As with many business applications, the more thought you put into workflows from the beginning, the easier your job will be in the long run. Email, SMS, and API alert workflows automate key business processes, saving you time and energy. By managing these workflows properly, you can maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of workplace automation, creating an efficient marketplace.

Workflow Email Enhancements

Workflow emails are ideal for conveying large amounts of information at once. Layout is thus crucial, as it is necessary to present that information in a way that can be easily assessed and interpreted. Specific layouts vary based on the nature of the email, but in general, you should include the following:

• Clear Subject- All workflow emails should have a concise description of the alert in their subject line. This allows recipients to assess the urgency and relevance of the alert.
• Greeting- The first line should simply read “Dear” and the recipient’s name or title. This will make it clear that the message is relevant to them.
• Opening Paragraph- This will give a brief description of the nature of the email, no more than 3 sentences in length. All of the basic facts that the recipient needs to know should be in this section.
• Second Paragraph- Here you can expand on the basic information from the previous paragraph, telling the recipient everything they must know to act on this alert. Though this paragraph can be longer, try to keep it under eight sentences if possible.
• Call To Action- The final paragraph should consist of one or two sentences instructing the reader on what to do next. If the reader does not necessarily need to do anything in response to the email, you can use this section to direct them to somewhere they can find more information.
• Closing- End with a closer like “sincerely” or “cordially,” followed by the name of the company, department, or individual account the email came from.

Because workflow emails seek to explain the alert to recipients in depth, they should have a calm, informative tone. It often makes sense to use the first person, especially for emails that come from an individual account.

Savvy Workflow SMS

Whereas workflow emails exist to provide detailed information, workflow SMSes are ideal for quick, basic updates. They should have a quick, objective tone and be as concise as possible. The ideal length for a workflow SMS is less than 160 characters, as this will allow recipients who have older phones to read it on a single page, rather than having to load and read multiple messages. Layout is not particularly important in a message so short, but try to convey the most important facts at the beginning of the message, saving any details you can fit in for the end.

Acute API Alerts

API, or application programming interface, alerts provide key details on the state of your application software. Specific requirements for API alerts vary based on the APIs they refer to and the medium in which they will be received. In general, they should have an objective tone, describing any new developments with your APIs as concisely as possible. As with other workflows, you should provide the most important information first and then give details.

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