Workflow to notify when a company's associated contacts are changed

[CDollarhide]

Hi!  I'm tring to build a workflow to send a slack notification when the associated contacts for a company change.  For example, the Company has a new employee and they are added as an Associated Contact to the existing Company.  How can I create a slack/task/ticket (any kind of notification) to one Hubspot user regarding this change?  I've tried contact and company enrollment triggers and have struck out finding an option to use as the right enrollment trigger.  Thank you in advance.

[Syeda_Fatima]

Hey @CDollarhide, I understand that you're looking to create a HubSpot workflow that triggers a Slack notification when associated contacts for a company change. As of my last update in September 2021, HubSpot's workflow capabilities might not directly support this specific scenario, but you can use a combination of HubSpot's features and third-party integrations to achieve your goal, or by flusing the cache.

Here's a suggested approach, which you probably already know:

1. Contact Property: Create a custom property for contacts, something like "Last Associated Company Update." This property will be used to track changes in associated companies.

2. Use Workflow for Contact Changes: Create a workflow that triggers when a contact is updated, specifically when there's a change in the associated company. Here's a high-level outline of the workflow steps:

   • Trigger: "Contact property changes."
   • Filter: Check if the property "Associated Company" has changed.
   • Action: Update the "Last Associated Company Update" property to the current timestamp.

3. Scheduled Workflow for Notifications: Create another workflow to run on a schedule and send Slack notifications based on the changes tracked in the "Last Associated Company Update" property. Here's how you can set this up:

   • Trigger: "Contact property changes" where "Last Associated Company Update" is within the desired time frame (e.g., last day, last week).
   • Action: Use a webhook or third-party integration (like Zapier or Integromat) to send a Slack notification to the appropriate user or channel.

4. Integrate with Slack: If HubSpot doesn't have a direct Slack integration for notifications, you can use an integration platform like Zapier or Integromat to bridge the gap. These platforms can connect HubSpot and Slack to automate notifications based on specific triggers.

Remember that software capabilities can change over time.

Hope this helps! Thanks and regards.

[CDollarhide]

Wow @Syeda_Fatima - thank you!  I created the property and and I'm stepping through this now, but getting stuck on the step 2 filter.  My options are only for "Primary Associated Company" and "is changed" is not a choice?

[Syeda_Fatima · Accepted solution]

@CDollarhide, Yes! That might not in choice. i.e, if you're encountering an issue with the filter step. If "is changed" is not available as an option, it may be due to the limitations of the available filter criteria within HubSpot workflows.

HubSpot workflows typically allow you to trigger actions based on specific property values, but not directly on changes to those properties. To achieve your goal, you might need to use a workaround by periodically checking for changes using a different approach. Here's one possible workaround:

1. Create a custom property (e.g., "Last Contact Update") for your companies. This property will be used to store the date and time of the last update to any associated contact.

2. Set up an automation to update this "Last Contact Update" property whenever a contact associated with a company is updated. You can use HubSpot's workflows or custom code if needed.

3. Create a new workflow with the trigger based on "Contact Property" changes. Select the "Last Contact Update" property and set it to a date range (e.g., "in the last 24 hours").

4. In the workflow's actions, configure it to send a notification when a contact meets the criteria of having an associated company with the "Last Contact Update" property changed within the specified date range.

This workaround will allow you to trigger notifications when a contact associated with a company is updated within the specified timeframe. However, please note that this approach won't provide real-time notifications but will check for changes periodically based on the time frame you set in step 3. Adjust the timeframe according to your needs.

Remember to test your workflow thoroughly to ensure it works as expected with your specific HubSpot setup.

Hope this helps! Cheers.