Use form-based Workflows to automate group placement, communication, and more.

Automated actions (Workflows) based on form submissions can save a tremendous amount of time. Here, we'll highlight a few ways Workflows can enhance event registration. 

Use Workflows to add all registrants to the same group

This tutorial presumes you've already Set Up Your Groups.

1. Find the left navigation menu, click Workflows, then select Add to create a new workflow.
2. Choose the Form Submission Trigger and select your form from the When the following form is submitted dropdown.
3. Mapping Fields → Select all the form fields of the person or person fieldset you'd like to add to a group by mapping them to the appropriate Database fields.
   

   Available Mapping Field Types You can map the following form field types to a ChMS field:
   Person Field Set (can contain a combination of the following fields also) Person's Name Address Email Address Phone Number	Dropdown Date Numbers Letters Short Text

Note: One Trigger can only add (map) One Person to a group. To add (map) more than one person from a single form to a group, you'll need to add a Trigger for each person. (Ex: if your form includes fields to register as many as 4 people, you'll need to add 4 Triggers with corresponding actions. The exception to this is the Person Field Set .

4. Matching Individuals → If you're adding children to a group, we suggest you match using Name and Birthdate. (While rare, matching by Name alone has the potential to match the registrant to the incorrect individual. See item 2 below).

Here are a few additional items to keep in mind

1. Do Not set your workflow to "Replace data in matched fields with form data." Why? We've found people tend to type quickly and make mistakes in event registration forms. Instead, encourage your users to log in online or in the mobile app to make profile updates - OR - create a special form just for profile updates.
2. If matching by Name only, it's possible there could be another person with the exact same name. In that scenario, the database currently matches the person to the oldest record on file. You don't want to inadvertently overwrite the wrong person's information.

Note: If "Name" is the only suitable matching field and you have thousands of contacts (thus more potential for duplicate names) you may want to consider entering registration manually from your form data, and creating workflows to trigger based on the "Group - Add/Remove" trigger.

5. Select the + Add Action button and select the Group action type.
6. Search for the group you've created for this event and select it.

7. Click the DONE button and then click SAVE and you're all set!

Use Workflows to add all registrants to unique groups based on form responses

Form-based workflows can also add people to different groups depending on how they respond. For example, a drop-down box with Age Groups could be used to add registrants to the appropriate age groups.

You can use different types of fields for this function: Checkboxes, Radio Button, or Dropdown. View more information on these Basic Fields.

Here's how to set this up:

1. Follow steps 1-5 above. (If matching based on a person fieldset, make sure to choose those fields so each person added through them is linked properly)
2. Instead of selecting a specific group, leave the group text field blank (unless you want to add a person to two groups).
3. Next, in the dropdown provided, select the form question that contains the name of the groups a person could be added to. Based on your setup in the Form field, the registrants will be matched with the Groups they are added to.

4. Click the DONE button and then click SAVE and you're all set!

Note: Prefixes or Suffixes work well to creatively name your groups so that they're understandable to the registrant but unique for just the purpose of this event. For example, if you were grouping based on the last grade completed for VBS Registration, you could use "VBS" in your group name; "First Grade - VBS, Second Grade - VBS," and so on.

Wrap Up

You can follow the same principles above to add other triggers and actions to save a tremendous amount of automating processes surrounding your events. Here are some more ideas...

• Send a confirmation Email or SMS (Text) to the registrant.
  • For parents, include a link to an online consent form they can fill out and submit
• Assign an Interaction so the group leader can send a personal welcome or start praying for the registrant in advance of the event.
• Schedule Email or SMS (Text) reminders with important information once a person has been in a group for a certain amount of time.

Updated October 07, 2024 15:55