A Glossary of Essential Keap Automation Terms for HR Professionals
In the dynamic world of HR and recruiting, leveraging robust automation platforms like Keap can dramatically enhance efficiency, candidate experience, and talent management. To truly harness its power, HR professionals must understand the core terminology that drives these systems. This glossary provides clear, authoritative definitions for essential Keap automation terms, specifically tailored to their application in human resources and recruitment contexts, helping you navigate and optimize your talent acquisition and retention strategies.
Keap
Keap is an integrated CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and sales and marketing automation platform designed for small and growing businesses. For HR professionals, Keap acts as a centralized database for candidate profiles, employee records, and onboarding processes. Its automation capabilities allow HR teams to streamline communication with applicants, automate interview scheduling, manage talent pipelines, and even administer post-hire surveys, ensuring a consistent and engaging experience from application to alumni. It consolidates interactions, data, and follow-ups, eliminating manual tracking and reducing administrative overhead in talent management.
Automation
Automation in Keap refers to the use of predefined rules and actions to execute tasks automatically without manual intervention. In HR, this means automating repetitive processes like sending acknowledgment emails to new applicants, reminding hiring managers about interview follow-ups, or initiating background checks after an offer acceptance. By automating these tasks, HR professionals free up valuable time to focus on strategic initiatives, candidate engagement, and complex problem-solving, rather than getting bogged down in administrative minutiae. Automation ensures consistency, reduces human error, and accelerates the hiring and onboarding lifecycle.
Workflow
A workflow is a sequence of tasks or steps designed to achieve a specific outcome, often involving multiple users or systems. In Keap, workflows are the backbone of automation, allowing HR to map out complex processes. For example, a “New Hire Onboarding” workflow might include sending welcome emails, assigning training modules, requesting necessary documentation, and notifying IT to set up accounts. Each step can be triggered by the completion of the previous one or by specific data points, ensuring a smooth and systematic progression through multi-stage HR processes. Workflows enhance transparency and accountability within the HR function.
Campaign
In Keap, a campaign is a series of automated communications and actions orchestrated to guide a contact (e.g., a candidate or new hire) through a specific journey. For HR, a “Candidate Nurturing Campaign” might involve sending a series of emails with company culture insights, job success stories, or FAQs to keep promising candidates engaged over time. An “Onboarding Campaign” could deliver orientation materials and check-ins over the first few weeks of employment. Campaigns are powerful for maintaining consistent communication, building relationships, and ensuring key information is delivered at the right time, fostering a positive experience.
Tag
A tag is a customizable label or keyword applied to a contact record in Keap, used to categorize, segment, and trigger automation. HR teams use tags extensively to segment their talent pool: “Applicant – Software Engineer,” “Interviewed – Round 1,” “Offer Extended,” “Employee – Marketing Dept.” Tags enable highly targeted communication, allowing HR to send specific messages only to relevant groups, such as job alerts to candidates with particular skills or policy updates to employees in a certain department. They are crucial for dynamic list management and initiating specific automated sequences.
Sequence
A sequence is a foundational automation tool within Keap, representing a series of timed actions and communications. Unlike broader campaigns, sequences are typically more linear and focused. For HR, a “Post-Interview Follow-Up Sequence” might involve an initial thank-you email, followed by a status update seven days later, and a reminder for the hiring manager. A “Benefit Enrollment Sequence” could guide new hires through the necessary steps. Sequences ensure that critical communications and tasks are executed systematically and on schedule, maintaining professionalism and reducing the risk of missed steps in time-sensitive HR processes.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
While often associated with sales, a CRM system like Keap is invaluable for HR, effectively becoming a Candidate Relationship Management or Employee Relationship Management tool. It centralizes all interactions, data, and communications related to candidates and employees. HR professionals use Keap’s CRM to track application statuses, store interview notes, manage employee profiles, monitor training progress, and record performance reviews. This single source of truth ensures that all team members have access to the most current and comprehensive information, enabling personalized interactions and informed decision-making throughout the employee lifecycle.
