Flows

What are Flows?

Salesforce Flows enable standard product functionality to be extended by collecting data or performing actions. Flows offer more options than Salesforce Workflow Rules or Process Builder and can replace functionality developed with those tools.

Note

Salesforce blocked the creation of new Workflow Rules in their Winter '23 release, and blocked the creation of new Process Builder Processes in their Summer '23 release. For new automation tasks, you need to use Flows. Existing Workflow Rules and Process Builder Processes can still be activated, deactivated, and edited.

A Salesforce Migrate to Flow tool is available for existing Workflow Rules and Process Builders. If you use the tool you must validate output before activating in a production environment

Salesforce plans to end support for Workflow Rules and Process Builder at the end of 2025.

How are Flows used in Sage People?

Salesforce Flows includes a full software development environment, used by Sage People to automate parts of the application. Each Flow works as a mini-application, automating a process by collecting data and doing something with it. Flows are used extensively in Sage People Candidate Experience Portal, and increasingly across all Sage People applications.

How can I use Flows in my org?

Salesforce provides extensive training and support content for Flows and Sage People recommends using that material to build your knowledge and help you use this powerful feature set. In addition, Sage People provides a Flows Basics training module designed to help bring you up to speed on using Flows with your Sage People content.

Bear in mind that Sage People needs to ensure your org remains supportable by minimizing changes to the way the system operates, and by avoiding conflicts with delivered functionality. You can create your own Flows to work with Sage People features and deliver:

An update to a field on the same object.
An update to a field on another object.
An email alert.
A custom Action Event.

Supported Flow Types are:

Record triggered.
Scheduled.
Autolaunched, if constructing a sub-flow.

Supported elements are:

Action, for custom Action Events.
Assignment.
Decision.
Send email alert.
Update record.
Update triggering record.

Note

If you are planning to use a Flow to update a record, ensure the field is not a key field for Sage People delivered functionality, and is not updated by delivered functionality. Fields added for your own implementation and text fields are usually safe to update.

If your planned Flows are not covered by these guidelines, contact your Customer Success Manager to make sure Sage People can continue to provide you with effective support for your org.

Learn more

The following resources from Salesforce and Sage University provide more information about Flow terminology, concepts, and setting up Flows:

Flow examples

For examples of Flow configurations, see the following topics:

Example: Populate Preferred Name with First Name is an example of using a Flow to populate a field with the value of another field within the same record.
Example: Update the Hire Date field with Employment Start Date is an example of using a Flow to update the value of a field in one record with the value of a field in a related record.
Example: Send an email alert to HR team is an example of using a Flow to send an email alert.
Creating a custom Action Event is an example of using a Flow for a custom Action Event email notification.

Icons used in Flow Builder diagrams

Flow Builder displays the Flow as a diagram. Screenshots of the Flow diagrams are included in the Flow examples, and the standard icons linked by connectors are listed here in alphabetical order:

Icon	Description
	Assignment: sets values for variables.
	Create records: uses a value from the Flow to create a single record, or uses a record collection variable to create multiple records.
	Decision: evaluates conditions and uses the result to direct users through the Flow.
	Delete records: identifies records for deletion by specifying conditions or by using IDs stored in a variable.
	Email Alert: sends an email
	Get records: find records meeting conditions and store values in variables.
	Screen: collect information from users or show information to users.
	Subflow: launch another Flow, known as the referenced Flow.
	Update records: identify records to be updated and set the values to change.