Last week we released the Workflow feature and blogged on the details of that release. In this post, we'll show you how to build a Workflow in four steps. Give it a try and then, if it's helpful, share this post with fellow staff members and others.
Step One - Map it. You've got some process you want to enact or series of communication pieces that you want to send out. Initially, it's a general idea or hodge-podge of thoughts. So, start with the discipline of identifying the goal of the workflow. Get it down to a short sentence and write it out. ex. The goal of our 1st time guest workflow is to get people to come back as 2nd time guests. Now that you've got a destination, map out the route you want your workflow to take. Include as many of the following elements in any order you want as often as you want.
- What emails or texts do you want to send?
- Who do you want to prompt with a note to make a personal contact?
- What member profile attributes will need updated?
- Which group(s) should a person be added to or removed from?
- Are there other workflows they should be unenrolled from when doing this one?
- How much time (minutes, hours, days) do you want between each of these?
Step Two - Resource it. Now that you have the road map, it's time to create the stops along the way. These are your workflow resources. Specifically these are emails and texts that need written and attributes and groups that need to be identified or created.
- Emails - Click the Communicate tab then Email Settings then Email Templates. Create the actual emails you want to use and save as a template. Use as a place holder to add in the person's name at that point.
- Texts - Communicate tab then Text Message Templates. Create the text messages you want to use. You can use in texts as well.
- Attributes - If there are member attributes you want inputted or changed in the workflow, double-check that the attribute exists or create it (Settings / Members / Member Attributes).
- Groups - If the workflow adds or removes people from groups, create the groups (Groups / Create) or make sure they are created already.
Step Three - Build it. Now that you have the destination and stops along the way, it's time to put the workflow together. Click on the Communicate tab then click Workflow.
- Review the sample workflow as an example.
- Click the blue button "+ Create Workflow".
- Give it a name and description. Include the goal sentence in the description.
- Click "Enrollment Groups" to select the group(s) you want to apply this Workflow to. People are only enrolled in the Workflow when they register for this group. Review the Notes regarding Triggering a Workflow in last week's blog for details.
- Click the + icon to add the first action or resource from your workflow map. It might be an email or text. Or it could be unenrolling someone from a previous workflow.
- Add in the next resource or set the "Wait for ... " time frame before the next action takes place.
- Continue adding resources or actions to construct the full workflow map.
Step Four - Start it. Once the workflow is finished, click the "Back to Workflows" link. The workflow is defaulted "Inactive" initially. To start it, simply click the word "Inactive" in red under the Status column. If people are already in the Enrollment Group(s), you will need to go to the group, Select All the people, then under the green Action button click "Enroll in Workflow." From then on everyone who registers for or is added to the group is automatically enrolled in the workflow.
Once launched, you can click on a workflow name to review the workflow results. Click the People link in the header to see the people enrolled in the workflow. Click the History link in the header to see all the activity in the workflow. Periodically review these reports to see the results of your workflow. Congratulations, you are now a discipleship travel agent.