A workflow is a container for students who match specific conditions at that point in time.
As things change over time, those students tend to get automatically moved off one workflow and onto another. (Often one student will get moved from workflow to workflow within one occurrence, and this is the best way to ensure that your students receive the correct touchpoints.)
Each workflow automatically sends communications, called Touchpoints, to those students. The screenshot below shows a typical workflow "Offer Communications" with three email touchpoints:
(Notice above that the three email touchpoints themselves each have different conditions so any students on this workflow will only get sent the correct email, based on their Application Status):
Students always get added to the right workflow
Only students who belong to that occurrence get added to its workflows. They get added when something changes, ie: they book onto an open day.
Let's say that you have a season of open days running in Pre-Applicant Open Days (POD). You want each student to automatically receive touchpoints based on where they are in their POD booking journey. At any one time, each workflow will have different students on them.
Workflow A "Invited" - is set up to invite 600 students to book, and then to remind them to book, with a few follow-up email touchpoints.
Workflow B "Booked" - is there to thank the 350 students who did book, and to keep them informed about the open day, including times, travel, etc. This will usually be emails, SMS and maybe postal items as the open day draws closer.
Workflow C "Did not book" - sends touchpoints out to the 250 students who were on Workflow A, but didn't book within (X) days. These email touchpoints remind them they can still book.
Workflow D "Attended" - is for after the open day, and is there to thank the 300 students who did attend. (Students get added to this workflow after the open day by an Events Officer confirming who did and did not attend, out of all those booked.)
Workflow E "Did not attend" - is also for after the open day, and is there to remind the 50 students who booked but didn't attend, that there are still plenty of other open days they can still book onto.
FAQs
Q. Can I manually add a student onto a workflow?
A. Usually the student does something, like requesting a prospectus, to get automatically added to a workflow. In the app Applications, however, if your Admissions officer updates an application status, that will move the student onto a new workflow.
Q. Can I set up a workflow with no conditions on it?
A. Yes. This is known as a "catch-all" workflow. If a student does not meet any of the other workflows' conditions first, then they will get added to this workflow.
Q. How many workflows can I have in one occurrence?
A. There is no limit.
Q. How many touchpoints can I have in one workflow?
A. There is no limit.
Q. How many conditions can I have in one workflow?
A. There is no limit.
Q. If I have 5 touchpoints on a workflow, will the student get all 5 sent to them?
A. Usually, but not always. If you have 5 touchpoints that all have the same conditions, and the student does nothing else, then they will get all 5. If, however, the student changes something (like book onto an event) then they may move off one workflow before receiving all 5 touchpoints.
Q. Can a student be simultaneously on different workflows?
A. Yes, in different apps. It is very common for the same student to be on more than one workflow at once. For example, a student could be receiving email touchpoints from a Prospectus Request Workflow, at the same as they are receiving email touchpoints from their Applications Workflow.
Q. How do I edit a workflow?
A. Please see this article for advice on how to edit and add workflows.
Workflows can be paused while you set up and edit workflows and touchpoints. Please see How do I pause a Workflow? and I paused my workflow for more information on pausing a workflow.
Q. Why do some workflows say they are not accepting any more students?
A. When a workflow is set to 'finishing', this means that no new students will enter that workflow. For example, if the workflow B "Booked" above had the condition 'year of entry = 2021' and was set to 'finishing', after the 2021 season was over, no more students would enter this workflow.
Q. When should I set my workflow to 'finishing?
A. Once a recruitment season is finished all the Applications workflows for that year should be set to 'finishing'.
Q. How can I tell which workflow the record is on?
A. When looking at a record in say, Applications, you can see the current workflow at the bottom of the record details panel, on the right hand side.
Q. Can we add X condition to the workflow list?
A. Maybe. Please get in touch with the CS team to discuss your request, as not every field in the CRM is suitable for adding as a workflow condition.