SMS - Text Messaging

In HRWize, you can send SMS (text messages) to your employees to notify them of cases such as any business continuity (fire, flooding, natural disasters, security emergencies, etc.), regulatory requirements, or candidate communications (e.g.:  send a text message the night before an interview).

E.g. "Please do not come into Office X today, instead make your way to Office Y or work from home". 

Please Note - This is a paid "add-on" and priced per message sent and per message received. For simplicity, we have packaged this to 10p per message sent. This means there is no charge for number rental and no charge for receiving messages.

In order to enable SMS, please contact us directly to set this up as we'll need to issue a dedicated mobile number for your organization to use which then allows you to receive replies to messages you send. Please allow up to 24 hours for the system to set it up.

Where do I use SMS in HRWize?

You can use SMS messaging in any:

• Adhoc (through Admin, HR, or SMS messaging)
• Workflows (Use SMS as another communication channel like email and Slack messages. This can be used together - send SMS and Slack message, for example)

SMS Settings 

Once enabled, the first step is to go to the SMS settings under:

Administration > Company > Settings > SMS settings

Within the SMS settings page, you can choose one of three options for sending the messages:

1. Work mobile then personal mobile – This will send the message to work mobiles (if there’s a number against this field on the employee file). If there isn't a work mobile number on file, the message will be sent to personal mobile on file instead;
2. Work mobile ONLY - This will send the message to work mobiles only (providing the number is present on the employee file);
3. Personal mobile ONLY - this will send the message to personal mobiles only (providing the number is present on the employee file).

Sending an SMS

Now, you are ready to start sending messages on behalf of your organization under:

Administration > HR > SMS messaging 

Below the table (which will appear blank on first use), click on the 'Send' button. 

You will then be taken to the page shown below and can start typing your message.

As you start typing your message, you'll be able to see how many characters you've used. 1 message is 160 characters, you can continue to send a longer message but this will cost 2 messages until 320 characters and so on. 

Once you've typed your message, you can then select who to send the message to.

You cannot send a message to just one person. You should send your SMS message to a cohort of people. Selecting 'No options' sends to everyone.

Once you've selected your specific groups, click the 'Send' button at the bottom of the page. 

The previous table will now be populated with all of your sent messages and any replies your organization receives from employees. 

Please Note - Messages are queued and cannot be recalled once sent.

SMS Status

There are five status types you will see within the SMS table: 

• Queued - All messages will initially be in the queued status for up to 5 minutes until the message is sent to the recipient;
• Sent - The message has been sent to the recipient from HRWize's side, but not yet acknowledged;
• Rejected - The message hasn't been sent but has been rejected by the receiving network. It could be that the mobile number has been entered incorrectly in the employee file;
• Delivered - The message has been acknowledged by receiving network;
• Received - Indicates that you have received an incoming response from the employee.

Replying to messages

Please Note - SMS messages don't function the same as emails. It is not possible to have individual messages and replies to that specific message. As a result, you will see all communication between the two numbers sorted by date.

When you have received a reply from an employee, you'll notice a curved arrow to the right-hand side of the received status. 

When you click on the curved arrow, you'll be taken through to the response. Here you can then reply to the employee if needed (this will incur a charge of 1 message per 160 characters). 

You can view the whole thread of SMS communication with a particular employee by clicking on their name within the SMS table.  

If a number is assigned to one person, only then we will show their name. However, if no one or more than one person is assigned to a number, then it will just show the number:

Reporting on SMS messages

We have built a custom report called 'SMS". This is accessible under the Reporting for all Admin and HR users when SMS is enabled. This can help you find all those within the data range who have NOT sent you a message containing a word or phrase. For example, if you sent a message that says for the employee to reply SAFE, you can determine who has NOT replied hence needs to be followed up with.