Claude connectors for teams: what MCP means for handing off work

The short answer

A Claude connector lets Claude use tools outside the chat, through MCP (Model Context Protocol). On Team and Enterprise plans, an Owner adds a connector for the whole organisation and each member connects with their own account. On Team, members can request one. A handoff connector uses the same mechanism to pass work to a colleague.

What a connector is

MCP is an open protocol for connecting AI assistants to tools and data. A connector is an MCP server that sits on the internet. It publishes a short list of tools. Each tool has a name, a description and the inputs it accepts. Claude reads that list and decides when a tool would help with what you asked.

In practice, that means you can say “find the latest contract” or “create a task for Tom” in a normal chat. Claude does the work in the other system instead of telling you where to click. A connector can only do what its tools allow.

For teams, the important part is that the tools act on behalf of a person. Who that person is, and what they are allowed to see, decides what Claude can reach.

How connectors work on Team and Enterprise

On a company plan, connectors are managed at the organisation level:

• The Owner adds a connector for the organisation. On Team and Enterprise, adding a directory connector is the Owner’s job, not every member’s.
• Members connect with their own account. Once the connector is added, each person signs in to the other service themselves. Claude then works with that person’s access, not a shared admin login.
• Team members can request one. On the Team plan, a member who wants a connector the organisation does not have yet can press Request instead of adding it.
• Claude can suggest them. Directory connectors are eligible for Suggested Connectors: Claude can propose one in a conversation when it is relevant to the task. The suggestions are ranked by usage.

Directory connectors are available on any paid Claude plan. On Team and Enterprise, the Owner is the person who adds them.

For a team lead, this gives a simple routine. Agree who the Owner is. Decide which connectors the company actually needs. Tell people which ones to connect and why. Review the Request list from time to time, so useful tools do not wait for weeks.

Directory vs custom connectors

Directory connectors are listed in Claude’s Connectors Directory. To get there, the builder submits the connector with a documentation link, a privacy policy link, a support contact and a test account for the reviewers. The server must be a remote HTTPS server that uses OAuth 2.0 for sign-in. Every tool needs a title and must be marked either as read-only or as destructive. After an automated scan, the connector is listed as Community.

Custom connectors are remote MCP servers added directly by their address, without a directory listing. Builders test their server as a custom connector before they submit it. Companies also use this route for internal tools or for products that are not listed yet.

The protocol is the same in both cases. The difference is who has looked at it before you. With a directory connector, the builder has filled in the listing, and you can read its documentation, privacy policy and tool list before you add it. With a custom connector, all of those checks fall on you.

What to check before you enable one

A connector that only reads is a small decision. A connector that writes, sends or deletes is a bigger one, because a mistake travels to someone else. Go through this list with the vendor or with your own developers before the Owner adds anything.

If a vendor cannot answer one of these in writing, treat that as the answer.

Example: a handoff connector

Most connectors bring data into the chat. A handoff connector does the opposite: it moves work out of your chat and into a colleague’s. Colle is one. Its connector gives Claude a small set of tools:

• Send a handoff to up to five colleagues, or to a team space where one member picks it up.
• Check the inbox when you ask “what did I get?”, with who sent each item and by when.
• Return a handoff with a reason, or mark it done.
• Recall a handoff you sent to the wrong person.
• Search the cases you can access, including files by their description.
• Record a fact on a case, such as a deadline, an amount or a decision, so the next person sees the current value and its history.

In a chat, it sounds like this:

Claude finds James in your company, writes a summary, records the key facts and attaches the file. James gets a notification with who sent it, what it is and by when. He accepts it in one click and asks his own assistant to continue. He does not even need Claude: a handoff sent from Claude can be picked up in ChatGPT.

How Colle answers the checklist

• Data location: hosted in the EU (Frankfurt), on encrypted disks, with daily backups.
• Who sees what: work sent to a person is seen only by the sender and the recipients. Work sent to a space notifies its members and one of them picks it up. Cases in a closed space are visible only to its members.
• Read vs write: the inbox and search tools only read. Send, return, done, recall and recording a fact change something.
• Own account: each person adds the connector to their own Claude and signs in. Search covers only the cases that person can access.
• Audit: a tamper-evident audit log, hash-chained, that administrators can export.
• Other people’s text: a colleague’s text is marked as untrusted and scanned, and Claude is warned.
• Training and DPA: Colle does not use personal or customer data to train AI models. A DPA is available.
• Deletion: an administrator can export or delete company data at any time. Customer data is deleted within 30 days after the subscription ends.

One more point people often miss: Anthropic is not Colle’s sub-processor. Claude processes your conversation under your own agreement with Anthropic. More detail is on the security page and the Colle for Claude page.

FAQ

Who can add a connector for the whole organisation?

On Claude Team and Enterprise plans, the Owner adds directory connectors for the organisation. Members then connect with their own account.

Can a Team member add a connector on their own?

On the Team plan, a member who wants a directory connector the organisation does not have can use the Request button. The Owner decides whether to add it.

Is a connector the same as sharing a chat?

No. Claude’s Share button creates a read-only snapshot of a chat up to the moment you share it. Attached files are not included, and on Team and Enterprise plans only people in your organisation can open the link. A connector does work in another system; a handoff connector gives a colleague the task, the files and a status.

How do we set up Colle?

During the pilot we set it up with you on one call. An administrator creates your company and invites people by email; each person adds the connector to their own Claude. The steps are on how it works.

What does Colle cost?

€15 per active person per month, or €12.50 billed yearly, excluding VAT. People who only receive notifications do not pay. You can try it free for 7 days without a card. See pricing.