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Automation

Candidate check-ins

How to automate candidate availability check-ins with multi-step outreach and smart response handling.

Check-ins automate the process of reaching out to candidates to verify their current availability. They're designed for labour hire and staffing agencies that need to regularly confirm whether candidates are still available for work.

How check-ins work

You create a check-in rule that defines:

  • Which candidates to check in with (based on their status and how long they've been in that status)
  • How to reach them (a sequence of email and/or SMS steps)
  • What to ask (response options like "Yes, still available" or "No, I found a role")
  • What to do when they respond (e.g. update their candidate status automatically)

The system runs hourly, finding eligible candidates and sending check-ins according to your rules. If a candidate doesn't respond to the first step, follow-up steps are sent automatically on the schedule you define.

Creating a check-in rule

Navigate to Check-Ins in the sidebar and click New Rule.

1. Rule name

Give your rule a descriptive name, such as "90-day availability check" or "Weekly available candidate ping".

2. Trigger conditions

Define which candidates are eligible for this check-in. All conditions must be met (AND logic):

  • Candidate status — select the status candidates must be in (e.g. "Available")
  • Days in status — how many days the candidate must have been in that status before they're eligible (e.g. 90 days). This uses the date the candidate's status was last changed

For example, you might set conditions to target candidates who have been in the "Available" status for at least 30 days.

3. Outreach steps

Define a sequence of outreach steps. Each step sends a message via email or SMS. If the candidate responds to any step, remaining steps are automatically cancelled.

For each step, configure:

  • Channel — Email or SMS
  • When to send — immediately (day 0) or a number of days after the check-in is created (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, or 14 days)

Email steps

For email steps, fill in:

  • From name and Reply-to email
  • Subject and Body

Include {{response_links}} in the email body to insert clickable buttons for each response option. Candidates click a button to respond directly from the email.

SMS steps

For SMS steps, enter the message text (maximum 320 characters). Candidates reply to the SMS naturally — AI interprets their response and matches it to the closest response option.

Template variables

Use these in your messages:

  • {{first_name}}, {{last_name}}, {{full_name}} — candidate name
  • {{current_status}} — candidate's current status name
  • {{response_links}} — clickable response buttons (email only)

4. Response options

Define the responses candidates can choose from (1 to 5 options). For example:

  • "Yes, still available"
  • "No, I found a role"
  • "Unavailable for now, check back later"

For each response option, set an action:

  • Update candidate status — automatically change the candidate's status to a specified value (e.g. change to "Unavailable" if they respond "No, I found a role")
  • No action — record the response without making any changes

5. Schedule

  • Repeat every (days) — how often to re-check eligible candidates. After a candidate responds, they'll only be checked in again once the repeat period has passed and they still match the trigger conditions (default: 30 days)
  • Send window — the hours during which messages can be sent, in your account's timezone (e.g. 9 AM to 6 PM)

How responses work

Email responses

Candidates click a button in the email that corresponds to their answer. The response is recorded immediately with high confidence, and the configured action is executed.

SMS responses

Candidates reply to the SMS in natural language. AI analyses the reply and matches it to the closest response option. Responses are classified with a confidence level:

  • High confidence — the reply clearly maps to an option. The action is executed automatically
  • Low confidence — the reply probably maps to an option. The action is still executed, but the response is flagged for review
  • Unclear — the reply doesn't clearly map to any option. The response is recorded but no action is executed. It appears as "needs review" in the activity log

Multi-step escalation

When a candidate becomes eligible for a check-in, all steps are scheduled upfront with staggered send times. For example, if you have three steps at day 0, day 3, and day 7:

  1. Step 1 is sent immediately
  2. Step 2 is scheduled for 3 days later
  3. Step 3 is scheduled for 7 days later

If the candidate responds to step 1, steps 2 and 3 are automatically cancelled. The system also cancels remaining steps if the candidate's status changes before they're sent.

Managing check-in rules

From the check-in rules index page you can:

  • Enable/disable a rule — disabled rules won't create new check-ins, but existing scheduled check-ins will still be sent
  • Edit a rule — update conditions, steps, response options, or schedule
  • View activity — click a rule to see a log of recent check-ins, including delivery status, candidate responses, AI confidence, and actions taken
  • Delete a rule — permanently removes the rule

Example: 90-day availability check

  1. Conditions: Status = "Available", Days in status ≥ 90
  2. Step 1 (Email, day 0): "Hi {{first_name}}, are you still available for work? {{response_links}}"
  3. Step 2 (SMS, day 3): "Hi {{first_name}}, just checking — are you still available? Reply yes or no."
  4. Response options:
    • "Yes, still available" → No action
    • "No, I found a role" → Update status to "Placed"
    • "Unavailable for now" → Update status to "Unavailable"
  5. Repeat every: 90 days
  6. Send window: 9 AM – 6 PM