The Automation Center allows you to create rules to trigger automation between Fountain products and third-party systems. In this article, we'll discuss how to create an automation rule in the Automation Center and explore real customer examples.
Building an Automation Rule
To build an automation rule, you'll access the Automation Center and work through each component of the automation builder:
Access the Automation Builder
Click your company logo in the bottom left corner. Then click Settings.
Click the Automations settings link. If you do not see this option, reach out to your Fountain Customer Success contact or [email protected] to enable the Automation Center in your account.
Click +Add Automation.
Choose a Source
In the Source section, select the type of change that will trigger your automation. The available source options are:
A worker - Any change related to a worker in your system
An applicant - Any change related to an applicant (requires Fountain Hire product)
Compliance - Any change related to compliance documents (only appears if Fountain Compliance product is enabled in your account)
File - Any change related to an SFTP uploaded file
An opening - Any change related to an Opening, such as an Opening being created or edited
The source options you see will depend on which Fountain products are enabled in your account. For example, In order to build a compliance-related automation, you must have the Fountain Compliance product enabled in your account. If you don't see a specific source option, contact your Fountain representative to enable the required product.
Add a Trigger
In the Trigger section, click +Add and select when the automation should activate.
For applicant automations, you can select from:
When an applicant is created
When an applicant sends a message
When an applicant's attribute changes
When an applicant's attribute changes to
When an applicant's stage changes
When an applicant's stage changes to
When an applicant's stage type moved from
When the idle rule is triggered for an applicant
For worker automations, you can select from:
When a worker enters or exits a segment
When a worker is created
When a worker is deleted
When a worker is updated
When a worker's attribute changes
When a worker's Compliance status changes
When a worker's Onboard status changes
When a worker's status changes
When a worker's I9 status changes
When a worker's job changes
When a worker's location changes
When a worker is created runs once per worker, at the moment the worker profile is created. For an applicant hired in Fountain Hire, that is when Hire first sends the applicant to Fountain Workforce, which can be before the applicant finishes the later stages of the workflow. If the same applicant is sent again, for example after being moved back to re-sign an offer letter, Fountain updates the worker that already exists and When a worker is created does not run a second time. To act each time an applicant reaches a given stage, use the applicant trigger When an applicant's stage changes to instead.
For Compliance automations, select when a Compliance document's status changes to pending, approved, or rejected.
For File automations, select the appropriate trigger based on your SFTP file uploads.
For Opening automations, you can select from:
When an opening is created
When an opening is updated
What the Opening Triggers Cover
There is no trigger for an Opening being deactivated or closed, and When an opening is updated does not tell you which field changed. When only one kind of change matters, such as an Opening going inactive, send the Opening to your own system with Send a webhook... and let that system decide whether to act.
Based on your selection, you may need to configure additional settings (such as selecting a specific stage or attribute to monitor). Click Apply after making your selections.
You can add multiple triggers to create more complex automation rules. Each trigger you add will be evaluated when determining if the automation should run.
Add a Filter (Optional)
In the Filters section, click +Add to narrow down when the automation will apply. Filters help you target specific scenarios.
For example:
Only if worker's status is pending
Only if worker's attribute meets specific criteria
Only if worker's segment matches certain conditions
Only if worker's Compliance status is specific value
Only if worker's Onboard status is specific value
For Opening automations, you can filter on the Opening's custom attribute, hiring goal, job, job attribute, location, or location attribute.
Based on your selection, you may need to configure additional settings. Click Apply after making your selections.
Add an Action
In the Actions section, click +Add to define what should happen when the trigger conditions are met.
The available actions vary based on your Source selection. Depending on the action you choose, you may need to configure additional settings (such as selecting a rejection reason if rejecting an applicant). Click Apply after making your selections.
Actions are grouped by what they apply to, and the groups you see depend on the Source you chose.
When the Source is an applicant:
Applicant Actions apply to the applicant who matches the triggers and filters: Applicant Message Triaging, Approve applicant, Move applicant to a specific stage, Move applicant to On Hold, Reject applicant, Reject duplicates, Send an email to..., Update applicant attribute(s).
Associated Worker Actions apply to the worker linked with the matching applicant: Create or update worker using the Hire Connector mappings, Enable or disable worker's employment profile, Send an email to..., Update associated worker attribute(s), Update associated worker status.
Associated I9 Center Case actions apply to the I-9 Center case of the worker linked with the matching applicant: Restart associated worker's I-9, Restart associated worker's W-4.
When the Source is a worker:
Worker Actions apply to the worker who matches the triggers and filters: Check if the worker is a rehire, Restart worker's I-9, Restart worker's W-4, Send an email to..., Update worker attribute(s), Update worker status.
Associated Applicant Actions apply to the applicant linked with the matching worker: Approve the applicant associated with the worker, Move applicant associated with the worker to a specific stage, Move applicant associated with the worker to the On Hold stage, Reject associated applicant duplicates, Reject the applicant associated with the worker, Update associated applicant attribute(s), Update contact information in the worker's applicant profile.
When the Source is an opening:
Opening Actions apply to the Opening that matches the triggers and filters: Log Only, Run a custom script..., Send a webhook..., Send an email to....
An Opening email goes to the Opening Owner, to an email address stored in one of the Opening's custom attributes, or to any address you type. Fountain looks up the Opening Owner each time the email is sent. A custom attribute used as a recipient must hold exactly one valid email address. If the Opening has no owner and no other recipient is set, no email is sent.
The email is sent exactly as you write it and does not fill in the Opening's title or other details. When the recipient needs to know which Opening changed, use Send a webhook... instead.
Advanced Actions are available for applicant and worker sources: Log Only, Natural Language Prompt, Run a custom script..., Send a webhook...
