Send automatic Course Reminder emails to Trainers
Steps to send an automated Course Reminder email to my Trainers
Related Helpguide Pages
Additional Workflow Help guide pages
Course Reminder Related Workflows
Course Reminder email to my Delegates for their Classroom Courses
Course Reminder email to my Delegates for their Webinar Courses
Course Confirmation Related Workflows
Booking Confirmation email to my customer when they complete their basket
Delegate -Classroom Course Confirmation and Joining Instructions email
Delegate - Webinar Course Confirmation and Joining Instructions email
Delegate - eLearning Course Confirmation and Joining Instructions email
Delegate Transfer - Confirmation email to Delegate when they have transferred to another Course
Consolidation
Learn how to Send an automated Course Reminder email to Trainers on a Course
When a Trainer is assigned to a Course, sending a reminder email a few days before their session is a great way to ensure they’re fully prepared. These reminders aren’t just about confirming their assignment, they’re an opportunity to give Trainers time to review materials, finalise preparations, and address any questions or requirements. By providing clear and timely communication, you can help your Trainers feel confident and ready to deliver an organised and impactful Course!
Follow this page to learn the steps for sending an automated reminder to a Trainer ahead of their Course.
Create your Email Reminder Template
The first step is to create an Email Template, using merge fields and HTML branding Email Templates allow you to create consistent communications to send via your Platform.
Top Tip!
accessplanit platforms come with many pre-built Email Templates to save you time! These pre-built templates include a ‘Trainer - Course Date Reminder’ Email Template which you can use or copy from.
Open the ‘Administration’ menu from the Profile options at the top-right of your platform
Open the ‘Email Templates’ menu option to access the page where you can create and manage your Email Templates
This will take you to the Email Templates DataGrid
If you plan to copy from an existing Email Template, search for that Email Template, right-click on it and select ‘Edit’, then copy the contents of the Body, return to the Email Templates DataGrid
Click the ‘Add Email Template’ button
This will open the Email Template Form
Give your Email Template a ‘Name’
We recommend labelling your Email Template with the name of the anticipated recipient followed by a description of the email, such as “Trainer - Course Date Reminder”Select which Module your Email Template relates to, as this email will contain information about your Courses, you should select ‘Delegate’, this is the because Trainers and Delegates are both managed within the ‘Delegates’ modules.
Leave the ‘Email Type’ selected as ‘Normal’ as this is a transactional email, not a marketing email
Leave the ‘Creation Mode’ as ‘Free Text’ as you will be defining the content of your Email directly in the Email Template rather than first building Text Templates
Add in a ‘Subject’ for your email
We recommend including the name of the Course within the subject to catch the recipient’s attention in their inbox, you can do this by adding the merge field @@CourseOrAliasName into the Subject text boxAdd in the ‘Body’ of your email
If you copied the content from an existing Email Template, you can paste this content here!
If you need to apply branding to your email, please see our dedicated guide: Add company branding to Email TemplateUse the ‘Field' drop-down option in the text editor to include merge fields such as the Course Label and Status within your Email Template
Learn more about merge fieldsMerge Fields may vary depending on which module is selected.
Example Merge Fields that may be useful in your Course Reminder Email Template:
@@CourseOrAliasName
@@UserFullName
@@CourseDateStartDate{ddd dd MMM yyyy HH:mm}To test your Email Template, click the ‘Preview & Test’ button at the bottom of the window
Select a Preview Object by clicking the ‘Select’ button
This will open a pop-up window where you can select which Delegate or Trainer you would like to test your Email Template with, apply a filter to this DataGrid to only see Trainers using ‘Type’ - ‘Is In' - ‘Trainer’
Select your Preview object and press ‘OK’
You will now see a preview of your Email Template, populated with the information of your selected Trainer
If an area is blank where a Merge Field is placed, this could mean that there is no information stored for this Trainer under the Field the Merge Field is related to
To check that the Email displays correctly when it is sent, send a sample of the Email to yourself by providing your email address and clicking the ‘Send Email’ button
Once you are happy with your Email Template content, press the 'Save & Close' button
Create your Course Reminder Workflow
Workflows are used to automate communications, this is the step where you will define the circumstances needed for your Course Reminder email to be sent, when it will be sent, and who it will be sent to!
Create your Course Reminder Workflow
This step will teach you how to add a new Workflow to your platform and set up a Workflow Action to send your Trainer - Course Date Reminder Email Template out automatically!
Top Tip!
accessplanit platforms come with many pre-built Workflows to save you time! These pre-built templates include a 'Trainer - Course Date Reminder’ Workflow which you can update or clone.
