Favorite Features: Workflow Settings You Should Be Using
When I was younger, I had an amazing memory. I could memorize paragraphs of information with very little effort. I was in a play in Jr. High that required me to spout off random monologues from several of Shakespeare plays and had no trouble committing these lines to memory in just two weeks. Many things I memorized as a child or teenager are still firmly set in my mind. Bible verses, song lyrics, the theme song from Fresh Prince, the complete script from The Princess Bride - it’s all still in there and available for recall whenever the need arises.
However, as an adult who is now juggling a family, homeschooling three teenagers, a job, ministry, volunteering at church, and trying to find time for friendships, I find that my memory is no longer 100% reliable. If I go to the grocery store without a list, I will inevitably forget some of the items I went there to purchase. I wish that I could “defrag” my brain like a computer to make room for the things that are important now (like deadlines and the name of my next-door neighbor) and get rid of the useless information that still lives in the recesses of my memory (like all the words to the Big Red Gum jingle from 1985).
To combat the unavoidable aging of my mind, I rely more than ever on good systems with a LOT of reminders, notifications, and shortcuts built in. Out of necessity, utilizing the organizational tools at my disposal has become a part of my personal and professional rhythms. When it comes to Planning Center Workflows, there are a few underutilized tools that would make a huge difference if they were embraced and implemented by church teams.
Snoozing Workflow Cards
If you’re anything like me, un-read notifications annoy you (if you’re one of those people with 18,477 unopened emails – how do you sleep at night?). Snoozing workflow cards is by far my favorite workflow feature because it allows me to trust that the green notifications on my dashboard are truly things that need my attention today. How does snoozing work? So glad you asked.
Just like a snoozed alarm or a reminder on your phone, you can schedule a time for a workflow card to “wake up” so you’ll be reminded to take an action at a future date. For example, you may have a workflow for visitor follow-up and the first workflow step is to send an email or make a phone call to the individual. The second step is to reach out again in two weeks to invite them to a membership class or new-comers lunch. By applying a “snooze until” date to their workflow card, the card will be grayed-out and hidden from your view until the selected time. On the day that the card “wakes up” you’ll receive an email letting you know that it’s time to act on the card. Snoozing workflow cards is a gamechanger when it comes to follow-up because it does all the remembering for you! You can add a snooze date to a workflow card on an “as-needed” basis or build a pre-set snooze time into a workflow step as a default. So, roll over and rest your brain from the workflow cards that can wait until later!
Give Yourself a Deadline
Another often-forgotten Workflow setting is the “Expected Response Time” checkbox which can be found on each workflow step. When this box is checked you can add a preset timeframe for when you want the step to be completed (i.e. within 7 days). If the step hasn’t been completed within the pre-determined timeframe, you’ll get an email letting you know about your deadline. And who doesn’t like a loving reminder that it’s time to get up and do something?
A Shortcut to the Info You Need
I love a good shortcut. After a decade of living in major cities, nothing made me feel more like a local than knowing all the hacks for dodging backed-up traffic. If you know where to find it, Workflow Cards have a few shortcuts built in.
First, People Forms often use workflow fields to add someone to a workflow. When this happens, you can quickly see the answers to their form while you’re looking at their card in the workflow. You can do this in just a single step by scrolling to the bottom of the workflow card and clicking on the link at the bottom of the card. The link will open a new tab on your web browser showing you their form submission.
Secondly, if you’re working on a workflow card and need to view the individual’s People Profile you can get there quickly by clicking on the pop-out arrow icon next to their name at the top of the card. This will open their profile in a separate web browser page so you can view all their Planning Center information without losing your place in the workflow. This is a professional-level Planning Center move!
Share the Workflow Workload
The final Workflow feature you should know about is the “pin assignment” check box. By selecting the “pin assignment” checkbox in a workflow card you can override the default assignee settings in the workflow steps. This means that you can “pin” a workflow card to a team member and that the card will stay with them for all subsequent steps regardless of who is the default assignee on the workflow step. This is a great tool to use if you have multiple team members sharing responsibility for a workflow. The default assignee for step one can divvy up the responsibilities by pinning cards to various team members as needed depending on workload, schedules, etc. So go ahead and pin your cards to a teammate and head out on vacation - someone else can handle it!
If you’re not using these workflow tools, I highly recommend giving them a try. They will take your Planning Center game to the next level and make you a follow-up champion! If you want to know more about workflows, check out our blog How to Use Planning Center Workflows or learn more in our Intro to Workflows in Planning Center People video on YouTube.
Alicia Osgood
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