When an applicant doesn't perform the action required by the stage within a certain amount of time, you can automatically move the applicant to another stage, such as Reject or On Hold.
An Idle Move Rule also works the other way. Set one on an On Hold or Rejected stage to bring applicants back into an earlier stage of the same workflow after the number of days you choose, with no action from the applicant.
Important Note:
Fountain will only idle move applicants once per day per time zone, between 9-10am local time for each candidate.
This means if a candidate lands in a stage at 11am their local time on Monday, and an idle move is set for 1 day, it won't trigger the move until Wednesday during the 9-10am window.
Fountain follows this logic to avoid sending messages (from moving into a new stage) at inconvenient times for the applicant and also to ensure deliverability with sequenced outbound messaging.
To add an Idle Move Rule, follow these steps.
Navigate to your workflow, and select the stage you want to add an Idle Move Rule to.
Click Add Idle Move Rule.
Type the number of days they need to be idle before the move occurs, then select the stage to move the applicant into after the idle days occur. Finally, select the Unresponsive reason within the dropdown.
The Target Stage list shows every other stage of the workflow, earlier stages included. The rule never moves applicants to another Opening.
To send the target stage's automated messages when applicants land there, turn on Send automated messages associated with the target stage. It is off by default.
Click Save Changes in the top right corner. Then click Save in the confirmation dialog.
Important Note:
For Scheduler stages, the following idle rule logic will apply:
The applicant will not be considered idle before their scheduled slot time.
If the applicant's scheduled slot is in the past and their attendance was not taken, they are not considered idle.
Once the slot time has passed and the applicant's attendance is taken, they will be considered idle again, and the idle day's timer will restart.
Bring Applicants Back From On Hold or Rejected
A Move and Update Applicants Rule stage acts only on applicants as they pass through it, so it never picks up applicants already sitting in On Hold or Rejected. An Idle Move Rule on the On Hold or Rejected stage does. Idle time counts in these stages whatever the applicant does, so once the number of days you set has passed, the rule moves each applicant to the target stage.
To set it up, follow the steps above on the On Hold or Rejected stage, and select the stage applicants should return to as the Target Stage.
Check Who Moves Before You Save
The rule applies to everyone already in the stage: applicants already idle longer than the days you set move without waiting (see Existing Applicants Idle Time below). Each stage has one rule, so every applicant goes to the same target stage, whatever their On Hold or rejection reason. To bring back only some applicants, use an Automation Center rule instead, as described in Automation Center - Building Automation Rules.
Stage Specific Scenarios When Idle Time is Actively Counting
Stage Type | Idle Time Criteria |
Data Collection | When the applicant has not completed any data collection fields. |
Document Signing |
|
Scheduler |
|
Video Recording | When the applicant has no video responses recorded |
Custom | Regardless of any action, applicants in this stage will count toward the idle trigger. |
Hired | Regardless of any action, applicants in this stage will count toward the idle trigger. |
Rejected | Regardless of any action, applicants in this stage will count toward the idle trigger. |
On Hold | Regardless of any action, applicants in this stage will count toward the idle trigger. |
Additionally, there are specific scenarios in which idle time will be updated or paused:
The applicant is transitioned from one stage to another (regardless if they are in the same workflow or a different workflow)
When the applicant's Scheduler stage booked slot is updated or created.
When the applicant's document signature request status is changed to 'signed'.
When a new recording is saved in a Video Recording stage.
When a partner detail is updated in a Partner stage type.
Days Left In Stage
To see the amount of time that an applicant has remaining before triggering the Idle Move Rule, enable and view the Days Left In Stage column on the Applicant Table.
Click the Applicants dropdown at the top of any Fountain screen and select Applicant Table.
Click the Customize Columns icon underneath the workflow stage boxes on the right.
Type 'Days Left In Stage' in the search box and click the checkbox. The column will automatically be added to the end of your column list. You can also rearrange the order of the columns to your liking by clicking and dragging each to your preferred spot.
Click Apply.
Existing Applicants Idle Time
Adding or Updating an Idle Move Rule to a stage with applicants already in it WILL move them if they retroactively meet the trigger rule.
Example #1: Assume we have two applicants, A and B. A has been idle for 5 days and B has been idle for 1 day. We create an Idle Move Rule that moves applicants after 2 idle days.
Applicant A will be moved immediately to the defined stage.
Applicant B will be moved the next day to the defined stage.
Example #2: Assume we have two applicants, A and B. A has been idle for 2 days and B has been idle for 4 days. We update an Idle Move Rule from 5 days to 3 days.
Applicant A will be moved the next day to the defined stage.
Applicant B will be moved the immediately to the defined stage.
Best Practice:
Fountain recommends sending follow-up messages to idle applicants before you move them to a different stage. The follow-up messages triggers work differently from the Move Rule triggers. Please refer to this article for more information.