Create a Workflow Template for Sending a Job Offer
Use Case Overview - Job Offer
Depending on your desired scenario or output, Strato's Workflow Engine is capable of having automated processes based on triggered events in SuccessFactors. You just need to gather all your workflow requirements and know the other pre-requisites in order to easily define your workflow process in Strato.
As an example, below shows a basic representation of how an event in SuccessFactors (Update of Job Application status) for a candidate triggers a workflow from Strato workflow engine.
(Right-click on the image and select 'Open Image in a new tab' to view image in full screen.)
This sample scenario shows the following steps that take place in this process:
- The Recruiter changes the candidate's status from Check to Offer Letter status in SuccessFactors.
- Strato Workflow engine is triggered by this event to automatically generate the Offer Letter
- The Offer Letter is then sent to the Hiring Manager first for approval
- Once approved, the Offer Letter is then sent to the candidate for decision (approval or rejection)
- Depending on the candidate's decision, the designated recipients will automatically receive an email notification with the Offer Letter attached to the email.
Pre-Creation of Strato Workflow Template for this Use Case (Prerequisites)
To create the automatic workflow process in Strato for this sample scenario (Job Offer status change), the workflow admin would need to identify the following items to easily create the workflow template in the Strato Workflow Template editor:
- Identify the event to be triggered by SuccessFactors (ex: Job Offer status change)
- Identify people/roles involved in the workflow (who will receive the email notifications, generated documents to sign, etc.)
- Identify/Create the document templates needed in the workflow
- Identify parameters needed that will be passed back and forth between the workflow and the 3rd party application (in this scenario - the SuccessFactors)
- Identify components to use in the Strato Workflow Template Editor
Creating the Strato Workflow Template for this Use Case
In this How-To, you should be able to create a simple Workflow Template for the Job Offer Status Change via the Strato Workflow Engine.
The expected simple workflow template design should have the following workflow steps:
(See how the sample workflow template looks like at the bottom of this article)
- Trigger - HR initiates the Candidate's Status Change to Job Offer via SuccessFactors (3rd Party Application)
- Generate Document step- Strato Workflow will automatically generate the Job Offer Letter
- User Decision step- multiple User Decisions steps (1st to have a decision from the Hiring Manager for the Approval of the Job Offer Letter; 2nd for the Approval or Acceptance of the Candidate receiving the Job Offer)
- Send E-mail step - Depending on the candidate's decision, the designated recipients will automatically receive an email notification with the Offer Letter attached to the email.
- Store Document step - step that can store a document in different locations (Strato Storage / Strato Workflow Storage)
Another component to be used for the workflow: - Containers - to set parameters that are needed in the workflow that will be passed back and forth between the Strato workflow and the 3rd party application (SFSF)
Before creating this sample workflow template, here are the following factors to be identified and the other prerequisites:
Event to trigger the workflow:
- Job Offer Status Change from SuccessFactors
People/roles involved in the workflow:
- Recruiter
- Candidate
- Signatories (Ex: Hiring Manager / HR)
Strato Templates Required:
- Email Templates created from Strato Document Templates - These are the emails to be sent automatically in the workflow. (Prior to creating your workflow template you need to identify the email templates you require for your workflow/process such as email that will be sent to the signatories with the document attached; email to be sent to the employee upon completion; etc.) (Read: Create an Email Template)
- Document Template (as the Job Offer Letter) created from Strato Document Templates - This is the document or form to be generated in the workflow. (Read: Create a Strato Document Template (Basic) [V1])
How-To:
Follow these steps to achieve the workflow template for this sample use case:
- Access the Workflow Templates Editor of Strato by following the steps here : Accessing Strato Workflow Templates
- From the Creating a new workflow template pop-up, select the correct Catalog. For this scenario, it should be for the Application catalog.
- Enter the Name of your Workflow Template. In this example, the Workflow Template Name is Job Offer Sample Workflow.
- Click Apply. This leads you now to the Workflow Template editor.
- Now, in the Workflow Settings tab, you can type in the description of your workflow template.
- To start defining your workflow, you must first identify what parameters are needed in the workflow that will be passed back and forth between the Strato workflow and the 3rd party application (in this scenario - the SuccessFactors).These parameters are going to be set in the Containers component of Strato workflow. For this example, the mandatory parameters for this scenario would be:- applicationID (parameter for the Application ID)
- language (parameter for the language) - Once all the parameters you need for the workflow are identified, you can then start adding them to the workflow containers.
- To start adding the parameters in the workflow for this scenario, click the Containers component from the left panel, and click Add Container.
- For the first parameter, in the Container Properties, populate the required fields.
For this first example, it’s for the applicationID parameter. Make sure that the Exporting and Mandatory boxes are ticked. (For more descriptions about this screen, please read: Containers in Strato Workflow) - Repeat steps 7 and 8 for the other parameters to be added. For this example, the other parameter to add is the language.
When done setting up the required Containers or parameters, start defining your workflow by first adding the Trigger component. Without a trigger, the corresponding workflow steps cannot be added in the editor. - From the left panel, click on Triggers, and select 3rd-Party Applications. It is here where you will define the properties for calling or integrating this workflow into an external application. In this sample scenario, it's for the SuccessFactors application. (For the overview of Triggers, read: Triggers (Workflow Editor))
In summary for the Trigger component, the Service URL, Username, and Password are the parameters required to supply in the integration object from SuccessFactors’ Integration Centre. (Read: How to trigger Strato Workflow via SuccessFactors)
Though, you can continue with the integration configuration later at the last step of this How-To. For now, the Trigger component is just necessary for you to start adding the corresponding steps in the workflow. Without a Trigger, it will not be possible to add the other workflow steps. For now, let's proceed to the next step. - From the left panel, click Steps, and select Generate Document(s). Notice that a new box/process is added right after the Trigger component. It is in this step where the automatic generation of the document takes place. In this sample use case, it's for the Job Offer letter.
