QUICK START GUIDE - Email Checklist

• Checklists are aids that help you review configuration settings and follow best practices prior to testing. Be sure to test the functionality fully in your Pilot portal before releasing to end users.
• The Email Checklist guide is designed to provide best practice support and avoid common challenges related to the utilization of emails.

PERMISSIONS REQUIRED AND PAGE ACCESS

ASSIGN PERMISSION	Email - Edit From Address Email Preferences - Manage Emails by Learning Object - Manage Emails by Learning Object - View Global Email Administration - Manage Global Email Administration - View
GO TO	Admin > Email

 

BEST PRACTICES FOR email settings

General
Deadbox & Copydowns	Utilize a deadbox in Stage and Pilot to ensure that ‘live’ emails aren’t sent to users based on testing efforts. A deadbox is enabled on the backend. Contact Global Customer Support to add or modify a deadbox. Copy Downs – This will remove the deadbox account in Pilot and/or Stage, so make sure to clarify when requesting a copy down what the deadbox email should be. Additionally, specific email triggers are inactivated after a copy down to Pilot and/or Stage. Re-enable relevant triggers based on your business goals.
Email Log Report	Leverage the Email Log Report to assess emails are being sent as desired. As a reminder, the email will be sent to the address on the user record. You can confirm email accuracy by utilizing the email log report. CC’s users are not captured on the email log.
Languages	Emails will only be sent if an email is configured for their language. However, you can leverage the ‘Include users not using this language’ to ensure that all users receive the email regardless of their default language.
Know Your Triggers	In Help, search ‘Email Triggers’ to understand the business logic utilized to drive when emails are sent.
Leverage HTML	In order to grab a user’s attention, utilize HTML graphics and logos. If you or your team aren’t comfortable with HTML, you can still create a dynamic email utilizing the WISIWYG editor.
Email TAGS	Allow for a more personalized dynamic experience that provides specific information to the user, rather than a general email that is often overlooked or ignored.
Marketing Emails	For email communication that doesn’t have a specific email trigger, setup and leverage the marketing email functionality. You can build in a specific date and time for the email communication to be sent to your users to make them aware of a new program or initiative.
Availability	If no availability is set, it is presumed the email should be sent to everyone in your organization, as long as they are designated in the ‘Send To:’ or ‘CC:’ sections. Availability allows you to restrict who receives the email. For example, adding a specific division into availability will restrict the email to only triggering for users in that division.
From Address and Reply-To-Address	Executive buy-in on talent management initiatives is often imperative to the success of your talent management initiatives. One way to drive this is to utilize the email address as if it was sent from a high level executive. If you do utilize this strategy, a best practice is to set the ‘Reply-To-Address’ from a more general email, such as TalentManagement@abccompany.com.

 

Learning
Learning Assignments	Be aware that emails, including Due Date emails, are queued as soon as the learning assignment processes, changes to email verbiage will not be allowed. As a result, it’s often a best practice to enable needed emails at the learning object level, rather than at the assignment level.
Reminder Emails	You can set ‘reminder’ emails to trigger so many days/hours/minutes before or after a trigger occurs. That is, 2 days before a learning object ‘Due Date’, an email can be triggered. Make sure to have internal conversations with your stakeholders on the right number of emails to have maximum affect.
Outlook and Google Calendar	For ILT Emails, it’s a best practice to send a Google or Outlook calendar invite to a user so they can block the time on their calendar. For a list of emails which contain the calendar option, please search ‘Outlook Options’ in Help.

 

Performance
Custom Emails vs. Standard Emails	When building your review task, consider the most effective way to communicate milestones within the performance review. For some performance review steps, it may be beneficial to leverage a custom email to include specific instructions or direction on the action required.
Marketing Emails	Before your performance review launches, consider leveraging marketing communications to send a mass email to users introducing the performance review process, include timeline, directions and a message around the importance behind the process.
Email Log	Just like in the main Email Administration area, you can view the Email Log for custom email triggers in the Review Workflow tab of the task.
Email Triggers	An email is sent to each user in the group per step. For example, if a manager has 20 direct reports, the manager would receive 20 separate “Performance Review Step Due Date” emails for each direct report. In this case, it is a good idea to consider using the Email Digest functionality to consolidate this process (see below).
Email Setup Considerations	Once a performance review task has been started, the task and associated emails can no longer be edited. Users will not receive due date reminders for Performance Review steps they have already submitted For the “Performance Review Step Assigned” and “Performance Review Step Due Date” emails for a self-review step, those emails cannot be sent to “Reviewer” because the system considers this user the “Reviewee.” Use “Reviewee” in the recipient field in order for the email to fire. If using the “Performance Review Step Due Date” email trigger: the system gives the user until the due has PASSED to complete their step. So if you have your Step due on 5/1 and you set the reminder to go out 1 day before “event” (being the “due date”), the email will actually fire on midnight at the start of 5/1.

 

Email digest management
Email Digest	Is a scheduled email that is sent on a recurring basis and is intended to group a user’s notifications and reminders into one single email. Email Digests are managed separately than Email Administration. To manage email digests, go to Admin > Tools > Core Functions > Email Digest Management.
Email Trigger	Email Digests are only triggered if there is active and applicable content for that user. This helps reduce irrelevant email content to be sent to users.
Email Digests vs. Regular Email Triggers	Digest emails do not automatically inactivate the corresponding individual email, so it’s a best practice to inactivate the individual emails for triggers that you are utilizing a digest email for. Otherwise, users will receive the digest emails in addition to the individual emails. For example, if you include a “Performance Review Step Assigned” email in your Digest, you may want to mark that trigger inactive in the Email Administration area so a user doesn’t receive both.
Email Digest Frequency	Consider how often you want users to receive the email digest. This can be sent to users (daily, weekly, monthly) - based on specific time of day/time zone.
Admin Visibility	Utilize this to determine which administrators can view and edit the email digest (controlled by OU) (if you want certain admins to access some digests but not others).
Types of Sections Included in Email Digests	Email Digests can be created for some Connect, Compensation and Performance Review triggers. Connect: Use the digest to include a Community Postings section, Team Feed Updates section and Team Tasks Summary section. Performance: Use the digest to include a Performance Review Step Assigned section and a Performance Review Step Due section. Compensation: Use the digest to include a Compensation Task Due: Task Approver section.

 

BEST PRACTICES FOR POST CONFIGURATION

GO TO	Admin > Emails
ENABLE SETTING	Make sure to enable the Email Deadbox in your Pilot and Stage environments. Contact Global Customer Support to enable your Deadbox, as this is a back-end setting.