Integrating your staff leave requests with Arbor Workflows ensures that once an absence is approved, the data flows directly into your Arbor MIS without the need for manual re-entry.
The Arbor Data step configured to "Add an Absence Record" to automated action. It is typically placed in a workflow after a Decision (Approval) step. Once the decision-maker clicks "Yes," the workflow automatically pushes the absence details into the staff member's record in the MIS.
A pre-configured template for Planned Absence is available that we would recommend using. This includes the Arbor Data step that is mapped to the reasons for absence within the MIS. To find out how to use templates, see Building from a Template.
Add the Automated Step
In the Workflow Builder, click the (+) icon after your approval step and select Arbor Data.
Configure the Action
Under the Arbor Data menu, select the action: Add an Absence Record. This relates to staff absence.
Map Your Data Fields
To ensure the information reaches the correct staff record, you need to "map" the information captured in your forms to the fields in Arbor. This information will be available to select as tags. The required field and required format are as below. If a tag is unavailable, it may not match the required format. Check out: Unable to locate tags.
The 'Reasons for Absence'
If using the template, even as a starting point, the reasons for absence have been pre-configured to match the reasons list on the MIS, to enable automation. We would strongly recommend using the template as your starting point and not editing the reasons for absence question.
If you wish to create the dropdown for these reasons you can use the dropdown format details in Form Building: Question Types. These reasons are as follows:
COMPASSIONATE_LEAVE | Compassionate Leave
EXCEPTIONAL_CIRCUMSTANCES | Exceptional Circumstances
HOSPITAL_APPOINTMENT | Hospital Appointment
INTERVIEW | Interview
LATE | Late
MATERNITY | Maternity Leave
MEDICAL_APPOINTMENT | Medical Appointment
MEETING | Meeting
OBSERVATION | Observation
PAID_AUTHORISED | Authorise Leave with Pay
PAID_HOLIDAY | Paid Holiday
PATERNITY | Paternity Leave
PREGNANCY | Pregnancy
PUBLIC_DUTIES | Public Duties
RELIGIOUS_OBSERVANCE |Religious Observance
SCHOOL_ACTIVITY | School Activity
SECONDMENT | Secondment
SELF_ISOLATING | Self Isolating
SICKNESS | Sickness
SICKNESS_ MEDICAL_CERTIFICATED | Sickness with Medical Certification
SICKNESS_ SELF_ CERTIFICATED | Sickness Self Certified
STRIKE | Strike
TIME_ OFF_ FOR_DEPENDENT | Time Off for Dependent
TIME_ OFF_ FOR_ DEPENDENT_PAID | Paid Time Off for Dependent
TIME_ OFF_ IN_LIEU | Time Off In Lieu
TRAINING | Training
UNAUTHORISED | Unauthorised absence
UNPAID_AUTHORISED | Unpaid Unauthorised absence
WELLBEING_LEAVE | Wellbeing Leave
NEO | Neo
Handling Conditional Logic
This feature is not included within the template but could be used to expand and tailor this workflow to your context. Currently, the absence can only be logged for a full day. You can use rules and conditions to allow for this to not be logged into the MIS.
If you are on the Perform or Advanced tier, you can add conditional logic to this step. For example:
Auto-Skip: If the absence type is "Medical Appointment" and lasts less than 1 hour, you could set a condition to skip the MIS update and simply notify the line manager.
Auto-Reject: If the end date is before the start date, the workflow can auto-rewind to the staff member to correct the form.
Best Practices for Absence Workflows
The Approval Loop: Always ensure a Decision step precedes the MIS update. You don't want unverified absences appearing in your official MIS data!
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Use Updates: Add an Update to the previous step so the staff member receives an automated email or notification the moment their absence is successfully synced to Arbor.
Troubleshooting
Staff Record Not Found: Ensure the email address entered in the workflow form matches the primary business email recorded in the Arbor MIS Staff Profile.
Duplicate Records: If a workflow is "Rewound" and re-submitted, be sure to check if a record was already created to avoid duplicates in the MIS.