A Glossary of Key Terms in HR Automation and Webhooks
In today’s fast-paced recruiting and HR landscape, leveraging automation and understanding how systems communicate are no longer optional—they are essential for efficiency, scalability, and delivering an exceptional candidate experience. This glossary provides HR and recruiting professionals with clear, authoritative definitions for critical terms related to webhooks and automation, explaining their practical relevance and how they can be applied to optimize your talent acquisition and management processes.
Webhook
A webhook is an automated message sent from an application when a specific event occurs, acting as a “user-defined HTTP callback.” Unlike traditional APIs where you constantly poll for data, a webhook pushes data to you in real-time. For HR and recruiting, this means instant notifications for events like a candidate completing an assessment, a new application submission, or an interview being scheduled. Implementing webhooks allows your various HR systems—ATS, CRM, assessment tools, scheduling platforms—to communicate seamlessly and instantly, significantly reducing delays and manual data transfers, thereby enabling immediate follow-up actions and improving overall response times.
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. It defines the methods and data formats that applications can use to request and exchange information. In HR, APIs are the backbone of integration, enabling your Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to connect with your HRIS, payroll system, or onboarding platforms. For instance, an API might allow you to automatically push new hire data from your ATS to your HRIS, eliminating manual data entry and reducing errors. Understanding APIs is crucial for building a cohesive tech stack where all components work together efficiently to automate recruiting and HR workflows.
Automation Workflow
An automation workflow is a series of automated steps or tasks designed to achieve a specific business outcome without manual intervention. It’s the blueprint that defines how various systems and actions will interact based on triggers and conditions. In recruiting, a workflow might involve automatically sending a confirmation email to a candidate after they apply, scheduling an interview when their resume is screened positively, or initiating background checks once an offer is accepted. Well-designed automation workflows save significant time, reduce human error, and ensure consistency in processes, allowing your HR team to focus on strategic initiatives rather than repetitive administrative tasks.
Integration
Integration refers to the process of connecting disparate software applications or systems to allow them to share data and functions seamlessly. In the context of HR and recruiting, integration is about making your ATS, CRM, HRIS, payroll, onboarding software, and other tools “talk” to each other. For example, integrating your ATS with your scheduling tool means that once a candidate reaches a certain stage, an interview slot can be automatically offered without manual coordination. Effective integration eliminates data silos, ensures a single source of truth for candidate and employee information, and is foundational to building truly automated and efficient HR operations.
Applicant Tracking System (ATS)
An ATS is a software application designed to help recruiters and employers manage the recruitment process efficiently. It handles tasks such as job posting, resume parsing, candidate screening, interview scheduling, and offer management. While an ATS streamlines many aspects of recruiting, its true power is unlocked through automation and integration. By connecting your ATS via webhooks or APIs to other systems—like a candidate assessment platform or a background check service—you can automate the progression of candidates through the hiring funnel, send automated communications, and dramatically reduce the manual effort involved in high-volume recruiting.
Candidate Relationship Management (CRM)
A CRM system, specifically in recruiting, is used to manage and nurture relationships with potential candidates, even those not actively applying for a role. It helps build talent pipelines, track interactions, and engage with passive candidates for future opportunities. Automating your recruiting CRM, often through integrations with tools like Keap, can involve sending personalized drip campaigns to talent pools, setting reminders for recruiters to follow up, or updating candidate statuses based on website activity. This proactive approach ensures you’re always building a robust talent network, reducing time-to-hire when critical roles open up.
Low-Code/No-Code Automation
Low-code/no-code platforms provide visual interfaces and pre-built components that allow users to create applications and automate workflows with minimal or no traditional programming knowledge. Tools like Make.com (formerly Integromat) are prime examples. For HR and recruiting professionals, this means they can build sophisticated automations—such as syncing data between an ATS and a custom spreadsheet, or creating custom onboarding flows—without needing a developer. This democratization of automation empowers HR teams to rapidly prototype and deploy solutions that address immediate operational bottlenecks, significantly increasing agility and reducing reliance on IT departments.