Open the ‘Administration’ menu from the Profile options at the top-right of your platform
Click on the ‘Workflows’ menu option to open the Workflows DataGrid
This will open the Workflows DataGrid
Click the ‘Add Workflow’ button
This will open the Workflow Details page where you can create a new Workflow
From the new Workflow form, enter a ‘Title’ for your Workflow
We recommend labelling your Workflow with the name of the anticipated recipient followed by a description of the email, such as “Trainer - Course Date Reminder”Select the same Module that you used for your Email Template (for this Workflow you need the ‘Delegate’ module)
Leave the Trigger Event set as ‘Saved’
This Workflow should be generated when a Delegate/Trainer is updated/saved, not when it is ‘deleted’Provide a useful Description so that your team know what this Workflow is for
Leave your Workflow inactive for now
It will be set to active once you have finished setting everything up!Click the ‘Save’ button in the top right
After you have saved your Workflow with those details, you will be able to access the management menu on the left to add further information
From the Workflow Management menu, click to open the ‘Settings’ page for this Workflow
This will open the Workflow Settings page
Optional - The ‘Required Role’ option is where you can set that only Training Administrators or only Super Administrators are able to view and edit this Workflow, if this option is left blank, it means both Super Admins and Training Admins can both view and edit this Workflow
Add Rules to your Workflow to decide which Trainers will have this Reminder email triggered
Here are some common rules used for automated reminder Emails, you can include any combination of these, as required:Only send Delegates who are in the Type of 'Trainer': Type - Is In - Trainer
This rule will stop this email sending to Delegates on the Course, it will only send to the Course Trainer(s)
Only send for Courses that are running: Course Status - Is In - Fully Booked, In Progress, Available
This rule will stop the Workflow from being triggered for Trainers assigned to Courses that are cancelled, completed, provisional, and on hold.
Only send for Courses that have a start date in the future: Course Start Date - Period - Future
This rule will mean the Workflow will only trigger for Trainers on Courses that haven’t started yet.
DOnly send to Delegates on a head course or a non-sessional course: Is Session Candidate - Equal To - No
This rule stops the Workflow from triggering for Delegates registered onto individual Sessions that are part of a Sessional booking.
It will still trigger for Delegates on:The parent (main) Course in a Sessional setup
Standalone Courses that are not part of a Sessional structure
For example someone booked to attend a 3-day First Aid Course would receive the email for the ‘First Aid Course’ but they would not receive it for the Sessions ‘Day 1’, ‘Day 2', and 'Day 3’
If you think that you may require Advanced Rules for your Workflow, please see our dedicated section within our Workflows Overview page
Leave the ‘Matching Rules’ checkbox checked
It is very unlikely that you will need to make any changes to any of the other settings available on the Settings page, to read more about these options please see our guide Workflows Overview
Once you have added all of your rules, click the 'Save' button at the top right of the page
From the Workflow Management menu, select the ‘Actions’ option, this will open the Workflow Actions DataGrid where you define what will happen when your Workflow Rules are met (e.g. an email will send)
Click the ‘Add Workflow Action’ button
This will open the ‘Details’ section for your Workflow Action
Enter an ‘Action Label’ for your Email Action
We recommend labelling your Workflow Email Actions with the details of the email and when it will be sent, such as 'Trainer - Course Date Reminder - 2 - Days - Before - Course Start Date”Select the Action Name ‘Send Email’
Press the ‘Save’ button in the top right to access the additional settings
Once you have saved, extra options will become available on the page
The first setting is ‘Action Date’ this is where you define when the email will send
For this Workflow action, it is recommended to set this action date to be between 7 and 2 days before the Course Start Date,Please see our dedicated section within our Workflow with Email Actions page for more information on Action dates
Check the ‘Send on Action Date Only’ if you do not want an email to be sent for Trainers who are added to your Courses after the email was due to send
For example, if your email is set to be sent 7 days before the start date and the Trainer is assigned 5 days before the Course, they have missed the Workflow Action DateIf ‘Send on Action Date Only’ is checked, the email for this Trainer would not send
If ‘Send on Action Date Only’ is not checked, the email for this Trainer would send soon after the Trainer is assigned, providing they meet the Workflow rules
Use the ‘From Address’ options to enter the sender email address for this email
This reduces the risk of your emails being mistaken for spam or phishing attempts, plus, it simplifies you communication – as the recipient of your email will know who to reach out to and where their replies to your emails should go.
Please make sure that you use a real email address as your ‘From Address’, otherwise the emails will likely end up being caught by spam filters.
Use the ‘To Address’ options to select who you would like to receive this email
Booking User Email Address: This is not applicable for this email as the Trainer is not added to the Course via a booking.
Company Email Address: This is not applicable for this email as the Trainer does not have a Delegate Company record.
