Creating a Workflow

When hiring employees and creating service arrangements through PICMI, you'll need to set up a workflow that uses the correct pages, items and contract. This guide walks through the key steps to create and configure a workflow.

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Wondering about different workflows? Check out our understanding workflows.

Prerequisites Checklist

You have a contract template ready to use
Worked out which workflow you are doing to duplicate
Planned out the steps of your workflow to change
Know which jobs/proposals will use the workflow

Step 1: Create the contract template

Before updating your workflow, you need your contract template ready to use.

1. Go to Setup → Contracts
2. Click Create Contract Template (or duplicate an existing template)
3. Name it clearly (e.g., "Employment Agreement Casual", "Employment Agreement Permanent")
4. Paste your contract text into the editor
5. Clean up any formatting issues from copying
6. Click Save

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Pasting from Word or PDF can create formatting issues. Review line breaks, spacing, and font consistency before proceeding.

See creating a contract template for detailed instructions.

Step 2: Add field substitutions (chips) to the contract

Field substitutions dynamically pull in job, organisation, and personal details when the contract is generated.

1. Place your cursor where dynamic content should appear
2. Select the appropriate chip from the right-hand panel (e.g., job.title, pay.rate)
3. Repeat for all dynamic fields
4. Click Validate to ensure all chips are correctly configured
5. Click Save

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Common substitutions for contracts include: job title, start date, salary or hourly rate, organisation name, and employee name. Hover over chips for guidance on what each displays.

Step 3: Duplicate your base workflow

Rather than creating a workflow from scratch, duplicate it and update the copy.

1. Go to Setup → Workflows
2. Locate the workflow you want to base your permanent workflow on
3. Click ⋮ (vertical dots) and select Duplicate
4. Rename the duplicated workflow (e.g., "Orchard – Permanent")

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Duplicating ensures your existing casual or fixed-term workflows remain intact and unaffected.

Step 4: Replace the contract template in the workflow

Now update the workflow to use your new permanent contract.

1. Open the duplicated workflow in edit mode
2. Locate the existing contract template
3. Remove the old contract
4. Add your new permanent contract template
5. Click Save

Step 5: Review and adjust workflow content

Workflows often need only small changes. Review each section:

Check Your Fit questions

• Remove or adjust questions that are only relevant for casual or seasonal work
• Keep questions that help assess long-term role suitability

Induction sections

• Consider removing induction-related questions (often unnecessary for permanent roles)
• Permanent employees typically complete induction after starting

Personal information

• Ensure you're collecting only what's necessary for permanent employment
• Remove fields related to short-term availability or seasonal work

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When unsure, ask: "Is this information essential?" If not, consider removing it to streamline the process. Please contact us if you have any questions—your questions can affect completion rates.

See updating workflows for detailed editing instructions. :::

Step 6: Validate the workflow configuration

Before using your workflow, validate that it's correctly configured.

1. Either: 2. Go to Employment --> Jobs, locate a job that uses this workflow (or add) 2. Go to Services --> Proposals, locate a proposal that uses this workflow (or add)
2. Click ⋮ (vertical dots) on the job row
3. Select Check Configuration
4. Confirm validation passes primary
5. Fix any errors before sending invites

See checking application configuration for more details.

Related articles:

• Creating a contract template
• Updating workflows
• Preparing a job ready to publish