Payload
In the context of webhooks and APIs, a payload refers to the actual data that is being transmitted during a request. When a webhook sends a message, the payload is the structured body of information containing details about the event that triggered it. For example, a webhook payload from an ATS after a new application might include the candidate’s name, email, resume link, and the job ID. Understanding how to interpret and process these payloads is crucial for extracting the necessary information to feed into subsequent automation steps, such as parsing a resume from a URL or updating a candidate record in another system.
Trigger (Automation)
A trigger is the specific event or condition that initiates an automation workflow. It’s the “if this happens” part of an “if this, then that” statement. Triggers can be diverse: a new entry in a spreadsheet, an email received, a form submission, a status change in an ATS, or a webhook firing. In recruiting automation, a trigger could be a candidate’s status changing to “interview scheduled,” which then kicks off a series of actions like sending calendar invites and prep materials. Identifying clear and consistent triggers is the first step in designing effective and reliable automated processes that respond dynamically to events.
Action (Automation)
An action is a specific task or operation performed within an automation workflow, typically in response to a trigger or a previous step. It’s the “then do that” part of an automation rule. Actions can range from sending an email, updating a database record, creating a new task, generating a document, or making an API call to another system. For example, after a “candidate accepted offer” trigger, actions might include creating a new employee record in an HRIS, sending an onboarding checklist, and notifying the hiring manager. Defining precise actions is critical to ensuring your automation workflows execute the desired outcomes reliably and efficiently.
JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)
JSON is a lightweight, human-readable data interchange format that is commonly used for transmitting data between web applications and servers. It organizes data in key-value pairs and arrays, making it easy for both humans to read and machines to parse. Most webhooks and APIs exchange information using JSON payloads. For HR professionals working with automation, familiarity with JSON helps in understanding the structure of data coming from different systems. This knowledge is invaluable for configuring tools like Make.com to correctly extract and manipulate candidate or employee data, ensuring accurate information flow across your integrated tech stack.
Data Parsing
Data parsing is the process of extracting specific pieces of information from a larger block of structured or unstructured data, such as a JSON payload, an XML document, or even text from an email. In automation, parsing is essential for taking raw data received from a webhook or API and transforming it into a usable format for subsequent steps. For instance, you might parse a candidate’s resume to extract their name, contact information, and skills, or parse a webhook payload to get the exact status update. Effective data parsing ensures that your automation workflows can accurately interpret and utilize the information they receive from various sources.
Orchestration
Orchestration refers to the coordination and management of multiple automated tasks, systems, and processes to achieve a larger, more complex business objective. It goes beyond simple automation by ensuring that different workflows work together harmoniously, often across multiple platforms. In HR, orchestration might involve managing the entire candidate journey from initial application through to onboarding across an ATS, CRM, assessment tool, and HRIS, ensuring each system updates and triggers the next step seamlessly. Effective orchestration is key to building end-to-end automated solutions that handle intricate business logic and provide a holistic view of operations.
Candidate Experience Automation
Candidate experience automation involves using technology to streamline and personalize interactions with job applicants throughout the recruitment process, from initial application to onboarding. This includes automated email confirmations, personalized follow-up messages based on interview stages, automated scheduling of interviews, and providing self-service portals for candidates. The goal is to create a smooth, transparent, and engaging experience that reflects positively on your employer brand, reduces candidate ghosting, and increases the likelihood of top talent accepting offers, all while minimizing manual effort for recruiters.
Talent Pipeline Automation
Talent pipeline automation is the strategic use of technology to continuously identify, attract, nurture, and engage with potential candidates, building a robust pool of qualified individuals for future hiring needs. This involves automating tasks such as sourcing candidates from various platforms, enriching candidate profiles with public data, segmenting talent pools based on skills and roles, and deploying automated drip campaigns to keep passive candidates engaged. By automating the management of your talent pipeline, you ensure a consistent flow of high-quality prospects, reduce reliance on reactive recruiting, and significantly decrease time-to-hire for critical roles.
If you would like to read more, we recommend this article: Reducing Candidate Ghosting with Automated Scheduling: A Look at ROI