Delegate Email Address: This is the email address of Trainer(s) assigned to the Course.
Direct Manager’s Email Address: This is the email address of the User assigned as the Trainer’s Direct Manager, you can find this option by editing the User and viewing the 'Direct Manager' option within the Employment section.
Employers Email Address: This is the email address for all the Accounts that the Trainer has an active employment record with.
Managers Email Address: This is the email address for all Users that manage this Trainer, this is set up in the ‘Management’ tab when editing a User.
Select the Email Template that you created earlier from the 'Email Template’ drop-down box
If you would like to include any attachments to this email, click the ‘Add File’ button on the Attachment options, and select your file
If your Joining Instructions are a document, here would be the best place to attach them.
File: A static document that has been uploaded to the Files area of your platform, commonly used for files such as 'terms & conditions'
Document Template: A dynamic document that has been uploaded to the Document Templates area of your platform, commonly used for files such as joining instructions letters, certificates, and sign-in sheets
Click the 'Save' button to save your Workflow Email Action
Once you have added your Workflow Action, your Workflow is ready to be tested!
Test and enable your Course Reminder Workflow
Once you have created your Email Template and Workflow it is time to test, testing is a good way to ensure the email sends when you expect and the content of the email displays correctly in your email inbox.
Test your Course Reminder Workflow Content - Single Email Test
This testing approach is best used for Workflows where you want to view/test the content of the email only, if you would like to test that your rules are set up correctly (and that your Workflow will send when expected), please jump ahead to the “Test your Course Reminder Workflow - Become the Recipient” below.
Open the ‘Administration’ menu option at the top right of your platform
Click on the 'Workflows' menu option to open the Workflows DataGrid
Search for your Workflows by applying filters and/or searching the Workflows DataGrid
Right-click on the Workflow and select ‘Actions’ from the context menu
From the Workflow Actions DataGrid, right-click on your Workflow Email Action and select the ‘Edit’ option
Click on the ‘Preview & Test’ button at the top right of the Workflow Email Action edit page
Select a Course from the ‘Preview Object’
This will show you a preview of the email and how it will display in the ‘Content’ section
Enter your Email Address into the 'Send sample to' option
Click the ‘Send Email’ to send a copy of this Email Template for this Course to your Email Address
If you notice any changes are needed to your Email Template, open the ‘Email Templates’ DataGrid from the ‘Administration’ menu option, edit your Email Template and save. You can then run through these testing steps again.
Once you are happy with the content of your Email Template and Workflow you can set your Workflow to Active!
Top Tip
If you would prefer to test your Workflow Rules before enabling your Workflow, do not set your Workflow to Active and please move directly to 'Test your Workflow Rules - Become the Recipient'.
Open the ‘Administration’ menu option at the top right of your platform
Click on the ‘Workflows’ menu option to open the Workflows DataGrid
Search for your Workflows, right-click it and select the 'Edit' option from the context menu
Scroll down to the ‘Active’ checkbox and check this box
Click the ‘Save’ button at the top of the page to save your Workflow as active!
Test your Course Reminder Workflow Rules - Become the Recipient
This testing approach is best used for Workflows where you are not 100% confident with the rules of your Workflow, and you would like to ensure that you will not send out your emails at the wrong time, about the wrong Trainers. With this approach you will start using your Workflow, but all of the Emails will be sent to your email address temporarily.
Open the ‘Administration’ menu option at the top right of your platform
Click on the ‘Workflows' menu option to open the Workflows DataGrid
Search for your Workflows by applying filters and/or searching the Workflows DataGrid
Right-click on the Workflow and select ‘Actions’ from the context menu
From the Workflow Actions DataGrid, right-click on your Workflow Email Action and select the ‘Edit’ option
Scroll to the ‘To Address’ option and change the setting from ‘Field’ to ‘Constant’
If there are any existing recipients listed in the ‘To Address’ bar remove these, and type in the email address(es) that you would like to receive your emails to, press enter after you have typed in each email address
Click the ‘Save’ button at the top of your page to save these changes
Repeat steps 4-6 if you have any additional Workflow Email Actions for this Workflow
Once you have set all of your Workflow Actions to send to an Administrator’s Email Address you can set your Workflow to Active!
Open the ‘Administration’ menu option at the top right of your platform
Click on the ‘Workflows’ menu option to open the Workflows DataGrid
Search for your Workflows, right-click on it to view the context menu options and select the 'Edit' option
Scroll down to the ‘Active’ checkbox and check this box
Click the ‘Save’ button at the top of the page to save your Workflow as active!
After a period of time, when you are confident that your Course Reminder emails are sending for the right Trainers at the right time, you can then update the Workflow Actions 'To Address' to the correct recipient(s) and Save.