Best Practices and Insights on HubSpot Workflow Implementation

[Anupa_Dayaratne]

Dear Contributors,

We are currently in the implementation phase of HubSpot and leveraging workflows to automate key aspects of our operations. As we integrate workflows extensively, we have several questions and would appreciate your insights to ensure we’re following best practices.

1. Workflow Frequency and Best Practices: We are implementing a significant number of workflows. In your experience, is it advisable to rely on workflows extensively, or are there certain practices we should follow to prevent potential inefficiencies or over-reliance on automation?

2. Reliability with Large Datasets: Given our data volume—approximately 1k+ deal records, 40+ contacts, and 5k+ company records—we would like to confirm if HubSpot workflows can manage this load effectively. Are there known limitations or performance considerations when handling a large volume of records?

3. Best Practices for Workflow Creation: Are there any proven strategies or configurations that you recommend when creating and managing workflows to optimize performance and reliability?

Your expertise and any advice you could share on making the most of HubSpot workflows would be immensely valuable to us at this stage.

Thank you for your time and insights.

[karstenkoehler · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anupa_Dayaratne,

Happy to help here.

1. This depends a lot on the exact use cases and requirements. My general recommendation is to approach automation conversatively, and be especially cautious when it comes to automating communication that's supposed to be perceived as personal (which can easily backfire). If you share more information about the types of workflows you're creating, I can elaborate.
2. No concerns here, workflow can easily handle tens of thousands of contacts. You might experience slower workflow execution with very large amounts of contacts (six digits) and when the workflow actions are more complex. However, the workflows will still perform and the delays we're talking about for very large volumes and very complex actions are still in the range of minutes, not hours or days.
3. Sure, here a few general tips:
   1. Workflows don't question what you're setting up, always spend a few minutes trying to think about how what you're creating might backfire. One day, one workflow will backfire. If you create a workflow that enrolls all contacts in your CRM (Record ID is known) and sends them an automated email, HubSpot will not hold you back.
   2. Keep race conditions in mind; out of the box, workflows do not wait for other workflows and dependencies to finish. Either consider adding short delays or adjusting workflow enrollment criteria so that they only fire when dependencies are done.
   3. Test extensively, both using the test feature and using test records once the workflows are live.
   4. Make sure your workflows follow a good naming convention right from the start. If you're creating a large number, this will be incredibly helpful in navigating what you've created.
   5. Make it a habit to add workflow descriptions. It's optional but should always be done.

Let me know if you have any follow-up questions!

[Anupa_Dayaratne]

Thank you very much @karstenkoehler for your great insights!

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@karstenkoehler wrote:

1. ... If you share more information about the types of workflows you're creating, I can elaborate.

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For example, let's assume we have two workflows in place: Workflow_1, which creates a new deal when the current deal stage moves to 'Closed Won', and Workflow_2, which enrolls deals only if they are in the 'Closed Won' stage. Workflow_2 then checks if the deal type is 'Type 1' and if a subscription start date is specified. If this condition is not met, Workflow_2 reverts the deal stage to the previous stage.

Our concern is about the impact of Workflow_2 on Workflow_1's execution. Specifically, if Workflow_2 reverts the stage from 'Closed Won' to the previous stage, how does this affect Workflow_1's process? We have some concerns about workflow overlap and the parallel execution of workflows.

[karstenkoehler]

@Anupa_Dayaratne you would have to evaluate these scenarios case by case and make sure that you're not creating any loops. Typically loops can be broken by further narrowing down the enrollment criteria.

In your case, since you do not have a workflow that moves a new deal directly into closed won, there is no loop, for example. Only through manual steps, a sales person moving the deal along, would a deal end up in closed won and trigger the creation of a new deal.

For more complex settings, it's help creating a process diagram in Miro, Microsoft Visio or similar.

[Anupa_Dayaratne]

@karstenkoehler Thank you for the explanation and insights!
Your support is greatly appreciated!