A Glossary of Key Terms in Keap Automation & Workflow for HR & Recruiting

In the fast-paced world of human resources and recruitment, leveraging technology to streamline processes is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. Keap, a powerful CRM and automation platform, offers robust tools that, when understood and applied correctly, can transform how HR professionals manage candidate journeys, onboarding, and internal communications. This glossary provides clear, authoritative definitions for key Keap automation and workflow terms, specifically tailored to help HR and recruiting leaders enhance efficiency, reduce manual effort, and improve the overall employee and candidate experience.

Keap CRM

Keap CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a robust platform designed to help businesses organize customer data, automate marketing, and manage sales pipelines. For HR and recruiting professionals, Keap acts as a centralized database for candidate profiles, employee records, and applicant tracking. It allows teams to store contact information, resumes, interview notes, and communication history in one accessible location, eliminating scattered data. By utilizing Keap CRM, HR departments can ensure a consistent, personalized candidate experience from initial application through onboarding, while also tracking key metrics and maintaining compliance with data privacy regulations.

Automation

Automation in Keap refers to the use of technology to perform tasks or processes automatically, without human intervention. In an HR context, this could mean automatically sending an acknowledgment email to an applicant upon submission, scheduling follow-up interviews based on specific criteria, or initiating onboarding sequences once an offer is accepted. Automating repetitive tasks frees up valuable time for HR professionals, allowing them to focus on strategic initiatives like talent development and employee engagement. It also minimizes human error, ensures timely communication, and provides a consistent experience across all candidate and employee interactions.

Workflow

A workflow in Keap defines a series of interconnected steps or tasks that are completed in a specific order to achieve a particular outcome. For HR, a workflow might outline the entire recruitment journey: from candidate application, through screening, interviewing, background checks, offer generation, and finally, onboarding. By mapping out these workflows within Keap, organizations can standardize processes, ensure compliance, and identify bottlenecks. Keap’s automation features allow these workflows to be executed automatically, triggering the next step based on predefined conditions or actions, thereby optimizing efficiency and reducing administrative burden.

Campaign

In Keap, a Campaign is a strategic, multi-step automated communication and action plan designed to achieve a specific objective. For HR, a campaign could be designed to nurture passive candidates, guide new hires through onboarding, or even manage internal training enrollment. Unlike a single email, a campaign can involve a sequence of emails, tasks, tags, and even decision points that adapt based on a contact’s behavior. This allows HR teams to create highly personalized and dynamic candidate or employee journeys, ensuring timely and relevant interactions that improve engagement and reduce time-to-hire or time-to-productivity.

Sequence

A Sequence is a core component within a Keap Campaign, representing a series of timed communications or actions. Typically, a sequence consists of emails, tasks, or other automated steps that are delivered at predetermined intervals or based on specific conditions. For example, an HR onboarding campaign might include a sequence that sends a welcome email immediately, followed by a benefits enrollment guide three days later, and a check-in survey after two weeks. Sequences ensure that crucial information is delivered systematically and consistently, helping to manage expectations and provide a structured experience for candidates or employees.

Tags

Tags in Keap are descriptive labels assigned to contacts, used for segmentation, organization, and triggering automation. For HR, tags are incredibly powerful for categorizing candidates and employees based on skills, experience level, department, application status (e.g., “Interviewed – Round 1”, “Offer Extended”), or even specific certifications. By tagging contacts, HR professionals can quickly filter their database, send highly targeted communications, and initiate specific automation campaigns. Tags enable precision in communication and workflow management, ensuring the right message reaches the right person at the right time.

Custom Fields

Custom Fields in Keap allow users to capture and store specific data points beyond the standard contact fields (like name, email, phone number). For HR and recruiting, these are invaluable for collecting job-specific information such as desired salary, visa status, specific skill sets, previous employment history, or availability for interviews. By creating relevant custom fields, HR teams can tailor their data collection to match job requirements, allowing for more comprehensive candidate profiles and robust segmentation. This detailed information can then be used to personalize communications, automate decision-making, and improve the efficiency of the talent acquisition process.

