This article provides a detailed guide on how to configure and customize your onboarding workflows. It covers adding and connecting various activities, assigning tasks and notifications, setting up conditional logic, and managing due dates to create a tailored experience for your employees.
Adding and Connecting Activities in the Workflow Graph
The workflow graph is a visual tool that allows you to map out the sequence of activities for your onboarding or offboarding processes. You can add various types of activities and connect them to control the flow.
Activity Types:
Task: A specific action to be completed by an assignee.
Form: An electronic document for the user to complete.
Course: A learning module to be assigned.
Email: An automated email notification.
Profile Task: A task for the user to update specific sections of their profile.
Survey: A survey for the user to complete.
How to Add and Connect Activities:
Navigate to Administration → Onboarding → Onboarding Workflows.
Select the workflow you wish to edit and go to the Workflow Graph tab.
From the Workflow Steps panel on the right, click and drag the desired activity type (e.g., Task, Form) onto the graph.
To connect activities, click and hold the node on one activity and drag the connector line to the next activity in the sequence.
To remove a connector, hold the Ctrl key (or Command on Mac) and left-click the line you wish to delete.
Assigning Tasks and Configuring Notifications
You can assign tasks to different individuals or groups and configure their notifications to keep everyone informed.
Assigning Tasks
When adding a Task activity, you can set the assignee to:
Assigned User: The employee going through the workflow.
Assigned User's Manager: The direct manager of the employee.
Specific User: A named individual in the system.
Specific Group: A pre-defined group of users. Note that if a task is assigned to a group, it will appear on each member's to-do list, but the task is considered complete once any single member of the group completes it.
Adjusting Task Notifications
While the workflow triggers the assignment of a task, the notifications (e.g., "Task Assigned," "Task Due") are managed within the task itself.
To adjust Task notifications:
Navigate to Administration → General → Task Library.
Find the relevant task and click Edit.
Go to the Edit Notification tab.
Here, you can add, remove, or modify notifications, such as "Task Assigned" or "Task Due" reminders. You can specify who receives the notification and when it is sent.
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Important Note on Manager Notifications: Be mindful of how you configure notifications for tasks assigned to managers. If a workflow step assigns a task to the "Assigned User's Manager," but the task's notification is set to go to the "Manager," the system will send the notification to the manager's manager (the second-level manager). To ensure the notification goes to the direct manager who was assigned the task, you should set the notification recipient to "User" in this specific scenario.
Incorporating and Managing Forms
Forms are a versatile tool for collecting information during a workflow. You can assign them to various users and manage their notifications and updates.
Adding and Assigning Forms
You can add a Form activity to your workflow graph and assign it to the following:
Assigned User: The employee going through the workflow.
Assigned User's Manager: The direct manager of the employee.
Specific User: A named individual in the system.
Adjusting Form Notifications
Notifications for forms are managed directly on the form template, not within the workflow graph.
To adjust Form notifications:
Navigate to Administration → Documents → Forms.
Find the relevant form and click Edit.
Go to the Notifications tab.
Here, you can configure notifications for when a form is assigned, is due, or has been completed.
Updating Forms in Active Workflows
If you update a form template that is already part of an active workflow, you must take an extra step to ensure the changes are reflected for users who have not yet completed it.
After editing and publishing your form, navigate to the form settings.
Click Update Form Instances. This will push the changes to all non-completed assignments of that form.
Assigning Courses in a Workflow
You can integrate learning content directly into your workflows to automate training for new or transitioning employees.
Adding and Assigning Courses
Drag a Course activity from the Workflow Steps panel onto your graph.
Connect it to the desired preceding activity. The course will only be assigned after the previous step is completed.
Edit the course activity to select the specific course from your Learning module. You can assign the course to either the Assigned User or their Manager.
Updating Course Content
If you need to update the content of a course that is in a workflow (e.g., replace an old video or document), you do not need to edit the workflow itself.
Navigate to Administration → Learning → Courses.
Find and edit the relevant course.
Go to the Sections tab and modify the course content as needed (e.g., upload a new video file).
Save and republish the course. The updated content will be reflected for all future and in-progress assignments.
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Important Note on Scheduling: You cannot schedule the assignment of a course for a future date within the workflow. Courses are assigned as soon as the preceding step is completed. To delay a course assignment, you must use the "dummy task" workaround described in the Managing Due Dates and Scheduling section.
