Automating Zendesk Custom Field Updates with an External Excel Sheet

Tools: Python | Zendesk | Pandas | Excel | Azure Functions | Sharepoint

Managing custom fields in Zendesk is often an essential, yet labor-intensive, aspect of maintaining accurate and up-to-date data. This is especially true for fields that require frequent changes, such as those tied to HR data, including position titles or job classifications.

When multiple departments need to coordinate changes, the process can quickly become complex, leading to delays, miscommunication, and potential data inconsistencies.

This project originated from a recurring need within our organization: HR departments regularly updated position-based data, and ensuring that Zendesk reflected these changes required manual intervention from multiple teams. This process was not only time-consuming but also prone to human error, risking data mismatches across systems.

With this script, updates are as simple as modifying an external Excel file. The script reads changes from the file and automatically updates the corresponding custom fields in Zendesk. This streamlined approach means that end users have full control over updates, guaranteeing consistent data parity across systems while reducing the administrative burden.

The script has been a game-changer for maintaining up-to-date field options, minimizing errors, and reducing the communication overhead between departments. By automating a traditionally manual process, it has provided significant time savings and improved overall data integrity.

This project is available for modification and use under the MIT license. Feel free to explore it on GitHub: zd_field_update.