Zoho People
Bring your people data from Zoho People into MuchSkills. Your Zoho People administrator gives MuchSkills read-only access, and we map the fields and run the sync. The set-up is part of your MuchSkills implementation.
- Who
- Your Zoho People administrator, with our CTO
- How it connects
- Custom set-up, part of your implementation
- Sync
- Every 5 hours, or on demand with Sync Now
- Access
- Read-only
How to
How it works
MuchSkills reads from Zoho People on a schedule. New starters, leavers, manager changes and department changes arrive at the next sync, with no manual work on either side. Nothing is written back to Zoho People.
Before you start
- A Zoho People administrator on your side, or your Zoho People implementation partner.
- A list of who should be in MuchSkills: everyone, or a selection by country, company, department or worker type.
- Your field names. Zoho People installations name custom fields differently, so have your field list to hand for the technical session.
Steps
In Zoho People
Your Zoho People administrator will recognise these steps. They use the Zoho API Console, where Zoho issues API access for your organisation. Zoho People documentation
- Note your Zoho data centre. Check the domain you sign in to Zoho with, for example accounts.zoho.com in the US or accounts.zoho.eu in the EU. Zoho keeps API access separate for each data centre.
- Sign in with the right account. Use a Zoho People administrator, or a dedicated user who can see every employee in scope. The access is issued in that user's name.
- Create a Self Client. Open the Zoho API Console at https://api-console.zoho.com, click GET STARTED, hover over Self Client and click CREATE NOW, then OK. The Client ID and Client Secret appear under the Client Secret tab.
- Generate a code with read-only scopes. On the Generate Code tab, enter
ZOHOPEOPLE.forms.READ,ZOHOPEOPLE.leave.READin Scope, choose a Time Duration, add a Scope Description and click CREATE. If asked, select Zoho People and your organisation's portal. The code expires after the time you chose, so generate it at the moment agreed with MuchSkills. - Limit who is included, if needed. To share only some people, create a custom view of employees filtered by location, department or legal entity, and note its name. Form and field names are listed under Settings › Developer Space › Zoho People API › API reference.
- Gather the connection details. Your data centre, the Client ID, the Client Secret, the generated code and the name of any custom view.
With MuchSkills
- Send us the connection details. The credentials and connection details from the steps above, your field list and your scope, through a secure channel we agree.
- Join the technical session. Your Zoho People administrator and our CTO map the fields and test the connection together.
- Check a first sync. We sync a handful of people or one department. You check their names, managers, departments and any tags in MuchSkills.
- Widen the scope. We switch the sync on for everyone in scope. From then on it runs every 5 hours.
Check it worked
- Team/Org › Members lists the people in scope.
- The people in scope have an invitation to create their MuchSkills profile.
- Managers see their direct reports in My Circle.
Benefits
What you get
- Zoho People stays the source of truth. People data is entered once, in Zoho People, and MuchSkills follows.
- A skills layer on your HR system. Skills, certifications and project history sit next to the people records you already trust.
- Clean data for planning. Reporting lines, departments and tags arrive ready for filtering, gap analysis and Team Builder.
Important to know
Important to know
What syncs. Only name and email are required. Sync as many of the other fields as you can, because each one makes MuchSkills more useful.
| Field | Needed | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| First and last name | Required | Profiles, search, every view |
| Required | Matching and sign-in. Must be the address people sign in with | |
| Job title | Recommended | Profiles, roles, Discover |
| Manager | Recommended | Reporting lines, My Circle, reports. MuchSkills maps it from Zoho People automatically |
| Department | Recommended | Departments and filters |
| Employee status | Recommended | Deactivating leavers |
| Location or country | Recommended | Filters and scoping |
| Profile photo | Recommended | Profiles and the org chart |
| Worker type | Recommended | Filtering, for example employee or contractor |
| Absence | Recommended | Availability in Team Builder and My Circle. Dates and percentages only |
| Other fields | Optional | Any field can become a filterable tag, for example legal entity, team or cost centre. Agree them with us first |
Data MuchSkills does not accept. These are blocked when data arrives and never stored, even if the source includes them: age or date of birth, salary or other compensation data, performance ratings, and political, religious or health data.
Who is included. Limiting what the integration user can see in Zoho People is the preferred way, so nothing outside your scope leaves your system. The fallback is a country filter in MuchSkills; records outside it are ignored and not stored. Your security or compliance team decides which fits your rules.
Leavers are deactivated, not deleted. Project history and certificates stay on record.
Our IP addresses. MuchSkills always connects from the same two addresses: 13.51.77.53 and 16.170.107.61. If Zoho People or your network limits access by IP address, add both to the allow list.
Common errors
Troubleshooting
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Some people are missing | They are outside what the integration user can see in Zoho People, or outside the scope filter | Check the integration user's permissions and the scope |
| Managers are missing or wrong | The manager is outside the scope, or has no manager set in Zoho People | Check that every manager is in scope and that reporting lines are filled in in Zoho People |
| A person appears twice | Their Zoho People email differs from the address they signed up with | Align the email in Zoho People, then contact support |
| The connection is refused | Zoho People or your network limits access by IP address | Add 13.51.77.53 and 16.170.107.61 to the allow list |
| The sync stopped | The credentials expired, or the integration user was disabled or lost permissions | Renew the access in Zoho People and send us the new details securely |
Frequently asked questions
Zoho People is not listed in MuchSkills, or shows as Contact us. Can we still connect it?
Yes. Zoho People is connected as a custom set-up rather than from a form, because every installation is configured differently. Email support@muchskills.com or use the chat, and we book the technical session.
Do we need middleware or an integration platform?
No. MuchSkills reads directly from Zoho People over HTTPS. Your team only creates the read-only access described on this page.
Can we leave out some countries, companies or groups?
Yes. The preferred way is to limit what the integration user can see in Zoho People, so only people in scope ever leave your system. If that is not possible, MuchSkills can filter by country as records arrive and ignore the rest without storing them.
Can we test with a few people first?
Yes. The first sync can be limited to a handful of people or one department. You check the result, then we widen the scope. There are no separate test tenants.
How often does it sync?
Every 5 hours. An Owner or Admin can also run a sync at any time with Sync Now.
What happens to people who leave?
They are deactivated at the next sync, never deleted. Their project history and certificates stay on record, which matters for compliance.
Do you import absence reasons?
No. If you sync absence, MuchSkills takes only the dates and the percentage of time away. Reasons such as sick leave are never imported.
How do we send the credentials safely?
Through a secure channel we agree with you in advance, such as a password manager share. Never by plain email.