This article explains how to monitor and manage workflows created through the Automations area in Personio. To set up your own automation, see Create workflows.
If you want to monitor or manage workflows related to the employee lifecycle, like onboarding, offboarding, employee signatures, and approvals, see the relevant articles.
Monitor workflows
Use the Activity tab to track the performance of any workflows triggered within the last 30 days. The table lists all the names of workflows triggered and additional details like assignee, when it was triggered, the affected person, and status.
- Use the filter options at the top of the table to sort workflow instances.
- Select a specific workflow instance from the list to see details about its execution – like the current step, assigned personnel, assignment times, and more.
Edit a workflow
You can add, update, or delete steps in a workflow. Follow these steps:
- Go to Automations > Workflows. Select the workflow you want to edit.
- Click Edit in the top-right.
- Add a step: click the + icon, select the relevant components, and save the changes.
- Edit a step: select the relevant step and update its components as needed. Click Add or Update to save the changes.
- Delete a step: select the relevant step, then click the Bin icon.
- Save the workflow as a draft, or save and activate the new changes.
Note:
Edits that change the workflow logic will reset the trigger count and last triggered data in the Workflows tab.
Save an edited workflow
After editing an active workflow, you can save the changes in two ways:
Save type | Description |
Save and activate |
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Save as draft |
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Note:
You can save one draft version per workflow. A +1 symbol to the right of a workflow's status in the Workflows tab indicates an existing draft.
Copy a workflow
To duplicate an existing workflow, follow these steps:
- Go to Automations > Workflows.
- To the right of the workflow you want to copy, click the three dots icon > copy workflow to duplicate it.
- The duplicate workflow appears. Make any edits, and enter a new name for the workflow.
- Save it as a draft or activate it.
Activate a workflow
Before you start
Before activating a workflow, note the following:
- Activated workflows will start executing based on the defined trigger. Once triggered, you cannot stop the executions in progress, but you can deactivate or delete it to prevent future executions.
- Employees who are not yet invited to Personio may still receive notifications, like emails, tied to a workflow. Only activate a workflow if all employees included in it have been invited to Personio.
- We recommend only including invited users, like HR Managers, when testing workflows to ensure accurate results.
- Consider double-checking your workflows with a colleague before activating.
Activate a workflow
To activate a workflow, follow these steps:
- Go to Automations > Workflows.
- Create a workflow, or select an existing draft or inactive workflow from the list.
- Edit the workflow's components to suit your needs.
- Click save and activate.
The workflow appears on the list in the Workflows tab. You can monitor the progress and view more details about the workflow in the Activity tab.
Deactivate or delete a workflow
Deactivate a workflow
To deactivate a workflow, follow these steps:
- Go to Automations > Workflows. Find the workflow you want to deactivate.
- To the right of the workflow, click the three dots icon.
- Deactivate the workflow.
Future executions of the workflow will not run. Any in-progress executions can still be viewed and completed.
Delete a workflow
You can only delete draft or inactive workflows. See how to deactivate a workflow above. To delete a workflow, follow these steps:
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- Go to Automations > Workflows. Find the workflow you want to delete.
- If the workflow has an active status, deactivate it.
- To the right of the workflow you want to delete, click the three dots icon > Delete workflow.
Fix a broken workflow
Personio doesn't warn you in advance if a workflow breaks due to changes to the elements it uses. Instead, Personio notifies you when a workflow tries to run and encounters a problem. This helps to address issues and maintain workflow efficiency.
This is how we inform you about broken workflows:
- Personio highlights specific errors when you access the workflow in the workflow builder.
- An error message appears in the Status column of the workflow list in Automations > Workflows. This message contains details about the issue.
- You receive a task in your Inbox with details about the issue and a link to fix the broken workflow.
- You receive an email summarizing the errors with a link to fix the broken workflow.
For information about the issues that can break workflows, see the section about common reasons for broken workflows.
Note:
The person who created the workflow receives all notifications about broken workflows. Personio doesn't reassign these notifications if the original workflow creator is unavailable.
To fix a broken workflow:
- Open the broken workflow.
- Review and fix the highlighted errors in the workflow builder.
Fixing a workflow doesn’t reset the trigger counter to 0. It continues from where it left off. A fixed workflow doesn’t run again for triggers that happened while it was broken.
Broken workflow communication also includes broken action items. For example, if a recipient of a notification is missing, the workflow starts, but it doesn't send the notification. In this case, notifications, tasks, and approvals happen, but the system skips email actions.
Understand the common reasons for broken workflows
The following table shows the common reasons for broken workflows. These issues could occur in the conditions or rules of the workflow trigger. They could also occur in the workflow actions (for example, a recipient for a notification is missing):
Issue | Details |
Missing attributes |
The workflow needs a missing attribute. A missing attribute means someone deleted the entire attribute from Personio. Example: A custom attribute is missing in the conditions or rules of the workflow. |
Missing attribute values |
The workflow needs a missing attribute value. A missing attribute value means someone deleted a specific value within an attribute from Personio. Example: A custom attribute value (for example, an option) is missing in the conditions or rules of the workflow. |
Deleted/inactive employees |
The workflow specifies a deleted or inactive employee. Example: An employee is missing or inactive in the steps or rules of the workflow. |
Deleted employee role |
The workflow needs a role that is deleted. Example: A role is missing in the steps or rules of the workflow. |
Empty employee role |
The workflow needs a role that has no assigned members. Example: A role is empty in the steps or rules of the workflow. |