Lead Scoring (Candidate Scoring)

While traditionally used for sales leads, Keap’s Lead Scoring functionality can be adapted for Candidate Scoring in HR. This system assigns points to candidates based on their characteristics (e.g., specific skills, years of experience, educational background) and their engagement with your communications (e.g., opening emails, clicking links, visiting career pages). A higher score indicates a stronger match or greater interest, allowing recruiters to prioritize and focus their efforts on the most qualified or engaged candidates. This automation helps streamline the screening process, ensuring top talent isn’t overlooked and recruitment resources are utilized efficiently.

Integrations

Integrations refer to the connection of Keap with other third-party software and platforms. For HR and recruiting, robust integrations are essential for creating a cohesive tech stack. This might include connecting Keap with an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), assessment tools, background check services, HRIS platforms, or even popular communication tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams. By integrating these systems, data can flow seamlessly between platforms, eliminating manual data entry, reducing errors, and creating a unified view of candidate and employee information. This interconnectedness is critical for building efficient, end-to-end HR workflows.

API (Application Programming Interface)

An API is a set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate and interact with each other. In the context of Keap and HR, the Keap API enables custom integrations and advanced data exchange between Keap and other HR-specific systems, even if a direct, out-of-the-box integration doesn’t exist. For instance, an HR team might use the API to push candidate data from a niche job board directly into Keap, or to pull employee data from Keap into a custom analytics dashboard. This offers unparalleled flexibility for building bespoke automation solutions tailored to unique HR operational needs.

Webhooks

Webhooks are automated messages sent from one application to another when a specific event occurs. Think of them as a “reverse API” where data is pushed in real-time. In Keap, webhooks can be used to trigger actions in external HR systems based on events happening within Keap, or vice-versa. For example, when a candidate moves to an “Offer Accepted” stage in Keap, a webhook could automatically notify an HRIS system to begin the new hire setup process. This real-time data transfer is crucial for orchestrating complex, multi-system HR workflows, ensuring immediate responses and seamless transitions across different platforms.

Goal (in Keap Automation)

A “Goal” in Keap’s Automation Builder represents a desired outcome or action that, when achieved by a contact, triggers the next phase of an automation campaign. For HR, a goal could be a candidate filling out a specific application form, clicking a link in an email to schedule an interview, attending an assessment, or submitting onboarding paperwork. When a contact fulfills a goal, they are automatically pulled out of any previous sequences and moved into the next relevant stage of their journey. Goals are fundamental for building responsive, dynamic HR campaigns that adapt to a candidate’s or employee’s actions.

Decision Diamond (in Keap Automation)

The Decision Diamond is a powerful logical component within Keap’s Advanced Automation Builder. It allows HR professionals to create branching paths in their automation campaigns based on specific conditions or contact data. For example, after an initial screening, a Decision Diamond could check a custom field for “Required Experience Level.” If the candidate meets the criteria, they proceed down one path (e.g., “Schedule Technical Interview”); if not, they go down another (e.g., “Send Rejection Email”). This enables highly intelligent and adaptive HR workflows, ensuring candidates receive appropriate communications and processes based on their qualifications.

Pipeline Management

Pipeline Management in Keap refers to the systematic process of tracking candidates as they move through different stages of the recruitment process. Each stage in the pipeline (e.g., “Application Received,” “Screening,” “Interview Scheduled,” “Offer Extended”) represents a step towards a hiring decision. Keap’s visual pipeline tools allow HR and recruiting teams to see exactly where each candidate stands, identify bottlenecks, and forecast hiring needs. This structured approach helps ensure no candidate falls through the cracks, streamlines communication, and provides a clear overview of the talent acquisition process from start to finish.

Segmentation

Segmentation is the practice of dividing a larger group of contacts (e.g., all candidates, all employees) into smaller, more specific subgroups based on shared characteristics or behaviors. In Keap, HR professionals can segment candidates by skills, job applied for, geographic location, interview status, or engagement level. Employees can be segmented by department, tenure, or training needs. This allows for highly targeted communication and personalized automation. Instead of sending a generic email to all applicants, HR can send a tailored message to “Candidates for Senior Developer Role” or a specific benefits update to “Employees in Marketing Department,” maximizing relevance and effectiveness.

If you would like to read more, we recommend this article: The Unbroken Keap HR & Recruiting Activity Timeline: Protection & Recovery with CRM-Backup