Send a webhook... posts the record to the Webhook URL you enter, as JSON. Two optional fields protect the request:
Signing key: when set, Fountain signs each request with HMAC-SHA256, using the key as plain text, and sends the signature in the
Content-Signatureheader. The value is a lowercase hex digest, with no prefix, of the exact request body.Authorization header: sent as the
Authorizationheader exactly as you type it, for exampleBearer my-token.
To check a request, compute the HMAC-SHA256 of the raw body with your signing key and compare it with Content-Signature before you parse the JSON: parsing and re-serializing changes the bytes. When your server does not answer within 5 seconds, or answers 429, 500, 502, 503 or 504, Fountain tries again up to three times with the same body and signature, so your endpoint should accept the same event more than once.
Only one action can be selected per automation rule. If you need multiple actions to occur, you'll need to create separate automation rules.
Restart a Worker's I-9 or W-4
The I-9 and W-4 restart actions reset the worker's current form so it can be completed again. Which action you use depends on the Source: on a worker-sourced rule, Restart worker's I-9 or Restart worker's W-4; on an applicant-sourced rule, Restart associated worker's I-9 or Restart associated worker's W-4, which act on the worker linked to the matching applicant.
When the action runs:
The restart is processed in the background, and the automation event stays pending until it closes as succeeded or failed
The worker's form state is reset, applicable WorkBright submissions are rejected, and completion data for that form is cleared
The worker is notified by email or SMS with a link back to the worker portal, when the relevant notification category is enabled
The action is skipped, with a recorded reason, when the trigger does not resolve to a worker
Because only one action can be selected per rule, restarting both a worker's I-9 and their W-4 requires two rules with the same trigger and filters.
A Restarted Case Shows As Rejected
In I-9 Center the case returns to Section 1 with a status of Rejected and the reason "Restarted for reason: Restarted by automation." This is expected, and distinguishes an automated restart from a case an admin rejected on review.
Test Automation
If you want to first test the automation rule before saving, click the Test button in the top right corner.
Create the Automation
When you are ready to save, click Next in the top right corner.
Name the automation rule and add an optional description.
Click Activate to immediately activate or Save to save as a draft for activation later.
Once a rule is created, it can be viewed on the main Automation Center Settings screen. Click the 3 dots button to the right of the rule to pause, edit, or delete the automation.
Click Explore Logs to review previously created rule success. Rules can be organized by the top tabs: All, Suspended, or Failed.
Need to copy automations to another automation? Click the code icon to the right of the Trigger, Filters, or Actions sections for a detailed list of automation code that can be copied.
Infinite Loop Warnings
The Automation Center proactively alerts you when building rules that could potentially create infinite loops. These warnings help prevent automations from triggering themselves repeatedly.
Warning Types:
⚠️ Soft Warning (Yellow Banner):
Appears when an automation may or may not cause an infinite loop depending on filter configuration.
Example triggers:
Worker's attribute changes + Action: Update worker's attribute
(The loop may be prevented if filters exclude the automation's own changes)
The warning banner displays:
Description of the potential issue
Explanation of why this might happen
Suggestions to avoid the loop (e.g. add specific filters, use different trigger, use different action)
You can still save and activate the automation, but should carefully review the configuration.
🛑 Hard Stop (Red Banner):
Appears when an automation will definitely cause an infinite loop and prevents you from saving.
Example triggers:
Applicant's stage changes + Action: Move applicant to different stage
(This will always trigger the stage transition event again)
The error banner displays:
Clear statement that the automation will cause an infinite loop
Explanation of the guaranteed loop scenario
Required changes to proceed (add filters, change trigger, change action)
You cannot save the automation until the issue is resolved.
Customer Examples
Example: Sync Worker Contact Changes to Applicant Profile
My company wants to update the applicant's contact information in Fountain Hire when a worker's phone or email has changed.
Source = A worker
Trigger = When worker attribute email changed to any value OR worker attribute mobile phone changed to any value
Actions = Update contact information in the worker's Applicant Profile
Example: Update Worker Status on Offboarding
When an applicant is moved to the stage "offboarded" in Hire, I'd like their worker status to change to terminated.
Source = An applicant
Trigger = When an applicant stage changes to "offboarded"
Actions = Update worker status to Terminated/Resigned
Example: Email the Opening Owner When an Opening Is Created
My team wants each Opening Owner to know when a new Opening is created at one of our locations.
Source = An opening
Trigger = When an opening is created
Filter = Opening's location is the location you choose
Action = Send an email to Opening Owner
Example: Restart a W-4 When Reverification Comes Due
A worker's reverification date is updated to a future date, and they need to complete a fresh W-4 before it arrives.
Source: A worker
Trigger: When a worker's attribute changes
Attribute: the custom attribute holding the reverification date
Condition: is changed to a date in the future
Action: Restart worker's W-4
The worker's W-4 is reset and they receive a link back to the worker portal to complete it again. Create a second rule with the same trigger and condition, using Restart worker's I-9, if the I-9 also needs to be recollected.
Example: Respond to Inbound Applicant Messages in Real Time
My team wants to respond to applicant messages in near real-time — either with an automated reply or by alerting a human recruiter when escalation is needed.
Source = An applicant
Trigger = When an applicant sends a message
Action = Applicant Message Triaging
This automation fires each time an applicant sends an inbound SMS or email message — one trigger per message, with no batching. When you select the Applicant Message Triaging action, a configuration panel opens with the following fields:
Webhook URL (required) — the endpoint that will receive the applicant data and the content of the inbound message
Authentication key (optional) — used to authenticate requests to your webhook endpoint
The webhook receives the full applicant data along with the content of the inbound SMS or email message, enabling your downstream system to auto-reply or surface the message to a recruiter. See the Automation Center - Custom Scripts article for further details on custom integrations.