputs

First name, Last name,
Work email address Optional:
Middle name, Preferred
name, Employee number,
Job title,
Department,
Division,
Location, Hire date,
Gender, Home email
address, Work phone
number, Mobile phone number,
Status



Output

Employee ID and any variables specified
in the input








Updating an employee in BambooHR

Use the Update employee action to update details for an existing employee
in BambooHR.
This action has the following inputs and outputs:










Variables




Inputs

Employee ID Optional: First
name, Middle name,
Last name, Preferred
name, Employee number,
Job title,
Department,
Division,
Location, Hire date,
Gender, Home email
address, Work phone
number, Mobile phone number,
Status



Output
The employee's updated personnel data








Requesting time off in BambooHR

Use the Request time off action to submit a time off request for an
employee in BambooHR.
This action has the following inputs and outputs:










Variables




Inputs

Employee ID, Start
date, End date,
Type
Note: Dates must be formatted as
YYYY-MM-DD and in the BambooHR account's
timezone.



Output
Confirmation of submitted request









Recipe: Automatically creating a time off request in BambooHR after it's approved in a Zendesk ticket

The following example action flow automatically submits a time off request in
BambooHR when a Zendesk ticket related to the request is approved.
Such an action flow would consist of the following steps:

Add an action flow trigger with
the following details:
Click Add trigger.
In the step sidebar, under Zendesk, click
Tickets.
Click Properties and select Ticket tags changed.
Click Add condition.
Under Variable, click Ticket tags changed and select
Tags (added).
Set the Operator to Contains at least 1 of.
Under Value, enter approved.


Add a step to look up ticket details:
In the action builder, beneath the action flow trigger, click the
Add step icon ( ).
In the step sidebar, under Zendesk actions, click Look up
ticket.
Under Ticket ID, click into the field and then click
Select a variable instead.
Within the variable menu, select Ticket tags changed as the
step that outputs the variable you want to use, and then select
Ticket ID.


Add a step to look up user details about the
ticket assignee:
In the action builder, click the Add step icon ( ).
In the step sidebar, under Zendesk actions, click Look up
user.
Under User ID type, select Zendesk user ID.
For User ID, click Add variable.
Within the variable menu, select Ticket tags changed as the
step that outputs the variable you want to use, and then select
Requester ID.


Add a step to retrieve the employee's data in BambooHR:
In the action builder, click the Add step icon ( ).
In the step sidebar, under External actions, click
BambooHR and then select Get employee
details.
Under Employee email, click Add variable .
Within the variable menu, select Look up user as the step
that outputs the variable you want to use, and then select Work
email.


Add a step to submit the time off request in BambooHR:
In the action builder, click the Add step icon ( ).
In the step sidebar, under External actions, click
BambooHR and then select Request time off.
Under Employee ID, click Add variable.
Within the variable menu, select Look up user as the step
that outputs the variable you want to use, and then select Work
ID.
Under Start date, click Add variable.
Within the variable menu, select Look up ticket as the step
that outputs the variable you want to use, and then select the
Start date.
Under End date, click Add variable.
Within the variable menu, select Look up ticket as the step
that outputs the variable you want to use, and then select the
End date.


Note: To make the start date and end date information available for use
as variables in the action flow, these must be configured as ticket
fields.

Add a step that sends a direct message in Slack to
the ticket requester's supervisor that contains the information you
collected for the time off request:
In the action builder, click the Add step icon ( ).
In the step sidebar, under External actions, click
Slack and then select Post direct message.
Under Email, click Add variable.
Within the variable menu, select Get employee details as the
step that outputs the variable, and then select Supervisor's
email.
Under Message, enter the message you want to send to the
employee's supervisor. Include relevant information as variables
from the Look up ticket and Look up user steps, respectively, to
streamline their ability to solve the ticket. In the following
example, all variables are
italicized: Hi Employee details > Supervisor Name,

A time off request has been submitted in BambooHR for Requester > Name and requires your attention. Please respond as soon as possible.

Time off request summary:
- Start date: Ticket > Start date
- End date: Ticket > End date
- Notes: Requester > Notes



Click Save.
Click Test to test the action flow.
Click the options menu ( ) and select Activate to begin using the
action flow to automatically submit a time off request in BambooHR when a
Zendesk ticket related to the request is approved.




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