A warehouse running on Deputy doesn't put its staff in front of a desktop PC. The team clocks in on a kiosk or phone, works shifts, and has often never been enrolled in anything security-related - which makes frontline staff the weakest and least-trained part of most programmes. Deputy already knows who is employed, where they work and their start date. Connecting Deputy to Cyber Aware turns every new employee into an enrolled learner without anyone filing a support ticket.
TL;DR
- Deputy's Zapier app offers New Employee and New Colleague triggers.
- Deputy triggers on Zapier are polling-based - Zapier checks roughly every 15 minutes on free plans.
- Cyber Aware connects via Zapier webhooks or a direct API; the published integration list is Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zapier and API.
- Every synced new hire lands in the default training schedule automatically, welcome email included.
- Deputy announcements can carry monthly course reminders - point Cyber Aware webhooks at Deputy's Create Announcement action.
- Test one synthetic employee before switching on the live roster.
Why this matters
Frontline and shift-based staff are the hardest to reach with training: they don't sit at a desk, they share devices and they often have no company mailbox - yet phishing targeting through SMS and messaging apps hits them harder than any office desk. An enrolment process that assumes email access quietly excludes exactly the people who click most.
Deputy's developer documentation describes employee management through its public API: employees can be listed with GET /api/v1/resource/Employee, queried up to 500 records at a time with POST /api/v1/resource/Employee/QUERY, and added through the supervise endpoint for syncing new starters. Every Deputy customer runs on their own subdomain, and authentication is handled with a permanent token or OAuth 2.0. On Zapier, Deputy's triggers are polling-based rather than instant, so plan for enrolment within the polling interval rather than in real time.
Who this is for
Businesses and service providers running frontline rosters in Deputy - warehouses, hospitality, retail, childcare, community services - who want security training to extend to everyone with a roster, not just office staff.
Before you start
- A Deputy account with API access. Deputy's developer docs show the options: a permanent token for a single integration, or OAuth 2.0.
- A Zapier account on a plan that supports multi-step Zaps.
- A Cyber Aware partner account with API or Zapier webhook access.
- The gotcha: Deputy's Zapier triggers - including New Employee - poll for changes rather than firing instantly, roughly every 15 minutes on free plans. Design the automation for that delay.
Step 1 - Connect Deputy to Zapier
- In Zapier, create a new Zap and choose Deputy as the trigger app.
- Pick the New Employee trigger, or New Colleague if you want to key off the people view instead of the employee record.
- Connect the account and run a test - Deputy returns sample employee records with name, email and workplace location.
Expected result: the test step returns a sample employee with an email. If no sample appears, add a synthetic test employee in Deputy and wait one polling cycle - the trigger only sees records created after the Zap is live.
Step 2 - Create the learner in Cyber Aware
- Add an action step to the same Zap: Cyber Aware, using the API or webhooks integration.
- Map first name, last name, email and workplace to a new Cyber Aware learner under the matching client, and choose the default training schedule.
- Save and test the action with the sample record.
Expected result: a test learner appears in Cyber Aware with a welcome email already sent, in the default schedule. From there the programme runs itself: monthly courses auto-add, due and overdue reminders fire on schedule, completed courses issue branded certificates under your brand.
Step 3 - Reach staff without company email
Deputy's employee records include email addresses, but a share of frontline staff genuinely have no work mailbox. Cyber Aware's Auto Enrol handles them three ways:
- Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace sync where a mailbox exists.
- CSV upload for roster lists exported straight out of Deputy.
- Signup links for the remaining staff - they self-enrol, often on a shared work device.
Step 4 - Use Deputy as the reminder channel
- Point Cyber Aware's outbound webhook at a second Zap whose action is Deputy's Create Announcement action - Location, Employees and Message are the required fields.
- Fire it on the monthly course launch so a short "new course is live" message lands on the Deputy newsfeed the same day.
- Because Human Risk Reporting tracks overdue completions, schedule the announcement right after report generation - reminder first, leaderboard second.
Verification and a clean rollout
- Create a synthetic test employee in Deputy on a quiet day.
- Wait one polling cycle, then confirm the learner appears in Cyber Aware and the welcome email lands.
- Run one announcement through the webhook Zap and check it shows in Deputy.
- Switch live rosters on one location at a time.
Troubleshooting
- The Zap doesn't fire on a new employee. Polling delay - wait a full 15-minute cycle before diagnosing.
- Authentication errors. Deputy runs one subdomain per customer and each connection is created against that subdomain; Deputy's developer documentation covers Permanent Token and OAuth 2.0 authentication.
- The Cyber Aware action errors on create. A mapped field is empty - usually the email. Make email mandatory on Deputy records so every new employee can be enrolled.
- Duplicate learners. The staff list exists in both Deputy and a past CSV import. Remove the manual import and let the sync own the roster.
- Missing people in Cyber Aware. Deputy's own API caps query results at 500 records per response, so anything larger than one cycle needs pagination or a fresh query each month.
What to do next
Enrolment is the on-ramp; the programme itself is security awareness training - story-driven courses, quizzes, leaderboards and branded certificates on a monthly cadence. Frontline staff usually meet phishing simulations through text and messaging apps more than email; set the baseline sim to run in those channels, not just email.
FAQ
Can Cyber Aware sync with Deputy?
Yes - Deputy's Zapier triggers feed Cyber Aware's API or webhooks, and Cyber Aware creates the matching learner under the right client. Deputy's public API handles the case where a direct integration is preferable.
Does the sync need HR or the roster manager to do anything after setup?
No. Once an employee is added in Deputy, enrolment follows on the next polling cycle - welcome email, default schedule and reminders included.
How fast is enrolment after the record is created?
Within the polling interval - roughly every 15 minutes on free Zapier plans, faster on paid plans. Deputy's Zapier triggers are polling-based.
Can the training go to staff who have no work email?
Yes - CSV upload and signup links in Cyber Aware's Auto Enrol are built for exactly this.
Can Deputy announce the monthly course?
Yes. Deputy's Create Announcement action on Zapier posts to a workplace's newsfeed; point it at Cyber Aware's outbound webhook for a hands-off monthly reminder.
Is the training branded?
Yes - portals, notification emails and certificates carry your brand, not Cyber Aware's.
One last thing
Frontline staff turnover runs far higher than office turnover, so re-check the sync every quarter: employees who left the roster but were never terminated in Deputy keep counting as active learners. The gap assessment toolkit includes the enrolment checks worth running.