Runbook events; Messages, Forms, Actions

This article explains how to utilise events and microsites within Runbooks.

Overview

Events are the building blocks of a runbook. Each event is something the runbook sends or asks for at a set point in time.

There are four kinds:

Messages: send information to someone, such as a welcome note, a reminder, or a link to a microsite.

Forms: ask someone to fill in and submit a form, such as equipment preferences or bank details.

Actions: give someone a task to complete, such as "Order laptop" or "Book first-week 1:1."

Microsites: a single landing page for runbook content. You share it by adding its link to a message (covered in this article)

Every event has a recipient, a channel, and a schedule. The recipient can be a specific person (through Slack or email), a runbook role (for example, Manager, Buddy, IT, HR Ops, HRBP, Legal, or a custom role).

Messages, forms, and actions can go out by email (to a work or personal address) or through Slack or Microsoft Teams. You schedule each one (x) days from the runbook's start date, at a set send time (this is based on the organisation's default timezone, so you need to offset it to suit the send time based on the audience). Forms and actions can also have a due date.

As a runbook runs, each event moves through a status: Draft, Scheduled, Done, Overdue, Skipped, or Failed. An event is skipped automatically in a few cases:

• Someone was added to the runbook after the event's send date and time.

• The recipient is a deactivated user.

• An event was added to the parent runbook, which pulls it into the child runbook, but it skips because the runbook was already "completed," as you wouldn't want a message added to the parent runbook to send to someone who joined a year ago, for example. In this situation, it will show in the child runbook at the date it would have sent if it were in the parent runbook when the assignee was assigned.

How to create a message

1. Navigate to Runbooks > select your runbook > Events, and add a new Message event.

2. Choose the recipient: a specific user, a runbook role, or an email address.

3. Choose the channel: email or Slack/Microsoft Teams.

4. Write the message. Optionally, add CC recipients or choose who the message is sent as.

5. Set when it sends, based on the runbook start date and default org time.

6. Optionally, add a filter so the message only goes to assignees who match it.

How to create a form

1. First, make sure the form you want to send already exists. ❓ Clarify: where forms are built (within the runbook or in a separate Forms area).

2. In the runbook's Events, add a new Form event and select the form.

3. Choose the recipient and channel, and add a title and message explaining what the form is for.

4. Set the send date and time, and a due date for submission.

5. Optionally, add a filter and reminders for recipients who haven't submitted yet.

A form is marked Done once the recipient submits it. If it isn't submitted by the due date, it becomes Overdue. ❓ Clarify: whether form submissions can trigger follow-up actions (for example, setting a runbook role from a form answer), and if so, how an Admin sets that up.

How to create an action

1. In the runbook's Events, add a new Action event.

2. Give it a clear title that describes the task (e.g., "Order laptop"), plus any instructions in the message.

3. Assign it to the person or runbook role responsible.

4. Set the send date and time, and a due date.

5. Optionally, add a filter and reminders.

The assignee marks the action "Done" when they've completed it from either Slack, email, or Teams. If it isn't completed by the due date, it becomes Overdue.