Creating a one-time communication

Updated at November 3rd, 2026

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Table of Contents

Create a one-time communication Type and Audience section Content section Available tokens Preview section Delivery section

This feature is used in conjunction with the Employee Communications product. If you have not purchased this product, then you will be unable to access this feature and its functionality.

You can easily create a one-time communication in order to set regular touchpoints with employees.

Create a one-time communication

Select All Apps in the top left corner of the header and then Communications from its drop-down menu.
Create a one-time communication in one of two ways:
- Selecting the One-Time Communication quick action button from the Communications landing page.
- Selecting One-Time Communications from the left panel and then the + Create New Communication button in the upper-right corner of the section.

Type and Audience section

Enter a name for the communication.
Select the One-Time Communication option, if not already selected.
- Note: You have the option of updating this to a Milestone Communication, if needed.
Under the Audience subsection, select + Add Employees.
In the dropdown that opens, you can either select the audience by setting multiple filters or click the + Upload Audience button where you can upload a CSV file of specific employees.
- Note: After initially filtering an audience, you can remove employees by clicking the x icon next to their name or re-add them by searching for their name and clicking the + icon that displays next to it in the list.
Select Next in the top right corner of the section.

Content section

The Content section is where you can build out your communication to your predetermined audience by adding a range of content pieces.

Select your first piece of content. Options include:
- Media: Add or select any video (max 500MB) or image/gif (max 10MB) from the Media Library.
- Message: Send a message to the employee. Within this message, you are able to use any of the tokens listed below.
  - Note: If the Contextual Writing and Editor feature is enabled for your account, then you can use the editing capabilities to edit your message. Click here to learn more about these text generation messages.
- Document: Add or select any document (regular or fillable PDFs)(max 25MB) that is stored in your Media Library.
  - Notes:
    - If a fillable PDF is selected, the delay option for the following content will be automatically set to Immediately After Review. This means that the document must be completed first before the next message content is sent. While this is the default due to it being the most common use case, this can be updated to any other delay option, including No Delay, for the next content.
    - If a non-fillable PDF/Document to Review is selected, the delay option for the following content will automatically be set to No Delay. This means that the following content will be delivered immediately and does not require the employee to open the document. This supports the common use case of informational-only documents being sent along with message, question or survey content that should be delivered regardless of if the Document is opened. While this is the default due to it being the most common use case - this can be updated to any other delay option if needed.
    - A Require authentication to view setting will display, which would require the employee to login and verify themselves before viewing the document. Click here to learn more about this setting and its purpose.
- Question: Enter a short answer or single select question that can be sent to employees. Within this question, you are able to use any of the tokens listed below. Available question types include:
  - Notes:
    - You can enter up to 15 options for a Single Select question.
    - If the Contextual Writing and Editor feature is enabled for your account, then you can use the editing capabilities to edit your question. Click here to learn more about this process.
- Survey: Select a pre-configured survey to send to employees.
  - Note: This will only display if you have Surveys enabled for your account.
Once a selection is made, you will see a plus icon below the content piece added. Click this icon.
All media content pieces will then display. Select the preferred content.
Between each piece of content that is added, you have the option to set a delay. While a default option may be auto-selected, you have the option of adjusting them as needed. To do this, click into the delay button and then set the preferred delay option.
Repeat steps #9-11 for each content piece added.
Make any final adjustments as needed by completing any of the actions below:
- Reorder content: You can reorder content by selecting the multi-dot icon to the right of the preferred content piece and then dragging and dropping that content to the preferred order.
- Edit or delete content: Edit or remove content by selecting the action menu, or ellipses, in the top right corner above an added content piece and select the preferred action from its dropdown menu.
- Update the delay: You can update the delay set for a specific content piece added by completing step #9.
Select Next in the top right corner of the section.

Available tokens

The following tokens are available to include in messages and questions added to the Content section.

Token	Returns
#employee-dashboard_link	This token returns the unique URL to the dashboard of the employee receiving the communication.
#employee-annual_salary	The Employee’s Annual Salary
#employee-annual-salary_currency	The Employee’s Annual Currency
#employee-birthdate	The Employee’s Birthdate
#employee-department	The Employee’s Department
#employee-employee-id	The Employee’s ID
#employee-employee_status	The Employee’s status
#employee-employment_type	The Employee’s employment type
#employee-first_name	The Employee’s First Name
#employee-hire_date	The Employee’s Hire Date
#employee-home_city	The Employee’s Home City
#employee-home_country	The Employee’s Home Country
#employee-home_state	The Employee’s Home State
#employee-home_street_address	The Employee’s Street Address
#employee-home_zip_code	The Employee’s Zip Code
#employee-hourly_pay	The Employee’s Hourly Pay
#employee-hourly_pay_currency	The Employee’s Hourly Pay Currency
#employee-last-name	The Employee’s Last Name
#employee-middle_name	The Employee’s Middle Name
#employee-personal_email	The Employee’s Personal Email
#employee-personal_phone_number	The Employee’s Phone Number
#employee-position_title	The Employee’s Job Title
#employee-preferred_language	The Employee’s Preferred Language
#employee-preferred_name	The Employee’s Preferred Name
#employee-reports_to	The Employee’s Direct Manager
#employee-start_date	The Employee’s Start Date
#employee-termination_date	The Employee’s Termination Date
#employee-user_role	The Employee’s User Role
#employee-work_area_name	The Employee’s Work Area Name
#employee-work_city	The Employee’s Work City
#employee-work_country	The Employee’s Work Country
#employee-work_email	The Employee’s Work Email
#employee-work_location_id	The Employee’s Work Location ID
#employee-work_location_name	The Employee’s Work Location Name
#employee-work_phone_number	The Employee’s Work Phone Number
#employee-work_state	The Employee’s Work State
#employee-work_street_address	The Employee’s Street Address
#employee-work_zip_code	The Employee’s Work Zip Code
#employee-years-of-service	The Employee’s Years of Service