- Then, populate the fields under the Step Properties for the Generate Document(s) step. (Name, Description, etc.) (For the overview of this step, read: Generate Document(s) Step)
- For the required Template ID Source field, tick the From List of Templates option. This lets you choose from the document templates you have available within your Strato Documents Library).
- Then click the select files button for the Template ID List Property field, and select the Document Template that you need for this workflow. For this sample scenario, it should be a template for the Job Offer Letter.
- For its Input Parameters field, select the Application ID container as the Key ID, and language for the Language field. These are the needed parameters when generating the document template.
The next steps to enable the Internal Signature feature (approving/accepting a document) of the Strato Workflow by adding User Decision steps. These next steps are going to route the document template for signing to different signatories. For this example, first is to send the document to the Hiring Manager for approval. Then, next is to send the document to the Candidate for acceptance. - From the left panel in the Steps library, select User Decision. Basically, this step is what will send the document generated from the previous step to the first signatory of the document. For this case, it's for the approval or signing of the Job Offer letter by the first signatory which is the Hiring Manager.
- From its Step Properties, populate all the required fields as shown in the sample screen above. Use the screen above as your guide. The description of all the fields and features of this step are all described here: User Decision - Properties and Parameters)
Now notice that the Decision section, highlighted at the bottom of the screenshot above, has no details yet. This is because you need to add another step after this User Decision step to enable the decisions settings for that section. But before setting that up, finish Steps 18 to 20 first. - Click on the Input Parameters and populate the following:
(For more details about this screen, read: User Decision - Properties and Parameters)
For the Documents field from this sample use case, the "Generate Job Offer Letter - Generation ID" is the selected binding. This is the parameter that holds the variable from the previous step which is the Job Offer letter (the document that needs approval).
Next is to add another User Decision step which is the step where the approval of the Job Offer to the Candidate will take place. - Again, from the Steps Library on the left, click on the User Decision step. Populate the Step Properties and Input Parameters tabs by repeating the same actions done from Steps 17-18. But this time, this is specific for the next signatory of the letter. (For this example, the next signatory would be the Candidate as the acceptance of the Job Offer.) (For more details about this screen, read: User Decision - Properties and Parameters)
This step enables the Decision settings from the previous User Decision step as mentioned from Step 17. - Click back on the previous User Decision step (the step with the first signatory - Hiring Manager) and set its Decisions settings. (For more details about this screen, read: User Decision - Properties and Parameters)
In this example, the condition is that it requires the e-signature as the Approve and Sign action. When the e-signature is provided by this signatory, this means that the workflow will proceed to the next step (which is the next signatory / next User Decision step of the workflow). When no signature is provided, the workflow is just stopped until the action for this step has been provided.
- Now, click on the last User Decision step (step for Candidate acceptance), and add another step next to it which is for the e-mail confirmation step. Add this next step by selecting the Send e-mail step from the left panel. This adds the last step of the workflow next to the User Decision step.
- In the Step Properties, populate the Name and Description fields.
- Select the required email template for this step In the Email Template field.
In this sample scenario, the Job Offer - Email Template is selected. (If you have not created an email template yet for this step, read this to know how: Create an Email Template) - Next, in the Input Properties tab, select the required parameters.
(In this example, it’s the Application ID parameter for the Catalog Key, and language for the Language field.)
Same in Step 18, for the Documents field from this sample use case, the "Generate Job Offer Letter - Generation ID" is the selected binding. - Now same with Step 20, click back on the previous User Decision step (the step with the Candidate as the signatory) and set its Decisions settings. (For more details about this screen, read: User Decision - Properties and Parameters)
In this example, the condition is that it requires the e-signature as the Accept action. When the e-signature is provided by this signatory, this means that the workflow will proceed to the next step (which is the Send E-mail step of the workflow). When no signature is provided, the workflow is just stopped until the action for this step has been provided.
After setting up the Decisions section for this User Decision step, notice that the text "Accept" now reflects as the decision. This means that if the Candidate accepts the Job Offer, the next step to execute in the workflow will be the Send E-mail step that sends the signed Job Offer Letter to the candidate.
- Then for the Send Email step, depending on the candidate's decision for the Job Offer letter (whether Accepted or Declined), select the Email Template to be used in the Step Properties. Then supply the Catalog key and Language from its Input Parameters.
- To store the Job Offer Letter to the Candidate's profile in SuccessFactors, use the Store Document Step.
In this sample scenario, after sending the email with the Job Offer to the candidate, the next step would be to store it in the candidate's profile in SuccessFactors.
The mandatory fields in its Step Properties are the Destination, Application Status, and SuccessFactors template ID fields. To know more about the data to supply for this step, please read: Store Document - Properties and Parameters - To save your workflow, Save and Publish your workflow via the Action (+) button from the lower-right corner of the workflow template screen. There's also a Validate button to check if there are any errors in your workflow template creation.
After setting up all these workflow steps, you should now have a complete workflow template for this sample use case.
- Finally, to trigger the execution of your Strato Workflow template, you can now configure the Trigger component from Step 10, and integrate it in SuccessFactors (via Integration Centre and Intelligent Services). To know how, please read: How to Trigger Strato Workflow via SuccessFactors).