A Glossary of Key Terms: Migrating HR & Recruiting Workflows from Zapier to Make.com
For HR and recruiting professionals navigating the evolving landscape of automation, understanding the core terminology is crucial. As organizations increasingly look to optimize their talent acquisition and management processes, platforms like Zapier and Make.com offer powerful solutions. This glossary demystifies key terms often encountered when building, migrating, or managing automated workflows, particularly when transitioning from Zapier to the more robust capabilities of Make.com. A solid grasp of these concepts empowers you to build more efficient, error-free, and scalable HR operations.
Webhook
A webhook is an automated message sent from an app when a specific event occurs. It’s essentially an event-driven notification system, often referred to as a “reverse API” because it delivers data to a specified URL in real-time. In the context of HR and recruiting, webhooks are invaluable for instant data transfer. For example, a new candidate submission in a job board could trigger a webhook to immediately send resume data to your ATS, or a completed onboarding document in PandaDoc could trigger a webhook to update a candidate’s status in your HRIS. Understanding webhooks is fundamental to connecting disparate systems and ensuring timely data flow, especially when migrating complex integrations.
API (Application Programming Interface)
An API, or Application Programming Interface, defines the rules and protocols that allow different software applications to communicate with each other. It acts as an intermediary, enabling data exchange and functionality access without needing to understand the internal workings of each system. For HR professionals, APIs are the backbone of integration, allowing your ATS to talk to your CRM, your payroll system to communicate with your HRIS, or your custom screening tools to interact with your applicant pipeline. When migrating automation, you’re essentially re-establishing these API connections, often leveraging the more granular control and flexibility offered by platforms like Make.com to orchestrate complex data flows between your critical HR applications.
iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service)
iPaaS stands for Integration Platform as a Service, a cloud-based platform that provides tools and services to develop, execute, and govern integration flows between any combination of on-premises and cloud-based applications, data, and processes. Both Zapier and Make.com fall under the iPaaS umbrella, offering low-code/no-code environments that empower users to build integrations without extensive programming knowledge. For HR, an iPaaS solution means you can connect your recruiting software, HRIS, communication platforms, and document management systems without relying on IT for every single integration, significantly accelerating workflow automation and reducing operational friction. Choosing the right iPaaS, like migrating to Make.com, often hinges on the need for greater control, scalability, and advanced logic capabilities.
Workflow Automation
Workflow automation refers to the design and implementation of technology to automatically execute a series of tasks, rules, and processes within a business operation. In HR, this could involve automating resume screening, candidate communication, offer letter generation, onboarding checklists, or even performance review notifications. The goal is to eliminate manual, repetitive work, reduce human error, and free up HR professionals to focus on strategic initiatives rather than administrative burdens. When migrating from Zapier to Make.com, organizations are often seeking more sophisticated workflow automation capabilities, such as complex conditional logic, advanced data handling, and the ability to build multi-step, multi-app scenarios that mirror intricate HR processes with precision.
Module (Make.com)
In Make.com, a Module is the fundamental building block of any automated scenario. Each module represents a specific operation or interaction with a connected service or app. For example, a “Watch New Applicants” module might trigger when a new resume arrives in your ATS, or an “Add Row to Google Sheet” module might record candidate data. Modules are categorized by their function, such as Triggers, Actions, and Search modules, allowing for precise control over data flow. For HR teams using Make.com, understanding how to select and configure different modules is key to constructing efficient and tailored automation, enabling them to automate everything from interview scheduling to new hire data entry with specific actions in specific systems.
Scenario (Make.com)
A Scenario in Make.com is a complete, end-to-end automated workflow, comprised of one or more connected modules that execute a specific business process. It begins with a trigger module and proceeds through a series of action modules, potentially including routers, filters, and other tools to manage data flow. Think of a scenario as a visual blueprint for an HR process, such as “Candidate Application to Interview Scheduling” or “New Hire Onboarding Data Sync.” When migrating from Zapier, a “Zap” often translates into a “Scenario” in Make.com, with the latter offering a more visual and powerful interface for building complex, multi-branching workflows that can handle the nuanced requirements of HR operations with greater flexibility and scalability.
Task/Operation
A “Task” in Zapier or an “Operation” in Make.com refers to a single unit of work performed by the automation platform. Each time a module in a scenario successfully processes data, it counts as one operation. For example, if a scenario fetches a candidate’s email (one operation) and then sends a confirmation email (another operation), that’s two operations. These units are typically used for billing and usage tracking within iPaaS platforms. For HR and recruiting teams, understanding how tasks/operations are consumed is vital for managing automation costs and optimizing workflows. Migrating to Make.com often provides more operations for the cost, allowing for more extensive and frequently running HR automations without exceeding budget constraints.
