BambooHR
Keep people, managers, departments and time off in MuchSkills up to date from BambooHR. You create an API key in BambooHR, paste it into MuchSkills with your subdomain, and choose who to sync.
- Who
- A MuchSkills Owner or Admin, with a BambooHR user who has full administrator access
- How it connects
- Self-serve, in Settings › Integrations
- Sync
- Every 5 hours, or on demand with Sync Now
- Access
- Read-only
How to
Before you start
- In MuchSkills: the Owner or Admin role.
- In BambooHR: a user with full administrator access, to create the API key. The key acts as that person: if they cannot see the employee directory, a field or time off, MuchSkills will not receive it either, and BambooHR shows no error.
- Your subdomain. The part of your BambooHR web address before .bamboohr.com.
- Decide who to sync first. Start small: one department. You can widen the scope afterwards.
- Tell people first. Starting the sync invites everyone in scope to create their MuchSkills profile.
- Check work emails. Fill in Work Email in BambooHR for everyone you sync, using the address each person signs in to MuchSkills with. When Work Email is empty, BambooHR hands over the home email instead.
Steps
In MuchSkills
- Open the BambooHR connector. Go to Team/Org › Settings › Integrations and click Connect on Bamboo HR. Keep this tab open: you paste two values into it as you go.
Team/Org › Settings › Integrations › Connect on Bamboo HR.
In BambooHR
- Copy your subdomain. Sign in to BambooHR. Your web address has the form https://yourcompany.bamboohr.com. Type only yourcompany into Bamboo subdomain in MuchSkills. Leave out https://, .bamboohr.com and anything after it.
- Open API Keys. Signed in as a full administrator, click your name or profile picture to open your account menu and choose API Keys. The option only appears if your access level allows it. BambooHR's guide to API keys
- Create the key. Click Add New Key, enter MuchSkills as the API Key Name and click Generate Key. Copy the key straight away and paste it into Bamboo API Key in MuchSkills. BambooHR shows the key only once.
- Check what the key can see. The key's user needs view access to the employee directory, to time off, and to these fields for everyone you sync: first name, last name, work email, job title, supervisor, department, location, photo, status and employment status. A full administrator has all of this.
Back in MuchSkills
- Connect. With both values filled in, click Connect. The status changes from Waiting for credentials to Api Connected.
The Bamboo HR form: 1 subdomain, 2 API key, 3 Connect. Do not sync certain users sits below it.
- Choose who to sync. Sync by department lists the departments MuchSkills found in BambooHR, with the number of people in each. All of them are ticked at first. With the toggle on, only people in the ticked departments are synced: click a department to tick or untick it. Turn the toggle off to sync everyone in BambooHR.
- Leave out certain people (optional). Under Do not sync certain users, turn the toggle on. In Enter employment status value here, type an employment status exactly as it appears in BambooHR, for example Contractor or Intern, and press Enter. Add as many values as you need. People with those statuses are not synced.
- Start the sync. MuchSkills shows how many employees will be synced and invited. Click the number to see their names and email addresses. When the list looks right, click Start Sync.
Check it worked
- The connector shows Data is synced every 5 hours, with Last successful sync and Next scheduled sync.
- On Team/Org › Settings › Integrations, the Bamboo HR tile shows Connected.
- Team/Org › Members lists the people you synced.
- The people you synced have an invitation to create their profile.
Benefits
What you get
- No manual upkeep. New starters, leavers, manager changes and department moves reach MuchSkills on their own.
- Availability you can plan with. Time off from BambooHR shows in Team Builder and My Circle, so capacity and resource planning reflect who is actually around.
- Managers see their people. Each manager's direct reports appear in My Circle as soon as the sync runs.
Important to know
Important to know
What syncs. Only email and name are required. Sync as many of the other fields as you can, because each one makes MuchSkills more useful.
| Field in MuchSkills | Needed | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Required | Profiles, search, every view |
| Required | Matching and sign-in | |
| Job title | Recommended | Profiles, roles, Discover |
| Department | Recommended | Departments, filters, Sync by department |
| Manager | Recommended | Reporting lines, My Circle, reports |
| Status | Recommended | Deactivating leavers |
| Employment status | Recommended | Do not sync certain users |
| Location | Recommended | Filters |
| Profile photo | Recommended | Profiles and the org chart |
| Time off | Recommended | Availability in Team Builder and My Circle. Dates and percentages only |
The key sees what its user sees. Api Connected only confirms that the key and subdomain work. It does not confirm that the key can read your employees, fields or time off. If data is missing, check the access of the user who created the key first.
