Automating leave alerts in Zoho Cliq

Automating leave alerts in Zoho Cliq



The constant ebb and flow of employee absences can disrupt projects and hinder productivity. With Zoho Cliq's leave alert automation, you can easily keep your team informed. Real-time notifications can be sent to team chats, ensuring that everyone stays connected.

This enhances communication and workflow management by making all team members aware of colleague absences, while minimizing miscommunication and potential scheduling conflicts.


Pre-requisites:  

Before beginning to script the code below, we must create a connection in Cliq with Zoho People. Once a connection is created and connected, you can use it in Deluge integration tasks and invoke URL scripts to access data from the required service.

Create a Zoho People default connection with a unique name "getemployeeinfo" with the scope - ZOHOPEOPLE.leave.ALL and ZOHOPEOPLE.dashboard.ALL

ⓘ Document for reference : Connections in Cliq 

How to obtain the bot unique name?

 

To use the postToChannelAsBot deluge task, the bot's unique name is essential, and the bot must be a participant in the channel.
  1. Create a bot with channel participation settings enabled to allow users to add the bot to any channel, send messages, listen to messages, and auto-follow threads.
  2. Click on the bot to open its details on the right-hand side. Locate the bot's incoming endpoint, and find the unique name of the bot in the URL after /bots.


Example : If the API Endpoint is:  https://cliq.zoho.com/company/242424/api/v2/bots/leavealerts/message
The unique name of the bot is 'leavealerts'.
  1. Add the bot to the preferred channel of your choice where you want the alerts to be posted.
ⓘ Document for reference :  Adding participants to a channel

Implementation :

Setting up the Zoho Cliq Scheduler

  • Open Zoho Cliq, click your profile picture, select Bots & Tools, and navigate to Schedulers.

  • Under Schedulers, create a new scheduler with the recurring period set to weekly and choose the days from Monday to Friday.

  • Specify the time name, description, and time of execution according to your needs.

ⓘ Document for reference : Schedulers  



Sample Leave alerts script

After providing the scheduler details, click "Save and Edit Code" to add the script below.
  1. currentDate = zoho.currentdate;
  2. currentDateString = currentDate.toString("dd-MMM-yyyy");
  3. info currentDateString;
  4. note = "";
  5. isRestrictedHoliday = "false";
  6. try
  7. {
  8. holidayResponse = invokeurl
  9. [
  10. url :"https://people.zoho.com/people/api/leave/v2/holidays/get?shift=General&employee=1&from=" + currentDateString + "&to=" + currentDateString + "&dateFormat=dd-MMM-yyyy"
  11. type :GET
  12. connection:"getemployeeinfo"
  13. ];
  14. info holidayResponse;
  15. holidayResponse = holidayResponse.toMap();
  16. if(holidayResponse.containsKey("data"))
  17. {
  18. holidayResponseData = holidayResponse.get("data").toList();
  19. if(holidayResponseData.size() > 0)
  20. {
  21. currentDayStatus = holidayResponseData.get(0);
  22. isRestrictedHoliday = currentDayStatus.get("isRestrictedHoliday");
  23. if("true".endsWithIgnoreCase(isRestrictedHoliday))
  24. {
  25. name = currentDayStatus.get("Name");
  26. note = "\nOptional holiday - " + name;
  27. }
  28. }
  29. }
  30. }
  31. catch (ex)
  32. {
  33. exceptionString = "exception occurred during restricted holiday check:  " + ex.toString();
  34. info exceptionString;
  35. }
  36. response = invokeurl
  37. [
  38. url :"https://people.zoho.com/api/v2/leavetracker/leaves/records?from=" + currentDateString + "&to=" + currentDateString + "&dateFormat=dd-MMM-yyyy&approvalStatus=[APPROVED]"
  39. type :GET
  40. connection:"getemployeeinfo"
  41. ];
  42. //info response;
  43. members = response.get("records");
  44. leaveMembers = "";
  45. membersSize = 0;
  46. for each member in members
  47. {
  48. membersSize = membersSize + 1;
  49. leaveMembers = leaveMembers + "[" + member.get("Employee") + "](zohoid:" + member.get("ZUID") + ")\n";
  50. }
  51. info "leave members : " + leaveMembers;
  52. if(leaveMembers.length() > 0)
  53. {
  54. data = {"card":{"theme":"7","title":"Team mates on leave (" + membersSize + ")" + note,"thumbnail":"https://thesoftwarepro.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/outlook-out-of-office.jpg"},"text":leaveMembers.trim(),"bot":{"name":"Leave Alerts","image":"https://www.pngfind.com/pngs/m/220-2200933_portfolio-alert-bot-by-symphony-alert-bot-hd.png"}};
  55. info data;
  56. }
  57. else
  58. {
  59. data = {"card":{"theme":"7","title":"Team mates on leave 0" + note,"thumbnail":"https://thesoftwarepro.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/outlook-out-of-office.jpg"},"text":"All Present Today.","bot":{"name":"Leave Alerts","image":"https://www.pngfind.com/pngs/m/220-2200933_portfolio-alert-bot-by-symphony-alert-bot-hd.png"}};
  60. }
  61. zoho.cliq.postToChanneAsBotl("CHANNEL_UNIQUE_NAME","BOT_UNIQUE_NAME",data);

Customize and deploy

 

Utilizing the data received from the invoke URL task (i.e., leavetracker/leaves/records GET request), construct a leave report card with Cliq's message builder and post it in the preferred chat or channel.

 

How to obtain the channel unique name?

  1. Go to the channel where you want the alerts to be posted.

  2. Hover over the three dots in the top right corner of the channel and select "Channel Info."

  3. In the Channel Info menu, go to the "Connectors" section to find the Channel Unique Name.





Troubleshooting :

  • Ensure your Zoho People pricing plan includes access to employee leave details.  

  • Verify whether the necessary administrative permissions are granted. Limited access can result in "Permission Denied" errors.

Empower automated workflows and stay ahead of absences

Automating leave alerts in Zoho Cliq boosts efficiency by minimizing disruptions from employee absences. Teams can benefit from real-time leave updates, allowing them to adjust plans, reassign tasks, and maintain the continuity of the project schedule.