Congratulations! You’ve built, tested, and refined your workflow. Now it’s time to move from the sandbox to the school office. If you have not tested the workflow yet you can find out how to do so here: Testing a Workflow.
Because Arbor Workflows is built directly into your MIS ecosystem, it is designed to be flexible. There is no "one right way" to launch a workflow; instead, you have the freedom to embed these processes wherever your staff are already working.
Here are the most effective ways to share your trigger forms and get your staff engaging with your new automated processes.
Sharing via Direct Links
Every workflow begins with a Trigger Form. Once your workflow is live, you can generate a unique URL for this form. find out more about the trigger form here: Setting up a Trigger Form
How to do it: Navigate to your active workflow, go to the 'Trigger' step, and copy the Public/Internal Link.
-
Best for: One-off requests or sending via a quick Arbor Message or email.
Hosting Locally on Your Staff Portal
Most schools and MATs have a central "hub" (like a SharePoint, Google Site, or internal staff intranet).
How to do it: Create a dedicated "Workflows" or "Staff Requests" page on your portal. Add buttons or hyperlinks that point directly to the specific Arbor Workflow trigger forms.
Best for: Creating a "one-stop shop" for staff. They don't need to remember where a specific form is; they just go to the Staff Portal.
Embedding into School Policies
Make your workflows part of your school's "source of truth" by linking them directly within your policy documents.
How to do it: In your PDF or Word policy documents (e.g., Staff Absence Policy or Expenses Policy), include a "Click here to submit a request" link that leads to the Arbor Workflow form.
Best for: Ensuring compliance. When a staff member reads the policy, the tool to execute the process is right in front of them.
Device Shortcuts
-
Desktop: Save the trigger form URL as a shortcut on school office desktops.
Batch Triggers
For workflows that need to happen for many people at once (available on Perform and MAT Plus/Advanced tiers), you can trigger workflows in "Batch."
How to do it: Use the "Bulk Actions" feature to trigger a specific workflow for a selected group of students or staff. Find out how here: Bulk or Batch Trigger of a Workflow
Best for: End-of-term reports, staff appraisals for a whole cohort, or MAT-wide policy sign-offs.
Which method should I choose?
The beauty of Arbor Workflows is that you don't have to choose just one. You might:
Host all forms on your SharePoint.
Embed the link in the relevant PDF policy.
-
Email the link to the specific staff member during their induction.
For more information on deploying a workflow go to: Deploying a Workflow