Understanding the different ways to trigger a Task/Message/Automation

There are multiple ways to determine when in your experience each Task, Message or Automation will start. This article is a guide to choosing the right option for each situation.

• How to set the start for a timeline item
• Start options:
  • Fixed day
  • When another task is completed
  • When a data field changes
  • When milestone date changes
  • When the following conditions are met

How to set the start for a timeline item

To configure when your Task/Message/Automation starts, open up the Task/Message/Automation in the 'edit' mode of your experince. In the left hand column, you'll see a section for the Start, Trigger or Send date. Click Edit.

If you do not see Edit, you are looking at the view-only version of the Timeline Item. Click the Edit button in the top left, to switch to the editable version.

The left-hand side bar will now show you several different start options:

Start option: Fixed day

The simplest start option is to determine a specific day on your experience timeline for the Task, Message or Automation to start.

These days are counted from the start of your experience – not from the Milestone date. For example, in the screenshot below:

• "Complete the I-9 Form" starts on Day 1 of the experience
• "Welcome to Acme Co!" starts on Day 8 of the experience – ie, a full week after the start
  • Even though this is the new hire's first day at work, it's still day 8 in the experience

Start option: When another task is completed

You can set up a Task, Message or Automation to trigger when a different Task is completed. This enables you to set up flows like this:

• Ask a new hire for their hardware preferences, then immediately create a ticket for IT requesting their equipment
• Block access to the next steps in onboarding, until a new hire completes critical compliance training
• Ask a manager to approve their direct report's enrollment in training, before any of the training content is sent

See our guide to setting up Tasks/Messages/Automations to start upon Task completion

Start option: When a data field changes

You can set a Task/Message/Automation to trigger when a specific data field on the Participant's user profile changes. This enables these kinds of scenarios:

• Notify the new manager of an new hire, if manager assignment shift in the preboarding phase
• Send a shipping notification (including set-up instructions) when a new hire's laptop ships

See our guide to setting up Tasks/Messages/Automations to start based on user data changes

Start option: When milestone date changes

This is a more specific version of the preceding option, that focuses on a key date in the experience.

See our guide to setting up Tasks/Messages/Automations to start based on user data changes

Start option: When the following conditions are met

When you set up Tasks/Messages/Automations to start when a data field changes, then any change to that field will trigger their start.

In some situations, you want to be more precise – for instance:

• Send a "Congratulations, you're cleared to start" message when the new hire has passed all their pre-hire start checks

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For more details, see our guide to setting up Tasks/Messages/Automations to start based on user data changes