Who it’s for: Administrators
Platform: Sense Automate, Sense HR
Available on: Elite and Enterprise plans
Before you begin
Make sure you have:
☑️ Access to Sense Automate
☑️ Permission to install and deploy Library workflows
☑️ Access to the To Do area in Sense HR
☑️ Line Managers assigned in employees’ Job details, if you intend to use Line Managers for escalation
☑️ A Backup Approver field configured, if you intend to escalate To Dos to nominated backup approvers
Overview
The Watcher – Escalate Urgent ToDo’s helps prevent important tasks from being held up when the person responsible is unavailable.
The workflow checks outstanding To Dos on a schedule you choose.
It can:
identify To Dos approaching their due date when the current assignee is unavailable because of a Planner absence or time-off Event;
escalate overdue To Dos within a period you choose;
add the assignee’s Line Manager, a nominated Backup Approver or administrators as additional assignees;
optionally email newly added assignees;
remind available assignees about upcoming To Dos; and
send additional escalation notifications to a nominated email inbox.
When The Watcher escalates a To Do, it adds another assignee without removing the original assignee.
This means the task remains with its original assignee while someone else is brought in to help ensure it gets actioned.
🖊️ Note: The Watcher doesn’t create a replacement To Do. It updates the existing task by adding assignees.
How The Watcher works
The Watcher checks To Dos according to the categories, date ranges and schedule you configure.
It handles upcoming and overdue To Dos differently.
Upcoming To Dos
For To Dos approaching their due date, The Watcher checks whether the current assignee is unavailable because of an absence or time-off Event recorded in their Planner.
If the assignee is unavailable, the workflow adds the people selected in the configuration field, Added Assignee.
If the assignee is available, the To Do is left with its current assignee. You can optionally configure an email reminder to encourage them to complete it before the due date.
Overdue To Dos
You can also configure The Watcher to look for overdue To Dos.
Unlike upcoming To Dos, overdue tasks can be escalated immediately within the configured period, without requiring the current assignee to be absent.
This is optional. By default, Overdue Period is set to None , so overdue To Dos aren’t included.
📖 Example: Escalating a To Do while someone is on holiday
Alice has a To Do due on 3 November.
However, Alice is on Holiday from 29 October to 4 November.
When The Watcher runs, it identifies the upcoming To Do and checks Alice’s Planner.
Because Alice is unavailable, the workflow adds her Line Manager as another assignee.
The To Do now appears with both Alice and her Line Manager assigned.
If email notifications are enabled, the Line Manager also receives an email explaining that they’ve been added to the task because the current assignee is unavailable.
Alice remains assigned to the original To Do.
Install and deploy The Watcher
Go to:
Automate > Workflow hub
Find The Watcher – Escalate Urgent ToDo’s.
Open the workflow.
Click Install.
Go to Automate > Installations.
Locate The Watcher – Escalate Urgent ToDo’s.
Review and complete the workflow configuration.
Click Done.
Choose Save only to keep the workflow as a draft, or Deploy workflow to make it active.
Once deployed, The Watcher runs automatically according to the configured Schedule.
Configure The Watcher
The workflow configuration determines which To Dos are checked, when they are escalated and who is brought in to help.
Choose which To Dos to check
Todo Type
Select the To Do categories The Watcher should check.
Choose All to include every category, including To Dos without a category.
Alternatively, select specific categories to limit which tasks the workflow checks.
Default: All
Choose who receives escalated To Dos
Added Assignee
Select who should be added when The Watcher escalates a To Do.
Available options are:
Option | What happens |
The assignee’s line manager | Adds the current assignee’s Line Manager. |
Backup Approver | Adds the nominated Backup Approver from the employee’s profile. |
Admins | Adds the organisation’s administrators. |
All | Includes all available escalation options. |
You can select more than one option.
The Watcher adds the selected people to the existing To Do. The original assignee remains assigned.
If the same person is identified through more than one escalation option, they’re only added once.
🖊️ Note: If no Line Manager is available, or a configured Backup Approver can’t be found, the workflow uses administrators as a fallback.
Configure Backup Approvers (optional)
If you select Backup Approver under Added Assignee, complete the following settings.
Backup Approver Field
Enter the exact name of the user picker field that holds the nominated Backup Approver.