Preview section

In the Preview section, toggle between the available messaging channels to view a preview of how this communication will look to the predetermined audience.
If any aspect of the communication needs to be changed, navigate to the Content section and make your adjustments.
Click Next in the top right corner of the section.

Delivery section

When opening this section, you will see a Date & Time subsection. Skip this for now and move to the Delivery Method subsection.
(Optional) You can update the Delivery Method in which users will receive the communication by clicking into the Default delivery method box and then completing one or both of the following actions:
- Reordering the hierarchy of delivery methods: Delivery methods will display in their default hierarchy. To rearrange this hierarchy, simply click, drag, and drop a method’s multi-dot icon to the preferred order.
- Removing delivery methods: You can remove delivery methods from the hierarchy by clicking the x icon next to the preferred method.
Just under the Delivery section in the left panel, you will see Optional Settings. Select this to open and view two available communication settings that you can update and save, if preferred. These settings include:
- Communication Alerts: This allows you to select the employees that should receive an alert when a response is received for the communication. Note: In order for a user to be available to be selected for a communication alert, they must toggle on the Communication Alert Preference for either SMS or Email within Alert Management. To do this,
  1. Click the + Add button next to this setting.
  2. In the drawer that opens, click the + Add Employees button, select the users and/or user roles who should be notified of employee responses, and then click Apply.
    - Notes:
      - Only the users/user roles who have access to view and manage the Employee Communications product will be listed in this dropdown.
      - Only individuals with the proper permission to the employee that responded to the communication will receive the communication alert. This means, if you were to select Manager Level 1, 2, and 3 to receive alerts for this communication, and Employee 1 responds to it, only Manager 1 will be alerted since that is the only user who directly manages Employee 1.
      - You can remove selected users/user roles by clicking the trash can icon next to their name/role.
  3. Click Save in the bottom right corner of the drawer.
- Communication Reminders: This allows you to configure reminders to encourage employees to complete this communication. To do this,
  1. Select the + Add button next to this setting.
  2. In the drawer that opens, select the Reminder Frequency. You can select multiple frequencies and even create custom frequencies.
  3. Review and revise, if needed, the Reminder Message.
    - Note: If the Contextual Writing and Editor feature is enabled for your account, then you can use the editing capabilities to edit your message. Click here to learn more about these text generation messages.
  4. Click Save.

Communication Alerts Logic:

In order for a user to be available to be selected for a communication alert, they must toggle on the Communication Alert Preference for either SMS or email within Alert Management.
- Note: If the user does not have a phone number, only the Email toggle will show and vice versa if they do not have an email.
Once selected, in order for a user to receive a communication alert, they must have the proper permissions on the employee that responded to the communication. Proper permissions include:
- Reports to → The individual must be the direct manager (level 1) of the responding employee.
- Role based → The individual must have full access to the Conversation component for the responding employee’s user role as well as proper permission to their assigned location.
Editing communication alerts. Communication alerts can be configured/edited if the communication is in one of the following statuses:
- Scheduled
- Active
- Draft
- Paused (Milestone Communications)
Examples:
- (Role-based) Managers A, B, and C all have permission to location 123 and are added to the list of selected employees to receive communication alerts for Communication X. Employee D is assigned to location 123 and the user role of Basic User. Only Manager A has full access to Conversation for the Basic User role. When Employee D replies to Communication X, then only Manager A will be alerted.
- (Reports-to) Manager A is the direct manager of Employee B. Manager C is the direct manager of Manager A. Manager A and Manager C are in the list of selected employees to receive alerts for Communication X. When Employee B replies to Communication X, then only Manager A will be alerted.

Return back to the Date & Time subsection.
Complete one of the available actions. You can:
- Send Now: Select Send Now after the date to send the communication out immediately.
- Send Later: To send a communication at a later time, click into the date, select the preferred date from the calendar dropdown, and then select Apply. From there, update the time listed next to the date and then select the Schedule button in the bottom left corner of the page to schedule this communication.
  - Note: The message must be scheduled 24 hours from the current time, since the communication will send in the time zone of the audience receiving the communication.
- Save as Draft: You can skip sending the communication and save it as a draft by selecting the Save as Draft button in the bottom left corner of the page. This will then be added to the Draft (One-Time) communications list.

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