Lead Scoring
Lead scoring is a methodology used to rank prospects based on their engagement and fit, typically through assigning numerical values to certain actions or attributes. In an HR context, this transforms into “Candidate Scoring” or “Applicant Scoring.” Keap can automatically assign points based on a candidate’s resume keywords, application answers, interaction with recruitment emails, or even their experience level. High-scoring candidates can then be automatically prioritized for review or moved into an accelerated interview pipeline, helping recruiters quickly identify and focus on the most promising talent, streamlining the initial screening process.
Integration
Integration refers to the process of connecting Keap with other software applications to share data and automate cross-platform workflows. For HR, integrating Keap with an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), a Human Resources Information System (HRIS), or a background check service is critical. For instance, an integration might automatically push candidate data from an ATS into Keap upon application, or trigger a background check order in a third-party system once a candidate accepts an offer in Keap. Integrations eliminate manual data entry, reduce errors, and create a seamless ecosystem for talent management.
API (Application Programming Interface)
An API is a set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate and exchange data with each other. For HR professionals using Keap, understanding APIs is crucial when integrating custom solutions or connecting to systems that don’t have direct, built-in integrations. For example, a custom HR portal might use Keap’s API to pull employee data for a self-service directory, or an external assessment platform could push candidate scores back into Keap via its API. APIs enable bespoke automation and ensure data consistency across disparate HR technologies.
Webhook
A webhook is an automated message sent from an application when a specific event occurs, delivering real-time information to another application. In HR automation, webhooks are powerful triggers. For instance, when a candidate updates their profile in an external portal, a webhook could instantly notify Keap to update the contact record. Or, upon a new hire completing their “first day” task in Keap, a webhook could trigger an external payroll system to process their initial setup. Webhooks facilitate immediate, event-driven communication between systems, making automation highly responsive and efficient.
Pipeline
A pipeline in Keap is a visual representation of a multi-stage process, allowing users to track contacts as they move through different phases. In HR, pipelines are invaluable for managing recruitment funnels, onboarding journeys, or performance review cycles. A “Recruitment Pipeline” might include stages like “Applicant,” “Screened,” “Interviewed,” “Offer Extended,” and “Hired.” HR professionals can drag and drop candidates between stages, and these movements can automatically trigger specific actions, emails, or tasks, providing clear visibility into each process and streamlining progression.
Data Sync
Data sync refers to the continuous or periodic process of ensuring that data across multiple systems remains consistent and up-to-date. In an HR context, this is vital when Keap acts as a CRM alongside an ATS or HRIS. For example, if a candidate’s contact information is updated in the ATS, data sync ensures that the same update is reflected in their Keap contact record. This prevents discrepancies, reduces manual data reconciliation efforts, and ensures that HR professionals are always working with accurate and reliable information, which is critical for compliance and effective decision-making.
Segmentation
Segmentation is the practice of dividing a larger group of contacts into smaller, more specific groups based on shared characteristics or behaviors. In Keap, HR professionals can segment candidates by skill set, location, experience level, application status, or even engagement with previous communications. They can segment employees by department, tenure, or training needs. This allows for highly targeted communication and personalized experiences, such as sending specific job alerts to qualified candidates or delivering tailored professional development resources to relevant employee groups, enhancing relevance and impact.
Custom Fields
Custom fields are user-defined data fields that allow Keap users to store specific information not covered by standard fields. For HR, custom fields are essential for capturing highly relevant and unique candidate or employee data. Examples include “Desired Salary,” “Visa Sponsorship Required,” “Referral Source,” “Employee ID,” “Last Performance Review Date,” or “Skills Matrix.” These fields ensure that Keap can be tailored to the exact data requirements of any HR department, enabling comprehensive record-keeping, powerful segmentation, and the personalization of automated workflows based on unique data points.
If you would like to read more, we recommend this article: Keap Automation Consulting: Your Blueprint for Future-Proof Talent Management