Default: Backup Approver
Backup Approver Screen
Enter the name of the Profile screen containing the Backup Approver field.
Default: Job details
For example, if your organisation stores nominated Backup Approvers in a user picker field called Backup Approver on the Job details screen, you can use the default values.
If the field is missing, empty or can’t be found, The Watcher adds administrators instead.
🖊️ Note: The field and screen names must match those configured in Sense HR. If you aren’t using Backup Approvers, these settings can be left unchanged.
Set the upcoming To Do period
Due Within
Choose how far ahead The Watcher should check for approaching due dates.
Available options are:
Next week
Next month
Next X days
Default: Next X days
If you choose Next X days, use the following setting to specify the period.
Number of Days (X)
Enter the number of days to look ahead, from 1 to 365.
The period includes today.
For example, entering 7 checks To Dos due today and over the next six days.
Default: 7
For upcoming To Dos, The Watcher checks the current assignee’s Planner availability before escalating.
Set the overdue To Do period (optional)
Overdue Period
Choose whether The Watcher should also check To Dos that are already overdue.
Available options are:
None — don’t check overdue To Dos.
Last week — check overdue To Dos from the previous calendar week.
Last month — check overdue To Dos from the previous calendar month.
Last X days — check overdue To Dos within a specified number of days.
All — check all overdue To Dos.
Default: None
⚠️ Important: Selecting All can result in a large number of overdue To Dos being escalated, particularly if your organisation has an existing backlog. Consider starting with a shorter period and reviewing the results before widening it.
Overdue Days (X)
Only used when Overdue Period is set to Last X days .
Enter how many days back The Watcher should check, from 1 to 365.
Default: 7
Overdue To Dos within the selected period are escalated without requiring the current assignee to be unavailable.
Configure notifications and reminders
The Watcher can add assignees without sending email notifications.
You can choose which additional emails are useful for your organisation.
Email new assignee?
Choose whether people added to an escalated To Do receive an email notification.
Yes — sends an email to each newly added assignee.
No — adds the assignee without sending this additional email.
Default: No
The email identifies the To Do, its due date and why the person has been added.
For example, an assignee added because someone is on holiday receives an email explaining that the current assignee is unavailable and directing them to their To Dos area.
🖊️ Note: The Watcher doesn’t email the original assignee when adding another person. Use Remind current assignee? if you want to send reminders to available assignees.
Remind current assignee?
Choose whether to send an email reminder when an upcoming To Do is approaching its due date but the current assignee is available.
Yes — sends a reminder according to the configured reminder period.
No — doesn’t send additional reminders.
Default: No
When enabled, complete the following setting.
Remind how many days before due
Enter how many days before the due date the reminder should be sent.
For example:
1 — the day before the To Do is due.
0 — on the due date.
Default: 1
Each To Do receives a reminder on the configured day rather than every day it remains within the upcoming period.
⚠️ Important: The reminder period must be shorter than the Due Within period. Reminders are only sent when The Watcher runs on the relevant day, so a daily schedule is recommended if you’re using this option.
To Dos without a due date aren’t included in reminders.
Notify custom?
Choose whether to send an additional escalation email to a nominated inbox.
For example, you might want your HR or Finance team to know when important To Dos are being escalated without assigning those teams to every task.
Yes — sends an escalation notification to the configured inbox.
No — doesn’t send this additional notification.
Default: No
Custom inbox
If Notify custom? is set to Yes, enter the email address that should receive the notifications.
For example, your organisation’s shared HR inbox.
The Watcher sends one notification per escalated To Do.
This is separate from Email new assignee?. You can enable either option, both or neither.
Set when The Watcher runs
Schedule
Choose how often The Watcher checks for upcoming and overdue To Dos.
The schedule uses a five-field cron expression.
Default: 30 7 * * *
This runs The Watcher every day at 7:30 AM.
For example:
Schedule | When The Watcher runs |
30 7 * * * | Every day at 7:30 AM |
0 9 * * * | Every day at 9:00 AM |
0 9 * * 1-5 | Monday to Friday at 9:00 AM |
0 8,20 * * * | Every day at 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM |
💡 Tip: A daily schedule is recommended, particularly when using reminders. Less frequent schedules may miss To Dos that reach their reminder date between runs.
🖊️ Note: Changes to the Schedule take effect when the workflow is redeployed.
