The workflow canvas
The workflow template canvas is where the structure of a workflow is determined. Different stages are placed and configured to collect or distribute information, notify participants or send approval requests. Milestones are set to track workflow progress.
Participants can be company managers or candidates/employees – the workflow template canvas is split, where positioning stages on the left assigns them to managers and placing them on the right assigns them to a candidate or employee.
Stages & milestones
Stages are colour-coded to indicate where they can be placed. Stages are company coloured if they can only be assigned to a company manager, black if they can only be assigned to an employee or candidate, and grey if they can be placed on either side of the canvas and assigned to any participant. Once placed they are ready to be configured.
Milestones can be placed anywhere on a canvas and don’t require configuration, they only need to be named. Consistent naming of milestones across templates will help when comparing progress of workflows for reporting.
Preloaded milestones and stages in onboarding templates
Preloaded milestones for the onboarding workflow templates are designed to support the HR process. Centred around the creation, acceptance and completion of employment offers, they provide a structure to help determine where other stages should be placed.
Onboarding templates start with a Form/task preloaded for ‘Candidate details’, and its position is fixed. It will be assigned to the workflow manager, can email them to advise they have been assigned that task, and request they provide information on the candidate or employee.
A configuration item that creates the staff member in Ento, ‘Create staff record’, is also preloaded after the ‘Offer created’ milestone, but it can be moved if needed, providing flexibility depending upon the hiring process requirements. A fast-tracked onboard might have the ‘Create staff record’ stage immediately after the ‘Candidate details’ form, allowing a staff member to be made active immediately so they can be rostered while the rest of the workflow is still being completed.
A workflow template for onboarding senior management or a more specialised role may be better suited to place it after the last company milestone, ensuring the candidate is not active until the contract is signed, and management approval has been finalised.
Stage configuration 1: Stage recipients, and stage messages & settings
While milestones need only to be placed on the workflow template canvas and named, all stages require some configuration. Configuration determines the stage recipient, content, which communications will be sent, and settings.
The main tab of stage configurations is where the content is added and configured, covered in more detail later.
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[bs_col class=”col-sm-4″]Recipient[/bs_col]
[bs_col class=”col-sm-8″]At the top of all stage configurations ‘Who will be receiving this?’ confirms recipient/s. Company assigned stages can notify other manager types in addition to, or instead of, the workflow manager. Recipient is not editable for employee assigned stages which can only be sent to the employee or candidate.[/bs_col]
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[bs_col class=”col-sm-4″]Messages & settings[/bs_col]
[bs_col class=”col-sm-8″]The settings panel to the right is where the stage is named, and a timeframe for completion specified. If not completed within the allocated time frame, the workflow is flagged as at risk of missing due date on the workflow list. This is the main tab for Notifications which have no other content.[/bs_col]
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The very first time a workflow is set to message an employee completing an onboarding workflow, the employee will also receive a Welcome to Ento email to set up their password and access for Ento (communications are controlled by the settings in the applicable employee permission profile).
Self service – Employee details form recipients
When using stages in the self service – employee details workflow templates on the Company side of the workflow the recipients need to be specific, as it’s the employee starting the workflow based on the template, there is no actual Workflow manager.
Nominate an individual manager, or a manager group level, such as Super Managers, HR Managers, Payroll etc. Choose based on what an action will be required as a result of a change in details, like ensure payroll is notified when there has been a change made to banking details.
More detail on the types of content and data covered in Workflow template stages.
Where to next?
Workflow template stages
Objects & Option Sets
Core HR: Contract & Policy Templates