HR to ITSM
Dayforce to Zendesk integration: employees as users and tasks on hire and termination
With an integration between Dayforce and Zendesk, every employee from Dayforce is a user in Zendesk, in the organisation of their org unit, and a hire or departure in Dayforce sets up a task for the internal service desk. Zendesk has no Dayforce app for employees; KoppelHet reads the Dayforce REST API and writes through the Zendesk API.
What the integration does
Organisations that use Zendesk as internal service desk for IT, HR or facilities and have Dayforce as HR system often only know employees in Zendesk once someone emails. Users without an organisation land in the wrong view, and former employees can simply keep opening tickets.
- KoppelHet asks Dayforce for hires, transfers and terminations within the agreed period.
- For each employee KoppelHet fetches name, work email and org unit with the effective date as reference date.
- The Zendesk user is created or updated on the XRefCode, without a verification email.
- A task with the start date goes to the group that handles onboarding.
- A termination produces an offboarding task; after the last day KoppelHet suspends the user.
What to watch for with Dayforce and Zendesk
- Zendesk has no app that creates Dayforce employees as users. KoppelHet reads the Dayforce REST API with a user that only reads, and uses the Zendesk Users, Organization Memberships and Tickets APIs.
- Zendesk finds an existing user by email address or external_id. KoppelHet puts the Dayforce XRefCode in external_id, so a new work email after a name change updates the same user.
- Dayforce can search on a range of hire dates. KoppelHet creates a new colleague in Zendesk a few weeks before the start, without a verification email, so the onboarding task can be in their name without them receiving mail.
- Dayforce can filter employees by org unit. Only the units belonging to this service desk are included, each as an organisation in Zendesk, so employees of a subsidiary with its own service desk stay out.
- Overwriting the organization_id field removes all other memberships in Zendesk. On a transfer KoppelHet requests the employee with the effective date and only moves the membership on that day, through the memberships API.
- A suspended user can no longer sign in and their tickets are suspended too. KoppelHet uses the termination date from Dayforce and only suspends after the last day; we do not delete, because that cannot be undone in Zendesk.
- Zendesk allows five update requests per minute per user. Dayforce can limit changes to work assignment, employment status and contact details, so a pay change produces no update in Zendesk.
This integration is also part of joiner, mover, leaver.
How we build and run it
- The integration runs on the KoppelHet platform, hosted in a data centre in the EU.
- Every sync and every error is visible in the functional log; on an error your administrator is notified.
- A change that cannot go through is not half-applied but queued for another attempt.
- KoppelHet is ISO 27001 certified. Data travels encrypted and stays on the platform no longer than needed.
- After go-live we manage the integration and adjust it when your process changes.
- The integration fits next to your existing integration layer. Only the fields in the design are transferred; the platform keeps no register of its own.
Implementation and price
This is not an app you switch on. We build the integration for your organisation on our platform, with building blocks we reuse on every project. So it is custom work that does not start from scratch.
A consultant prepares the intake and analyses both systems. We then record the mapping and exceptions field by field, test in the test or acceptance environment and go live at a moment you choose. Costs are a one-off amount for the setup and a monthly amount for platform, monitoring and support.
Frequently asked questions
Do external customers see these employees?
No. Employees are added as end users in their own organisations; you control visibility in Zendesk.
What if someone returns?
Then KoppelHet finds the suspended user by XRefCode and reactivates them, with their old tickets.
Does pay data go to Zendesk?
No. KoppelHet only requests name, contact details, work assignment and org unit.
Technical details for IT
For those who want to know how it works under the hood: APIs, fields and sources used.
- Dayforce through the REST API at /api/{clientName}/v1/Employees with FilterHireStartDate, FilterTerminationStartDate, OrgUnitXRefCode and FilterUpdatedStartDate with filterUpdatedEntities; then Employees/{XRefCode} with expand (WorkAssignments, Contacts) and ContextDate.
- Zendesk through the Users API (create_or_update on external_id with skip_verify_email; suspended), the Organization Memberships API and the Tickets API with type task, due_at, group_id and external_id. Create Or Update User is limited to five requests per minute per user.
Which fields are transferred
The key fields. The full mapping is agreed per customer.
| Field in Dayforce | Field in Zendesk | Notes |
|---|---|---|
XRefCode | external_id | |
FirstName, LastName | name | |
Werkadres uit Contacts | email (primair) | |
OrgUnit van de primaire werkplek | Organisatielidmaatschap | |
Job en Location | user_fields | |
Aannamedatum of laatste dag | Taak met due_at | |
Beëindiging | suspended |
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