Sapling - Smart Assignment

Introduction 

Smart Assignment recommends matching Profile Templates, Workflows, Documents, and Outbox Templates during onboarding or offboarding based on your Group Filters and team member groups.

Customers using Smart Assignment spend over 50% less time launching their onboarding and offboarding events, so it's enabled by default for all customers (you can change this setting under Administration Tools > Groups > Configure Smart Assignment).

This article covers the following topics:

• How does Smart Assignment work?
• Prerequisites to using Smart Assignment
• Smart Assignment in the Onboarding Flow
• Smart Assignment in the Offboarding Flow
• What's the background here?

How does Smart Assignment work?

If a particular item is applied to certain Group Filters (a workflow only applicable to certain locations or job families, for example), we'll compare those filters against the values populated on your team member during their onboarding or offboarding event. These items can have up to 5 filtering rules applied.

If your team member's data fully matches the filter rules defined on the workflow, template, etc. then that item is added to their onboarding or offboarding program. You can always override these recommendations of course.

If your team member's data doesn't fully match the item's filter rules, then the items isn't automatically added. You can choose to add any item not automatically added if needed.

Let's walk through a few examples

Let's assume you've configured 5 Group Types as Group Filters for Smart Assignment:

• Location
• Department
• Employment Status
• Job Family
• Division

And you've also updated your workflows and other items to leverage those filters, so you have a workflow that should be applied only to a certain subset of team members.

As you're onboarding or offboarding a team member, if their assigned groups for those 5 filters fully match the groups defined in the rules for your workflow, then Smart Assignment will automatically add that workflow. You can remove that workflow, or add others, to the team member's plan if needed.

This could occur through a Precise Match (the team member's values are exactly aligned to the workflow filter rules) or a General Match (the workflow has some or all filter rules set to "All"). In both cases, Smart Assignment will automatically add that workflow.

If the team member's assigned groups for those 5 filters fully don't fully match the groups defined in the rules for your workflow, then Smart Assignment will not automatically add that workflow. You can add that workflow to the team member's plan if needed.

This could occur if some or all of the team member's values don't match the filter rules, or if the team member's values are incomplete. Regardless, Smart Assignment will not automatically add that workflow.

Prerequisites to using Smart Assignment

Most areas of Sapling default to "All" Locations, Departments, and Employment Statuses as filter rules. You can change those rules as well as the filters used, selecting up to 5 Group Filters. Configure your Group Filters and Smart Assignment from the Groups page.

You may also want to review our Transitioning to Smart Assignment guide for a step-by-step plan.

Smart Assignment in the Onboarding Flow

When onboarding a new team member, you can activate Smart Assignment by scrolling to the "Smart Assignment" section of the “Name and role” step of the onboarding flow.  Use the toggle to turn these suggestions on or off for the rest of the onboarding process.

If Smart Assignment is enabled, all Group Filters you've selected in the step prior will be required to be filled before progressing to the next onboarding step.

 

Smart Assignment in the Offboarding Flow

When offboarding an existing team member, you can activate Smart Assignment by scrolling to the "Smart Assignment" section of the “Confirm details” step of the offboarding flow. Use the toggle to turn these suggestions on or off for the rest of the offboarding process. 

If Smart Assignment is enabled, all Group Filters you've selected in the step prior will be required to be filled before progressing to the next offboarding step.

What's the background here?

Sapling launched Smart Assignment in 2020 and immediately saw customers spending significantly less time building and launching their onboarding events. Smart Assignment expanded to include Outbox Templates and cover offboarding events as well.

In 2022, thanks to incredible customer feedback, we relaunched Smart Assignment with the ability to build onboarding and offboarding plans based on any 5 group filters as opposed to the original Location, Department, and Employment Status limitations. This latest enhancement increased the opportunities to use Smart Assignment, saving more time and adding more consistency to our customer's onboarding and offboarding events.

If you want to take a trip down memory lane, check out the original 2-minute launch video from 2020, in full global pandemic glory.