How to Use Planning Center Workflows
Planning Center’s People app is a powerful tool for church and ministry organizations to keep track of member information and manage communication. One of the key features of the app is the ability to create workflows, which are essentially customized lists of tasks that need to be completed for a particular person or group. These workflows can be used for internal processes or external ministry processes. As a tool, they help keep track of people in a process or where a request or task falls in its current timeline.
Workflows have features such as reminders and overdue notifications that assist staff members with staying on top of priorities. Some other great features include adding notes, sending emails, and performing actions from the workflow that cross over to other Planning Center apps. One example is performing a background check directly from the workflow itself and not having to visit another section of the app to perform this function.
Workflows can be a destination from other areas of the People app. This is done through an automation on a Form or a List in the People app (as well as other apps). This allows all kinds of possibilities. Some great use cases are Volunteer onboarding, Prayer requests and follow-up, Permission requests, New Visitor Processes, and those are just a few examples. Sky’s the limit with workflows.
How to Add People Into Workflows
You can manually add people to workflows and start a ministry journey with them or you can use automations as mentioned previously. Forms in Planning Center People have 2 ways to move submissions into a workflow. One is with an automation and the other is a type of field set called “Workflow Fields”. These fields allow someone filling out a form to make a selection in a field and then have their information sent to a workflow. Whether you use the special “workflow” form fields directly within your form or you use the background Automations, both offer a way to automatically add people to your workflow. The best part is, you will get a notification that someone has been placed into your workflow if you set it up properly in the workflow settings.
Different Types of Workflows
There are many ways to use workflows in Planning Center People, but here are a few suggestions for getting the most out of this feature:
Onboard new members: When a new member joins your organization, there are likely a number of tasks that need to be completed to get them integrated into the community. A workflow can help you keep track of these tasks, such as completing a membership application, setting up a new member orientation, and assigning a mentor or small group leader.
Manage volunteer teams: If you have volunteers who serve in different capacities within your organization, workflows can help you keep track of the tasks that need to be completed to keep your teams running smoothly. This might include scheduling training sessions, reminding team members of upcoming events, and following up with volunteers who haven't served in a while.
Track follow-up tasks: If you have a large number of people to follow up with, a workflow can help you keep track of who needs a phone call, email, or in-person meeting. You can use this feature to schedule follow-up tasks for yourself or delegate them to other team members.
Stay organized: Workflows are a great way to stay organized and make sure that nothing falls through the cracks. You can use this feature to create checklists for events, projects, or other tasks that need to be completed.
Customize your workflows: Planning Center People allows you to customize your workflows to fit your specific needs. You can add or remove tasks, set deadlines, and assign tasks to different people. This flexibility makes it easy to tailor your workflows to fit the unique needs of your organization.
Pro Tip for Customizing Steps in Workflows
When you create a workflow step, make sure to use a specific title that clearly explains the reason or function of the step. Then add an extremely detailed description. Explain exactly what is to be done on the step.
For example, if you want to email a person who has entered the workflow, you will want to detail how to email directly from the workflow card within the workflow. You may want to even add some email copy for those other than yourself, who will be participating in using the workflows (see the image below). This is great for volunteers or staff members that help with managing the workflow and will also keep you from having to constantly re-train how to email new members in this step of the workflow.
Workflow step with the email copy included in the step description
Workflows are a Powerful Tool
Overall, Planning Center People's workflow feature is a powerful tool for helping your organization stay organized, get things done, and walk alongside people through a ministry process. Whether you're onboarding new members, managing volunteer teams, mentoring, or caring for people, this feature can help you streamline your processes, get more done in less time and focus on the ministry, not the software.
If You Need Help getting more out of Planning Center
If you need help setting up powerful workflows and automations to streamline your church’s processes within Planning Center, Threefold Solutions can help. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you customize and streamline Planning Center to fit your unique needs. Click the blue “Let’s Get Started” button at the top of this page and fill in the contact form and we’ll reply immediately. We’re excited to help you get more out of Planning Center!
Jason Silbernagel
Co-founder, Threefold Solutions