Configuring and Sending Emails
The Email activity allows you to send automated communications at key points in your workflow. For further information and troubleshooting Emails in Onboarding, please refer to the article.
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Scheduled emails appear in an orange coloured box to help you quickly identify this activity type. Non-scheduled emails will remain blue.
This visual highlighting allows administrators to easily distinguish scheduled email activities from other types of activities at a glance, streamlining your workflow and improving task management efficiency.
Adding and Assigning Emails
Drag an Email activity from the Workflow Steps panel onto your graph.
Edit the activity to select the desired email template.
You can assign the email to be sent to the Assigned User, their Manager, a Specific User, or a Specific Group.
Editing Email Templates and Using Placeholders
All email templates are created and managed centrally.
To edit an email template: Navigate to Administration → General → Emails. Here you can create new templates or edit existing ones.
Using Placeholders: Use placeholders to auto-populate information from user profiles. To ensure the correct manager's name appears, use
::WORKFLOWASSIGNEEMANAGERFIRSTNAME::. Using the generic::MANAGERFIRSTNAME::will pull the manager of the email's recipient, which can lead to errors if the recipient is not the workflow assignee.Attaching Files: To attach a PDF or other document to an email, you must first upload the file under Administration → General → Files. Then, in the email template, highlight the text you want to use as the link, click the "Link" icon, select "Browse Server," and choose your uploaded file.
Sending to External or Generic Mailboxes
It is not possible to send workflow emails directly to an external or generic email address (e.g., [email protected]) that is not associated with a user account.
Workaround: To notify a generic mailbox, you can create a Task activity assigned to a relevant user or group. Within that task's notification settings, you can specify an external email address as the recipient.
Updating Start/End Dates for Scheduled Emails
If an email step in a workflow is scheduled based on an employee's start or end date, the system queues the email at the moment the workflow is assigned. If you change the user's start or end date on their profile after the workflow has been assigned, the scheduled email will not automatically update and will still be sent based on the original date.
Using Profile Tasks to Collect Information
The Profile Task activity is a powerful tool for prompting new employees to complete essential sections of their user profile, such as payment and personal details.
Creating and Configuring a Profile Task
Navigate to Administration → General → Update Profile Task.
Click + New Update Profile Task.
Give the task a name (e.g., "Complete Onboarding Details").
Select the profile sections you want the user to complete. This can include:
Bank Details
Tax File Number / KiwiSaver
Superannuation
Emergency Contact
Personal Contact Details
Diversity Questions
Additional Profile Information (for custom fields like Date of Birth)
Country-Specific Tasks: Note that some fields are country-specific. For example, to capture KiwiSaver details, you must create a separate profile task and select "New Zealand" as the country. The same applies to Australian tax and superannuation details.
Making Fields Mandatory: Certain fields, like residential address or date of birth, can be made mandatory. This requires a configuration change by ELMO Support.
Adding a Profile Task to a Workflow
Once created, you can add the Profile Task to your workflow graph just like any other activity. The employee will be prompted to complete the selected profile sections as part of their onboarding.
Integrating Surveys into Workflows
You can assign surveys as part of a workflow to gather feedback at specific points in the employee lifecycle, such as after their first month.
Enabling a Survey for a Workflow
Before you can add a survey to a workflow, you must enable the correct "collector" type within the Survey module.
Navigate to the Survey module.
Find the survey you wish to use and go to its Collectors page.
Add a new collector and select Onboarding Workflow as the type.
Once this is done, the survey will appear in the dropdown list when you add a Survey activity to your workflow graph.
Adding and Assigning Surveys
Drag a Survey activity from the Workflow Steps panel onto your graph.
Connect it to the desired preceding activity.
Edit the activity and select your survey from the list. You can assign the survey to the Assigned User or their Manager.
Setting Up Conditional Logic
Condition blocks allow you to create different paths in your workflow based on an employee's profile information. This is useful for assigning different tasks or forms based on their location, department, or position.
How to Use Condition Blocks:
Drag a Condition block onto your workflow graph.
Connect a preceding activity to the condition block.
Edit the condition block and set your criteria using the available fields: Department, Location, Position, Manager, or Legal Entity.
