# Ways to add members

Compare every way to add members to RandomCoffee, from a CSV file to Slack, Microsoft Teams, your HRIS, SCIM and the API.

import Callout from '@components/Callout.astro';

RandomCoffee offers several ways to add people to your workspace. Some are one-off actions you take yourself, others keep your member list in sync with a tool you already use. This page helps you pick the right one.

## Compare the methods

| Method | Set up by | When members are added or updated | Plans | Learn more |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CSV file | Admin | Once, each time you upload a file | All plans | [Add members manually or by CSV](/admin/members/add-members-manually-or-by-csv/) |
| Manually | Admin | Once, each time you add someone | All plans | [Add members manually or by CSV](/admin/members/add-members-manually-or-by-csv/) |
| Invite link or email invitation | Admin, then each person signs up | When each person accepts the invitation | All plans | [Invite members](/admin/members/invite-members/) |
| Slack | Admin (installing the app may require a Slack admin) | Before each session of a Slack program, or on demand | All plans | [Sync members from Slack or Microsoft Teams](/admin/members/sync-from-slack-or-teams/) |
| Microsoft Teams | Admin (installing the app may require a Microsoft Teams admin) | Before each session of a Teams program, or on demand | All plans | [Sync members from Slack or Microsoft Teams](/admin/members/sync-from-slack-or-teams/) |
| HRIS | Admin, with your IT or HR team for the connection | Every 24 hours, or on demand | Pro, Enterprise | [Sync members from your HRIS](/admin/members/sync-from-hris/) |
| SCIM provisioning | Admin enables it, your IT team configures your identity provider | In real time | Pro, Enterprise | [Provision members with SCIM](/admin/members/provision-with-scim/) |
| API | Your developers | Each time your system calls the API | Enterprise | [API documentation](/documentation/api/) |

<Callout type="note">
  On the Free plan, a program only matches the first 20 people of its audience, whatever the way you added them.
</Callout>

## How to choose

- **A few people, or a first test**: add them manually, or upload a CSV file. You can also share an invite link and let people sign up themselves.
- **Your team works in Slack or Microsoft Teams**: connect it. Your programs then reach people where they already work, and the people of a channel or a team are synced automatically.
- **You want rich profile data for your matching rules** (department, city, start date...): connect your HRIS. Each field you import becomes a category.
- **Your IT team manages access from an identity provider** (Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, OneLogin...): use SCIM provisioning.
- **You want to automate imports from your own systems**: use the API.

## Combine several methods

You can use several methods at the same time. RandomCoffee recognizes a person by their email address: someone added from two sources is one single member, not a duplicate.

For example, you can sync your members from Slack or Microsoft Teams, and connect your HRIS to enrich their profiles with HR data. You can also upload a CSV file to add people or categories that your HRIS does not contain.

## When someone leaves

Each method handles departures differently:

| Method | What happens when a person leaves |
| --- | --- |
| CSV file, manually, invite link | Nothing changes automatically. [Deactivate or remove the member](/admin/members/remove-members/) yourself. |
| Slack, Microsoft Teams | A person who leaves the channel or the team is no longer part of the program's audience at the next sync. They stay in your member list. |
| HRIS | The sync neither deletes nor deactivates the people who left your HRIS. Deactivate or remove them yourself. |
| SCIM provisioning | When the person is deactivated or removed in your identity provider, they are deactivated in RandomCoffee. |
| API | Nothing changes automatically. |