Trigger
A Trigger is the starting point of any automated workflow, an event that initiates a scenario. Triggers constantly “listen” for specific events in a connected application. Common triggers in HR automation include “New Candidate Application” in an ATS, “New Email Received” from a specific sender, “Document Signed” in a e-signature tool, or “Record Created” in a CRM. The trigger is what kickstarts the entire automated sequence, gathering the initial data needed for subsequent actions. When designing or migrating HR workflows, carefully selecting the right trigger ensures that your automation begins at the precise moment a relevant event occurs, preventing delays and ensuring timely follow-up in the recruitment or onboarding process.
Action
An Action is a specific task or operation performed by an automated workflow after it has been initiated by a trigger. It’s what happens next in your sequence. In HR, actions could include “Send Email,” “Create Record” in an ATS, “Update Candidate Status,” “Add Event to Calendar,” or “Generate Document.” Each action typically involves interacting with a connected application to perform a specific function based on the data received from the trigger or previous actions. When building or migrating HR automations, defining a clear sequence of actions is crucial for streamlining processes like interview scheduling, candidate follow-ups, or data synchronization across various HR systems, ensuring each step contributes to an efficient workflow.
Data Mapping
Data mapping is the process of matching data fields from one application or system to corresponding fields in another. For example, ensuring that the “Candidate Name” field from your applicant tracking system correctly populates the “First Name” and “Last Name” fields in your CRM or HRIS. This process is critical for ensuring data integrity and consistency across all your connected systems. In HR and recruiting, accurate data mapping prevents errors, streamlines reporting, and ensures that critical candidate and employee information is correctly transferred during every step of the hiring and onboarding process. When migrating complex workflows, precise data mapping is one of the most detail-oriented and crucial steps, ensuring seamless information flow.
Conditional Logic
Conditional logic refers to the use of “if-then” statements within an automated workflow, allowing the scenario to make decisions and follow different paths based on specific criteria. For instance, “IF a candidate’s experience level is ‘Senior,’ THEN route them to the Senior Recruiter; ELSE route them to the Junior Recruiter.” This intelligence allows HR automations to handle varying situations dynamically, such as sending different email templates based on a candidate’s interview stage, or processing applicants differently based on their desired salary range. Implementing conditional logic is a key capability that elevates basic automation to intelligent, adaptive workflows, making Make.com particularly powerful for nuanced HR processes compared to simpler automation tools.
Data Transformation
Data transformation is the process of converting data from one format or structure into another to make it compatible with the receiving application. This often involves tasks like parsing text, formatting dates, concatenating strings, or extracting specific pieces of information from a larger data set. For HR professionals, this is vital when, for example, a resume parser extracts skills in a comma-separated list, but your ATS requires them as individual tags, or a date format from an external platform needs to be adjusted for your internal HRIS. Make.com offers robust tools for data transformation, allowing for advanced manipulation and ensuring that information is always in the correct format for seamless integration across all your HR systems, preventing data errors and manual adjustments.
Iterator (Make.com)
An Iterator in Make.com is a powerful module used to process an array or a list of items one by one. If an application sends you a list of multiple candidates in a single data bundle, an Iterator can break down that bundle so that each candidate can be processed individually through the subsequent modules in your scenario. For HR, this is invaluable when dealing with bulk operations, such as processing multiple new hire forms, updating several candidate records simultaneously, or sending personalized communications to a list of applicants generated from a single report. Iterators allow for efficient and individualized processing of large datasets, ensuring that no detail is overlooked and every item in a list receives the intended action.
Aggregator (Make.com)
An Aggregator in Make.com performs the opposite function of an Iterator: it collects and combines multiple bundles of data into a single bundle. This is useful when you need to gather information from several individual operations or iterated items and then present or use them collectively. For instance, after an Iterator processes individual candidate scores, an Aggregator could collect all those scores and combine them into a single report or summary email sent to a hiring manager. In HR automation, aggregators are essential for tasks like compiling weekly recruiting metrics, generating comprehensive onboarding reports, or sending a single consolidated notification about multiple actions completed, streamlining communication and reporting efficiency.
Error Handling
Error handling refers to the strategies and mechanisms implemented within an automated workflow to anticipate, detect, and respond to errors or exceptions that may occur during execution. This includes setting up fallback paths, sending notifications when failures happen, or retrying operations. For HR teams, robust error handling is critical to prevent disruption to sensitive processes like payroll, offer letter delivery, or candidate communication. A well-designed error handling system ensures that if a specific application integration temporarily fails, the entire HR workflow doesn’t grind to a halt. Make.com provides advanced error handling capabilities, allowing HR professionals to build resilient automations that gracefully manage unexpected issues, safeguarding data and ensuring continuous operation.
If you would like to read more, we recommend this article: The Definitive Guide: Migrating HR & Recruiting from Zapier to AI-Powered Make.com Workflows
