Welcome back! In part one, we explored the magic of automation and how it can revolutionize your L&D workflow. Now, let’s dive deeper and build your first Zap! We’ll use the popular example of capturing contact form submissions into a Google Sheet, but remember, the possibilities are endless!
Ready, set, automate!
1. Prepare the Stage:
- Sign up for Zapier: It’s free to start, and you’ll unlock a world of automation potential.
- Identify your goals: What repetitive task do you want to automate? In this case, it’s capturing contact form submissions.
- Define the workflow: Break it down into trigger and action. The trigger is the event that starts your Zap (new form submission). The action is what your Zap does (adding it to a Google Sheet).
- Choose your apps: You’ll need your contact form app (like Typeform) and a Google Sheet.
2. Build Your Masterpiece:
- Open the Zap editor: This is where you bring your automation vision to life.
- Set your trigger: Select your contact form app and choose the “New form submission” event. Connect your app account and customize the trigger if needed. Remember, test it to ensure it grabs the right data!
- Craft your action: Select your Google Sheet app and choose the “Create new row” event. Connect your Google Drive account and prepare your spreadsheet with labeled columns for the information you want to capture.
- Map your fields: This is where the magic happens! Click on each empty field in your Google Sheet row and map it to the corresponding data from your contact form. Think of it as connecting the dots between your apps.
- Test and refine: Click “Test & review” to see your Zap in action. Check your Google Sheet if everything landed in the right place. If not, tweak your mapping and try again.
3. Unleash the Automation Beast:
- Turn on your Zap! You’ve built your automated bridge, now watch it work its magic. Every new form submission will seamlessly flow into your Google Sheet, freeing you from tedious data entry.
- Expand your horizons: This is just the beginning! Explore the vast library of Zapier apps and discover countless ways to automate your L&D processes. Imagine streamlining employee onboarding, sending automated reminder emails for training deadlines, or generating personalized skill gap reports – the possibilities are limitless!
Project Example
A few years ago, I was involved in a project that required conducting 42 workshops in 40 different cities over the span of a year. As you can imagine, there was a lot of data to manage, ranging from registrations to communicating workshop details and directions, among other things.
Participants registered for the workshop via a survey gizmo webform. They provided their name, email address, and selected the workshop they wished to attend. Based on this information, each participant was enrolled in a MailChimp drip campaign that corresponded with the date and location of their chosen workshop. Additionally, they were enrolled in online learning courses. We collected some data, which we used to create a performance dashboard that displayed their ‘before’ score.
Without the help of automation, I would have had to spend hours downloading data from survey gizmo, sorting out the relevant fields into three separate spreadsheets, then manually importing them into MailChimp, the LMS, and finally into Google Sheets. This would have been a tedious and time-consuming task, especially since it had to be done 42 times!”
Fortunately for me, I was able to use Zapier to automate this tedious administrative work. With Zapier, the flow of data was automated, and once it was set up, I didn’t have to touch anything. All the data was automatically flowed to where it needed to go.
Remember: Automation is not about replacing human connection in L&D. It’s about freeing you to focus on what truly matters – creating engaging learning experiences and igniting passion for growth. Embrace automation to enhance your productivity and elevate your L&D game.
How Zapier’s L&D team saved 1,000s of hours of work with automation
https://zapier.com/blog/automate-learning-development-workshops/
So, are you ready to conquer the tedious tasks and unleash the power of automation? Get out there, build your first Zap, and watch your workflow transform!
If this has piqued your curiosity, there is SO much more you can do. Here are some resources to keep you going:
- Zapier 101: Getting Started with Zapier (webinar)
- Getting Started with Zapier (learning path)
Be sure to let me know what you do with this!
Mike Taylor 