A Delay keeps people from moving further through a Workflow for a specified amount of time.
To add a Delay to a Workflow:
Click the + icon in the Workflow at the point you'd like to add a Delay
From the pop-up, select Delay
Configure the Delay timing
Click Update Delay
Delay Settings
Delay times can be set to a specific date from a date-picker or dynamically set based on the date stored in a date-type Custom Field.
Wait for
Set the amount of time in minutes, hours, or days that people should be delayed with the "Wait for" option.
What days of the week can we resume?
Determine the days of the week, Sunday through Saturday, that the Delay will release people once the Wait time has lapsed.
What time of day should we resume?
Set the time of day to release people from the Delay once the Wait time has lapsed. Time zone defaults to that set in your account User Settings.
Wait until (Date-Based Delay)
Alternatively, you can use the "Wait until" option to choose a specific or relative date people should be released from the Delay. This could be a specific date using a date picker, or dynamic dates stored in a Date-based Custom field.
For cases where a person does not have a date set for that custom field, you can choose between two options:
- Move past this delay: Skip the delay and move on to the next Node in the Workflow sequence.
- Exit the Workflow: Remove the person from the workflow entirely when they reach that Delay.
Date Type Custom Field
Custom Fields become date-type fields when written in the correct ISO format. In a person’s profile, this change is indicated by the appearance of this icon :
There are two types of Date-Based custom field options for Delays:
- custom field: date - People will be released from the Delay based on the ISO-formatted date stored in the custom field.
- custom field: recurring date - Pulls the Month and Day from the stored date and disregards the Year. People will be released from the Delay every year on the specified Month and Day.
Editing Active Delays
Please note: Changing the delay times will affect anyone currently waiting in those delays.
For example, if a delay is reduced from three days to one, anybody who has already been in the delay node for a day or longer will automatically move out of the delay and onto the next action.
What is the difference between using a 1-Day vs. 24-Hour Delay?
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Day-long Delays: The measure of a day is based on the next Calendar day which is counted every midnight (12:00 AM).
- Once the set “calendar” days have passed, then people are released based on the timing settings.
- Hour-long Delays: The measure of time relies solely on the number of hours set before releasing people according to the timing settings.
- As opposed to using a Days-long delay, you may consider using that same amount in Hours.
- For example, using 24 hours as opposed to a 1-day Delay will respect a full "day's worth" of a wait!
What does this look like?
- Let’s say someone enters the Delay set to release at 9:00 AM any weekday. If they enter at 10:00 PM then:
- With a 1-day Delay, they will be held in the delay until 12:00 AM before looking for the next available weekday at 9:00 AM.
- With a 24-hour Delay, they will be held until the next day at 10:00 PM before looking for the next 9:00 AM on a weekday.