How often. Every 5 hours. Sync Now runs it immediately and Pause Sync stops it until you start it again.
Profile photos. Photos are saved when an account is created and are not updated by the automatic sync. Click Sync Now to pull in changed photos.
Time off arrives as dates and percentages. Time off types and reasons are never imported.
Leavers are deactivated, not deleted. When someone becomes inactive in BambooHR, or drops out of the synced scope, MuchSkills deactivates them at the next sync. Their project history and certificates stay on record, which matters for audits.
Departments are matched by name. When HR renames or adds a department in BambooHR, the new name appears unticked under Sync by department. Tick it, or turn the toggle off to sync everyone.
Unticking a department off-boards its people. MuchSkills asks you to confirm in Confirm Deactivation, and you cannot undo it from that screen.
One people sync at a time. If another HR connector is already syncing, Start Sync asks Are you sure? and warns This action will stop your current integration sync. Click Yes, connect only if you want BambooHR to take over.
Data MuchSkills does not accept. These are blocked when data arrives and never stored: age or date of birth, salary or other compensation data, performance ratings, and political, religious or health data.
Common errors
Troubleshooting
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Failed to fetch employees. Please check the integration settings and try again., while the status says Api Connected | Almost always permissions: the key's user cannot see the employee directory or the fields | Create a new key from a full administrator account, paste it in and click Update Credentials. This fixes most cases |
| Invalid Credentials | The key was copied wrongly, or the subdomain field holds the full web address | Enter only the subdomain, paste the key again and click Update Credentials |
| Employees sync, but time off does not show | The key's user has no view access to time off | Give that user view access to time off, or create the key from a full administrator account |
| Missing Attributes in API | The key's user cannot see a field, or some people lack a value, usually work email | Fix the access or fill in the missing values named in the message, then click Sync Now |
| No Start Sync button after connecting | No one is in scope: no department is ticked, or everyone is left out by status | Tick at least one department, or check the values under Do not sync certain users |
| People from one department are missing | The department was renamed or added after set-up, so it is not ticked | Tick it under Sync by department, then click Sync Now |
| People you meant to leave out still appear | The employment status value does not match BambooHR exactly | Copy the value from the employment status list in BambooHR and enter it again |
| Authentication failed multiple times. Please verify your Bamboo HR credentials and permissions are correctly configured. | The key was deleted, or the account that created it lost access | Create a new key from a full administrator account and click Update Credentials |
| A photo has not changed | Automatic syncs do not update photos | Click Sync Now |
Frequently asked questions
Who in BambooHR should create the API key?
A user with full administrator access. The key acts as the person who creates it, so it only sees the employees, fields and time off that person can see. Use an account that will stay in place, not someone who may leave.
What exactly is our subdomain?
The part of your BambooHR web address before .bamboohr.com. If you sign in at https://yourcompany.bamboohr.com, enter yourcompany. Do not paste the full address.
Can we start with a few people before syncing everyone?
Yes, and we recommend it. Keep Sync by department on and tick one small department. Check the result in MuchSkills, then tick more departments, or turn the toggle off to sync everyone.
Can we leave out contractors or interns?
Yes. Turn on Do not sync certain users and enter the employment status values to leave out, such as Contractor or Intern, exactly as they appear in BambooHR.
How often does the sync run?
Every 5 hours. An Owner or Admin can run it at any time with Sync Now on the connector.
What happens when someone leaves?
When a person becomes inactive in BambooHR, or falls outside the synced departments, MuchSkills deactivates them at the next sync. They disappear from everyday views, and their project history and certificates stay on record. Nothing is deleted.
Does MuchSkills write anything back to BambooHR?
No. MuchSkills only reads the people in scope and their time off, and never changes anything in BambooHR.
Do employees get an email when we start?
Yes. Starting the sync invites everyone in scope to create their MuchSkills profile, so tell people about MuchSkills before you click Start Sync.
Do you import the reasons for time off?
No. MuchSkills takes only the dates and the percentage of time away. Time off types and reasons, such as sick leave, are never imported.