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Automation with trigger - send a summary only 1/day or 1/week

  • July 17, 2023
  • 5 replies
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H
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I want to set up various automations with reminders (slack messages) or updates for the team but not spam them with an overload of updates.

So far I only found how I can trigger Slack messages for a certain trigger but I want to avoid sending a message for each trigger.

How could I "collect" all messages for one user and only send them a slack update e.g. once per day/week, with every update this person was mentioned in or task status changes that are relevant for that person?

Thank you very much 🙂 

Best answer by CJSmith

Hey @Helenelene, happy to outline the automation and discuss further once you have the requests lined up! 

To answer your general question, our backlog was just an Airtable view customized for our specific group. Over time, it evolved into an interface, but it was the same concept. Essentially just a hyperlink in the Slack notification with CTA verbiage: "Access the Backlog". Linking the Slack formatting support article here for further reading!

As for the automation, it would be something like this:

  • Trigger: At a certain time
  • Action 1: Find records where {Status Field Name} = "[Incomplete Status]"
  • Action 2: Send Slack > Use data from Action 1 > Length of list of records

The expected result would be a Slack message that arrives at a certain time each day (adjustable for multiple times/day at variable times) that shows the total number of outstanding tasks/requests. Of course, variables in your base structure and overall process may add complexity, but what I've outlined above is a basic example.

Let me know if you have any additional questions!

CJSmith

5 replies

TheTimeSavingCo
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Hmm, how's your data set up?  Could you provide some screenshots of the relevant tables?

Adam, Airtable Consultant - thetimesaving.company
CJSmith
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  • CJSmith
  • Participating Frequently
  • July 17, 2023

Hi @Helenelene, something my team responded well to was timed digest notifications.

Essentially, my team dealt with dozens of requests every day, and the single notifications could get difficult to track/annoying to deal with. To consolidate notifications, I made an automation that would count how many unfulfilled tasks were in the backlog twice per day (once in the morning and once before EOD - both decided upon by the team) then send a Slack message with a nicely formatted link to the backlog and the total number of items unfulfilled as determined by the automation at each of those times. This allowed the team to track progress throughout the day and served as a convenient - but not annoying - reminder.

I can draft up the automation specifics if this sounds like a good solution for your users, just let me know!

H
H
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  • Helenelene
  • Author
  • Known Participant
  • July 18, 2023

Hi @CJSmith, thank for getting back to me. It's great to here that there is a solution.

I am currently still setting up all the Slack Bases for the whole agency. The next step will be to define the exact notification needs for each department. Once I have the exact requests it would be great to follow up with you in detail (or if you could share the automation specifics, would be great)

General question: how would a link to the backlog look like/how do I access the backlog.

Again, thanks a lot - it's great to learn that there is actually a solution for this challenge 🙂 

CJSmith
CJSmith
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  • CJSmith
  • Participating Frequently
  • Answer
  • July 18, 2023

Hey @Helenelene, happy to outline the automation and discuss further once you have the requests lined up! 

To answer your general question, our backlog was just an Airtable view customized for our specific group. Over time, it evolved into an interface, but it was the same concept. Essentially just a hyperlink in the Slack notification with CTA verbiage: "Access the Backlog". Linking the Slack formatting support article here for further reading!

As for the automation, it would be something like this:

  • Trigger: At a certain time
  • Action 1: Find records where {Status Field Name} = "[Incomplete Status]"
  • Action 2: Send Slack > Use data from Action 1 > Length of list of records

The expected result would be a Slack message that arrives at a certain time each day (adjustable for multiple times/day at variable times) that shows the total number of outstanding tasks/requests. Of course, variables in your base structure and overall process may add complexity, but what I've outlined above is a basic example.

Let me know if you have any additional questions!

H
H
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  • Helenelene
  • Author
  • Known Participant
  • July 21, 2023

Thanks again 🙏

That really makes it clearer. I'll get back on your offer once I have everything set up.

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