What it is and what it's for#
Almost everything that happens in the programme happens when someone comes back to the app. Notifications are what bring them back.
There are several different ways to reach a person, and it pays not to mix them up:
| Route | What it is | Who triggers it |
|---|---|---|
| Smart notification | A phone notification that the app writes and sends on its own when someone meets one of the rules you have switched on (for example, having pending actions). | The system, if you have switched it on in Push Notification Settings. |
| One-off send | A phone notification you write yourself and send to the people you choose. | You, from Send Push Notifications or from any list of people in the Admin view of the home page. |
| Bell | Each person's history of in-app notices: recognitions received, mentions, replies, validations and status changes on their orders. | The system, when something that affects them happens. |
| An email. It goes out on its own from other parts of the programme (invitations, password recovery, order notices); it is not written in the panel. | The system. |
Phone notifications and email are independent channels. Not receiving notifications on the phone does not stop someone from getting emails, and vice versa.
How to set it up#
1. Smart notifications#
These are the messages that send themselves. The app watches a set of situations (days without signing in, pending actions, ranking position, lack of recognition, streak at risk, unanswered surveys) and, for anyone who meets one, writes a message with artificial intelligence, person by person. There is no fixed text: you choose the tone and the app writes.
They are set up on three screens, all per project:
- Push Notification Settings: the writing and automatic-sending switches and the Tone, with a preview to try it before switching anything on.
- Push Notification rules: which situations count, with a threshold and a switch for each.
- Smart Push Notification Log: what has been prepared for each person and whether it was sent or why not.
They can be switched on in stages: first writing without sending, check in the log what would have gone out and, when you are happy with it, turn on automatic sending. To stop them, switch off Enable Smart Notifications. The steps are in Push Notification Settings.
2. Send a one-off notification#
Send Push Notifications has the list of people you can reach. You filter by column to keep a group (a site, a unit, a tribe), select them, press Select users to send notification and write the Title and Message. Send sends it straight away.
That list only shows people who can receive phone notifications. Anyone without the app installed, or who has not granted notification permission, does not appear. It is not an error: there is simply no way to reach them through this channel.
The other route is the Admin view on the home page: each metric opens the list of people behind it, and Notify these people sends them a message. Before sending, it tells you how many it would actually reach. See Engagement dashboard.
Once you press Send or Send notification, there is no going back: a message that has been sent cannot be cancelled or edited.
3. Subscriptions#
Push Subscriptions is the device census: everyone in the project is listed and, for those who have granted notification permission, which phone and whether that permission still stands. It is the screen to go to when someone says "I don't get anything".
It is read-only: nothing is switched on or off here. The person grants the permission on their phone and only they can withdraw it.
4. Email - Log#
Email - Log is the record of the emails the programme has sent to people in the project: recipient, subject, delivery status, opens and clicks, and the Msg ID you need to give the team if something has to be investigated.
It is read-only too: nothing is resent or retried from here.
What employees see#
- On the phone, a notification with the title and message. Tapping it opens the app.
- The first time they open the app on their phone, the phone asks whether they accept notifications. If they say no, they can no longer be reached through this channel.
- The bell in the top bar, with their notices from the last 30 days.
- In Your profile (the menu under their photo), switches for Communications (In-app notifications and Email) and Security alerts (in-app notifications, email, SMS or WhatsApp), which is where their sign-in code arrives if their account uses two-step verification.
- In their inbox, whatever goes out through that channel, such as the invitation, password recovery or the status of an order.
Frequently asked questions#
I sent a notification and several people say they didn't get it. What should I check?
Look them up in Push Subscriptions. If Has any subscription? is unticked, they never granted permission and the message did not go out for them. If they have a device but Is Subscribed is off, they withdrew it later. In both cases it is not a sending failure.
Why doesn't my whole workforce appear in Send Push Notifications?
Because that list is limited to people who can receive notifications. The difference between that number and your real headcount is exactly the people who don't have the app or haven't granted permission. The full census is in Push Subscriptions.
Can I schedule a notification for later?
No. One-off sends go out straight away. The only things sent automatically are smart notifications.
Can I find out who opened a phone notification?
No. There is no open tracking for phone notifications. For email there is: Email - Log gives you Opens Count and Clicks Counts per send.
An email shows a bounced status. What do I do?
First check that the address is spelled correctly on the person's profile. If it is, note the Msg ID and pass it to the team: without it the send cannot be traced.
Can I write an email by hand from the panel?
No. Email - Log only records what has already gone out. Emails are sent automatically from other parts of the programme.
Limits and caveats#
- A sent message cannot be withdrawn. Check the Title and Message before sending: there is no draft and no undo.
- Filtering by location or tribe does not give you the whole location or the whole tribe, only the part of it that can receive notifications. If you need to communicate something that must reach everyone, this channel is not enough on its own.
- A low threshold on a rule multiplies the messages. Start with high thresholds and lower them while watching the log.
- Smart notifications are written by an AI for each person. The settings preview and the log are how you keep control.
- Nobody can grant notification permission on someone else's behalf. Not you, not the team. If a whole location gets no notifications, it almost always means the app has not been installed there.
- Sending more often does not raise participation. A one-off send works when it brings something new; repeated every week, people withdraw permission and you lose them for good.