Contractor redeployment reminders
Automatically alert consultants at six, four, and two weeks before a contract ends so redeployment conversations happen before the contractor starts looking elsewhere.
How it runs
What you'll need
- Active placements with an End Date set in Bullhorn (placements without an end date will not enter this automation)
- A consultant (Placement Owner) assigned to each placement record
- Your active placement status value; the exact label may vary by account (common values include Active, Current, or On Assignment)
Build it
- 1
Create a placement-based date automation
In the Automations tab, click + Add Automation and select Blank Automation. Choose Placement as the entity type and select Center on date field. Give the automation a name and save.
- 2
Set the anchor date and trigger timing
Set the anchor date to End Date. Set the trigger to fire 42 days (6 weeks) before the end date. This is where the automation enters the workflow.
- 3
Build an Always Updated list
Set the list to Always Updated. Add condition: Placement Status is your active status value. This ensures the automation only runs on placements still in progress, and exits automatically if a placement ends early or is marked inactive.
- 4
Add a Send Notification step (six-week alert)
Route the notification to the Placement Owner. Include the contractor's name, the client name, and the contract end date as merge tags. Keep the message brief: the goal is to prompt the consultant to start the redeployment conversation, not to brief them on the whole placement history.
- 5
Add a Wait step of 14 days
Wait two weeks before the next notification. The automation is now at four weeks before the end date.
- 6
Add a second Send Notification step (four-week alert)
Send a follow-up reminder to the Placement Owner. At this stage, the redeployment or extension conversation should already be underway. Use this message to prompt a status check if the consultant has not yet acted.
- 7
Add a Wait step of 14 days
Wait another two weeks. The automation is now at two weeks before the end date.
- 8
Add a third Send Notification step (two-week final alert)
This is the urgent reminder. If no redeployment or extension is in place at this point, the contractor may be at risk of leaving your pipeline. Make this message direct and specific: confirm whether the placement is extending, the contractor is being redeployed, or the assignment is ending.
- 9
Save and activate
Test with a single placement before activating at scale. Confirm that the end date is set correctly on your test record and that the Placement Owner receives the notification as expected.
End date changes recalculate automatically
This automation centers on the End Date field. If a placement end date is updated (because the contract is extended, for example) the automation recalculates and the notification timing adjusts to the new date automatically. You do not need to manually update or restart the automation when end dates change.
How to measure it
These metrics help you track whether redeployment reminders are translating into real pipeline continuity:
- Redeployment rate: the percentage of contractors who move from one placement to another without a gap. Track this before and after activating the automation to measure its impact.
- Time between placements: average days from one placement ending to the next beginning for the same contractor. A shorter gap indicates consultants are acting earlier on redeployment conversations.
- Extension rate: percentage of contracts extended before the original end date. Increasing this number means consultants are having the conversation at the right time.
- Notifications sent per week: how many reminders the automation is generating. A spike may indicate a wave of contracts ending around the same time, giving you a heads-up to resource the redeployment effort accordingly.