Templates are designed to save you time by providing pre-built drafts for common school processes. Whether you are using a Comms workflow for simple notifications or a Perform workflow for complex multi-step automations, getting started is easy.
Using a template is the fastest way to turn a manual process into an automated one. This article will guide you through why and how to use templates to power your school’s operations.
How to use a Template
To use a template you will need to have permissions to enable you to build and edit a workflow. If you can see the Workflows tab on your Arbor Workflows homepage, this is a good indicator that you will be able to do this. If you need to check the permissions that relate by default to Arbor Workflows, take a look at this article: School MIS and MAT MIS Business Roles and Arbor Workflow Permissions
Select the Workflows tab to open the Select Workflows drop down where the '+ New Workflow' option is present.
Select the '+ New workflow' button to display the 'Start from Template' and 'Start from scratch' options
Select 'Start from Template' and either the 'All Workflows' or the collection option that best fit your process you are wanting to build. A collection is the heading that is grouping similar process workflow together. For example, HR and People, SEND Processes and Finance.
Browse the Library: You will see a list of available templates, short description of the template and what tier the features within it relate to.
Choose Your Template, edit the title and add to an existing collection
Select Map Roles & Assets: Click on this button to be directed to start the process of mapping this workflow template for your context.
Configure Recipients: You will need to assign specific staff members or roles to the Recipient/Owner fields of each step. You will see the current Role that is set up to that step to give an indication of what sort of role that currently goes to. It may be that you have the same, similar or not a role matching that currently. You can either select a role that you current have available or make a note to create one that fits the context and manually change in the workflow editor.
Configure Assets: The workflow template may tag or attach to an asset. You will see the title of this asset but not the contents. You will need to assign your school or organisations asset or make a note to add this manually. Assets can be Links or Files and can be at Group or School level.
Create Workflow: Once the roles and assets are mapped select 'create workflow'.
From here you will be navigated to the workflow builder to view and edit the steps to fit your context and own process. A good starting point may be to test the workflow as it is to get a sense of the current build.
Why build from a template?
While you can build any workflow from scratch, our templates offer several key advantages:
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Templates are built based on best-practice school processes. They provide the "bones" of the workflow so you don’t have to start from scratch.
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It is much easier to delete or tweak a step that already exists than to build one from the ground up. You can take a standard template and iterate on it to fit your school’s unique context. Actions that you can take to tailor your workflow include:
Templates come pre-configured tags on steps (like Arbor Data steps with automate communication with the MIS to complete an action), saving you the time of setting up data mappings.
Remember, a template is a great way to get started but is not an out of the box and ready to go solution.
We always recommend reviewing each step, recipient and task carefully to ensure these are what your school and context need.