Customizing the workflow
In CATS, all of the record types (Candidates, Jobs etc.) have associated statuses.
This article focuses on candidates pipelines. Everything in this article can also be applied to the other record types.
To begin, go to Settings > Administration > Workflow.
The default workflow is named 'General'. To edit any workflow, click on the name. To add another workflow, click Add Workflow.
Adding a status
After clicking on a workflow you'd like to edit, you'll see a list of statuses in the left column. Otherwise, after adding a new workflow, you will see a blank list. To add a status, click the Add Status button.
After choosing a name, you may want to choose a mapping.
Some mappings are for reporting purposes. To ensure accurate reports, make sure to map the appropriate statuses to 'Interviewing', 'Offered', 'Declined', 'Placed', and 'Submitted'. The other mappings ('Applicant', 'Contacted', and 'Email') will perform an action — read the descriptions to see how they function. ( Note: When EEO compliance settings are enabled, the mapping 'Offered' will send out an email titled "Voluntary Disability & Veteran Classification" to anyone who has been placed into the associated status.)
The last step in adding a new status is choosing the prerequisites, if any (you can often leave this blank). Using prerequisites forces users to follow a specific path in a workflow pipeline, ensuring certain statuses are met before a status can be changed. For example, if you want to require that candidates are set to 'Contacted' before 'Submitted', you would add a prerequisite of 'Contacted' to the 'Submitted' status.
Adding a trigger
Triggers are a powerful way to automate actions in CATS, such as sending personalized emails, scheduling interviews, or submitting candidates to clients or hiring managers.
When you hover over a status, you'll notice a green + icon appear in the far right column. Click this icon to add a trigger to this status.
There are multiple types of triggers. To add something other than a basic email trigger, select one from the Action drop-down menu.
The description box lets you add a quick note describing what the trigger does. You'll see this next to the trigger on your main workflow page.
The next section will let you choose how this trigger behaves when a user is changing a status. Select 'Required' if you want this trigger to always happen when the status is changed. Or choose 'Optional, on by default' or 'Optional, off by default' to let the user decide if the trigger will happen when the status is changed.
The next field is called 'From' (when creating a trigger that sends an email) or 'For' (if you are adding a trigger that creates a task or calendar event). The default setting is 'User performing action', which means whoever is actually changing the status. To set this to a specific user or group of users, click the drop-down menu.
In text boxes, such as an email subject line or an event description, you can use Tags from the section on the right. Tags can be used to personalize emails or to include certain candidate information, like key skills or notes. Any field in CATS, including custom fields, will have a corresponding tag. Simply search for what you're looking for, then click and drag the tag into the text box.
All other fields will vary by the trigger type you selected.
Depending on the type of trigger, there may be more options at the very bottom of the 'Add Trigger' window. For example, you have the option to schedule an email instead of having it sent immediately.
The 'Submit to Client' or ‘Submit to Hiring Manager’ triggers have additional functionality as well — make sure to choose the workflow status you'd like candidates to move to once they've been reviewed.
More triggers can be added by enabling Integrations.