Choose between Match All and Match Any:
Match All: The user must meet all specified criteria for the "True" path to be followed. This is useful for combining different criteria (e.g., Position IS "Sales" AND Location IS "Sydney").
Match Any: The user only needs to meet one of the specified criteria for the "True" path to be followed. This is ideal when you want to group multiple positions or locations (e.g., Position IS "Support Worker" OR "Enrolled Nurse").
Connect the True and False nodes of the condition block to the subsequent activities. Any user who does not meet the "True" criteria will follow the "False" path.
Using Hierarchical Conditions (Parent/Child)
You can also use hierarchical relationships in your conditions for Positions and Departments. This relies on setting up a "Parent" for a position or department under Administration → General → Positions or Departments.
Parent: A "Parent" is a higher-level position or department that the current one reports to. For example, the "Head of People" could be the parent position for a "People & Culture Advisor."
Is Parent Of: This condition will be true if the workflow assignee's position/department is the designated parent of another.
Is Child Of: This condition will be true if the workflow assignee's position/department reports up to the designated parent.
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Important Note: You cannot use custom fields or role profiles (e.g., Manager vs. Employee) as criteria within a condition block.
Managing Due Dates and Scheduling
Properly timing the assignment of activities is key to a smooth onboarding experience.
Understanding Activity Assignment vs. Scheduling
It is critical to understand the difference between scheduling an activity and assigning it.
Email Activities: Emails are the only activity type that can be truly scheduled for a future date. You can set it to send a certain number of days, weeks, or months after an event like the assignee's start date. The system will queue the email but marks the step as "Active," allowing the workflow to proceed to subsequent steps without delay.
Other Activities (Tasks, Forms, Courses): These activities cannot be scheduled for a future assignment date. They are assigned immediately after the preceding step in the workflow is completed. Placing a scheduled email activity before a task will not delay the assignment of that task.
Using a "Dummy" Task to Delay an Activity
To delay the assignment of a task, form, or course, you can insert a placeholder or "dummy" task as a gate.
Create a simple task in your Task Library (e.g., "Trigger 3-Month Compliance Training").
In your workflow graph, place this dummy task directly before the activity you wish to delay (e.g., the compliance course).
Assign the dummy task to an administrator or a specific user (e.g., HR Manager). Set the due date for when the next step should be triggered (e.g., 3 months after the user's start date).
The workflow will pause at this dummy task. Once the assignee marks the dummy task as complete, the workflow will proceed and immediately assign the subsequent activity.
Setting Due Dates:
You can set a due date for Tasks and Forms within the workflow step. This due date will override any due date set on the task or form template itself. This allows you to set consistent deadlines based on the employee's start date (e.g., "Due 5 days before Assignee's Start Date").
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Why can't I edit my workflow graph? It's stuck on a loading screen.+
This typically happens when a group assigned to a task within the workflow has been disabled. To fix this, you must temporarily reactivate the disabled group under Administration → General → Groups. This will allow the workflow graph to load so you can update the assignee before disabling the group again if needed.
How do I assign a task to a generic team email like [email protected]?+
You cannot assign an email activity directly to a generic mailbox. The recommended workaround is to create a user account in ELMO with the generic email address and assign the email to that specific user. Alternatively, create a task and, within the task's notification settings, specify the generic email address as the recipient.
Can I set a course to be assigned one week after an employee's start date?+
No, you cannot schedule the assignment of courses. They are assigned as soon as the previous step in the workflow is completed. To create a delay, you can insert a "dummy" task assigned to an admin, who would complete it after one week to trigger the next step.
I've updated a form, but users in an active workflow still see the old version. How do I fix this?+
After updating the form template, click the "Update Form Instances" button in the form's settings. You may also need to edit the workflow graph, re-select the updated form in the activity node, and save. For users already in the workflow, you can navigate to their assignment and click "Execute Workflow" to sync the changes.
Why can't I find my survey in the dropdown list when adding it to a workflow?+
To make a survey available in a workflow, you must first create an "Onboarding Workflow" collector for it within the Survey module. Navigate to the survey, select "Collectors," and add a new collector of this type.
Why did my condition block send a task to the wrong person?+
This is often due to using "Match All" when "Match Any" is needed. If you are setting conditions for multiple positions or departments, use "Match Any," as a user can only belong to one of each. "Match All" should be used when a user must meet several different types of criteria (e.g., a specific position AND a specific location).