How are you currently handling your communications? If you could automate communications for certification management, would you communicate more?
In our experience, it’s easiest to build candidate notifications and reminders into the certification process as you design it. Of course, you must assemble your communications plan before the system can send those communications on your behalf. Have you identified where in your process you need to send a message and whether that message is an announcement, confirmation, reminder, inquiry, or request? Visualizing your processes as workflow diagrams doesn’t just demystify your credentialing functions. You can see the point at which a notification is necessary. You also know who should receive it and what it should contain.
Automated Communications: A Process-Based Approach
To set yourself up for success with your program’s automated communications, we recommend starting with a workflow diagram of each credential’s major and minor processes. Workflow diagrams help you visualize and show:
- The starting and end states.
- The sequence of steps between those states.
- Who owns what at each step.
Ready to start diagramming your workflows? First, make sure your candidate handbook is close by. It contains what we call your “business rules” and explains your conditions, formulas, and consequences. It can help with the “if X, then Y” of each process.
Then, you’re going to want to write out your user stories. User stories are statements like “As a Reviewer, I request additional detail if a transcript is illegible so that I can review accurate information.” A user story starts with identifying the actor. Then, they identify the actor’s actions and their desired outcomes. User stories use plain language, take the perspective or POV of your system participants, and (with words like “so” or “so that”) explain the objectives of each workflow step and what needs are to be met.
How Workflow Diagrams Help Automate Communications for Certification Management
Once you’ve written out your user stories, it’s not a heavy lift to translate those stories into a workflow diagram. In business process mapping, notifications are “behaviors” triggered by the system. Once you’ve mapped your process in a workflow diagram, it’s much easier to see the points where those “behaviors” are needed.
You’ll also know the triggers for those communications and the content to include. Different types of communication will be necessary at different stages of a process. For example, if an end state is completed, you’ll want the system to send a confirmation. If the end stage is not completed, it is a point where you would identify the need for 90/60/30/10/5/1 day deadline reminders. After all, in today’s world, we all expect reminders for important upcoming deadlines.
Pro tip: Pay special attention to the diamonds, a.k.a. the decisions, in your process mapping diagrams. Each outcome will likely need its own notification.
Now That You’ve Planned, Automate!
We use the LearningBuilder Automations Engine to configure triggers for system behaviors. It also manages the e-mail templates our clients use to write specific communications for different points in a workflow. The content and details of each message are drawn from a member’s profile or application for personalization.
Want to make sure your recipients check their inbox? LearningBuilder may also send SMS messages that alert them to new emails. With sends logged in each user’s Communications History, they’re all on the record — just in case.
Pro Tip: Once you’ve designed and launched your automated communications, keep an eye on your delivery tracking. Those metrics may help you identify opportunities to maximize the value of each send.
Are you looking for more ways to keep your system participants in the know? LearningBuilder offers extensive options for on-screen text prompts like alerts, announcements, and reminders.
LearningBuilder: Process Management for Credentialing Ecosystems
Looking for a system that does everything you need — and can meet you where you are? We created LearningBuilder software specifically for the credentialing ecosystem and its workflows. Our implementations help save your staff time and frustration. That way, you can focus your organizational resources on what you do best: program development and growth. Discover how we can streamline and optimize your program processes: Schedule a call to get started.