What happens in Sense HR?
When The Watcher escalates a To Do, the existing task is updated with additional assignees.
The original assignee remains assigned.
You can see the updated assignment in:
Sense HR > To Do > All to dos
The Assigned To column shows the people currently assigned to the task.
The To Do also remains visible from the relevant employee’s profile.
If Email new assignee? is enabled, the additional assignee also receives an email directing them to their To Dos.
Review Watcher activity
The Watcher records its activity in Sense Automate’s workflow run history.
You can review the logs to see:
how many outstanding To Dos were checked;
how many matched the selected categories;
how many were escalated;
which To Dos were left unchanged and why;
whether assignees were successfully added; and
whether notifications or reminders were attempted.
Basic troubleshooting
An overdue To Do hasn’t been escalated
Check Overdue Period.
If it’s set to None, The Watcher doesn’t check overdue To Dos.
If overdue checking is enabled, make sure the task falls within the selected period and its category is included in Todo Type.
Also check that The Watcher has run since the To Do became eligible for escalation.
An upcoming To Do hasn’t been escalated
Check that:
the To Do falls within the configured Due Within period;
its category is included in Todo Type;
the current assignee has a relevant absence or time-off Event in Planner; and
The Watcher has run since the task became eligible.
If the current assignee is available, The Watcher doesn’t escalate the upcoming To Do.
The Watcher added administrators instead of a Backup Approver
Check the Backup Approver Field and Backup Approver Screen settings.
If the configured field can’t be found or doesn’t contain a valid Backup Approver, The Watcher uses administrators as a fallback.
The Watcher isn’t sending emails
Check the relevant notification setting.
For newly added assignees, enable Email new assignee?.
For reminders to available assignees, enable Remind current assignee?.
For notifications to another inbox, enable Notify custom? and complete Custom inbox.
Also check the workflow’s run history for notification activity.
The Watcher hasn’t run since deployment
Check the configured Schedule.
The Watcher runs at its scheduled time rather than immediately when it’s deployed.
Make sure the workflow is deployed and the configured schedule has been applied.
FAQs
Click for answers to frequently asked questions
Click for answers to frequently asked questions
Q: Does The Watcher remove the original assignee when it escalates a To Do?
A: No. The Watcher adds the selected people as additional assignees to the existing To Do. The original assignee remains assigned.
Q: Does The Watcher create a new To Do when it escalates a task?
A: No. The Watcher updates the existing To Do rather than creating a replacement task.
Q: Does The Watcher only escalate To Dos when someone is absent?
A: No. For upcoming To Dos, The Watcher checks whether the current assignee is unavailable because of a Planner absence or time-off Event. If overdue checking is enabled, overdue To Dos within the configured period can be escalated without requiring the assignee to be absent.
Q: Can The Watcher escalate To Dos without sending emails?
A: Yes. The Watcher can add additional assignees even when email notifications are disabled. You can review the updated assignments in Sense HR and check the workflow’s run history in Sense Automate.
Q: Why hasn’t The Watcher escalated any of my overdue To Dos?
A: The default Overdue Period is None, so overdue To Dos aren’t checked unless you enable this option. Select the overdue period you want The Watcher to check, then save and redeploy the workflow.
Q: Can I choose which types of To Dos The Watcher checks?
A: Yes. Use Todo Type to select the categories you want The Watcher to check. Select All to include every category, including To Dos without a category.
Q: Can I choose more than one escalation recipient?
A: Yes. Added Assignee supports multiple selections, so you can include Line Managers, Backup Approvers and administrators as needed. If the same person is identified through more than one option, they’re only added once.
Q: What happens if an employee doesn’t have a Backup Approver?
A: If Backup Approver is selected but the configured field is missing, empty or can’t be found, The Watcher adds administrators instead.
Q: Does The Watcher send reminders to employees who are available?
A: It can. Enable Remind current assignee? to send an email reminder when an upcoming To Do is approaching its due date and the current assignee is available. The reminder is sent according to the configured number of days before the due date and the workflow’s schedule.
Q: How can I tell which To Dos The Watcher has escalated?
A: You can see the additional assignees in Sense HR’s To Do list. For more detail, review The Watcher’s run history in Sense Automate, which records the To Dos checked, escalations made and any failures or notifications.