What a Workflow includes, how handling variations work within it, and how to tell when something needs its own Workflow.
A Workflow is a distinct case management process. It defines how a category of reports is handled from the moment it's submitted to the moment it's resolved: the statuses it moves through, the custom fields it tracks, the task templates your team follows, and the escalation rules that apply.
Each Workflow includes 10 handling variations: different end-to-end journeys that reports can take depending on their nature. Additional handling variations beyond the included 10 can be added individually. A handling variation isn't just a routing change. It's a meaningfully different path through the process, involving a different combination of team assignment, investigation tasks, follow-up forms, and escalation.
An important distinction: reporting forms are not handling variations. You can have multiple intake forms - one for students, one for staff, one for case managers - all feeding into the same Workflow. The number of forms you have doesn't affect the number of handling variations. Handling variations are determined by how reports are handled after submission, not by how they're collected.
Where handling variations differ is in the journey: which team handles it, what tasks they follow, what follow-up the reporter receives, and how serious cases are escalated. The example below shows what this looks like in practice.
Here's how a single Student Complaints Workflow might contain several handling variations. Each one shares the same statuses and custom fields, but the journey from submission to resolution is different.
The question is whether what you're describing is a different journey within the same process, or a fundamentally different process altogether.
Different journey, same process. The statuses, custom fields, and reporting category stay the same, but the team, tasks, follow-up, or escalation path differ. 10 are included per Workflow, with more available if needed.
Fundamentally different process. Different lifecycle, different statuses, different custom fields, different governance and reporting requirements. Managed by a separate team with their own procedures. This needs its own Workflow.
Think about the reporting process you're considering. For each question, select the option that best describes what you need.
What you're describing fits within your current setup. The process, team, tasks, and follow-up are the same. Any changes needed are standard configuration (new forms, updated fields, adjusted notifications) and don't affect your Workflow allocation.
You're describing a different journey within the same process. The team, tasks, follow-up, or escalation path differ, but the overall lifecycle and reporting category stay the same. This is a handling variation within your existing Workflow. Each Workflow includes 10 handling variations at no additional cost, with more available if needed.
You're describing a fundamentally different process: different lifecycle, different statuses, different data, and separate governance or reporting requirements. This needs its own Workflow, which is an addition to your plan. Talk to your account manager about next steps.
| Situation | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New intake form for a different audience (e.g. students vs staff) | Configuration | Different forms can feed into the same process. The form collects different information, but reports are handled the same way. |
| New category on existing form (e.g. adding "Bullying") | Configuration | Adding a category doesn't change how reports are processed, investigated, or followed up. |
| Rename a report type from "Grievance" to "Formal Complaint" | Configuration | A name change doesn't change the process. |
| Adding a notification when a case reaches a certain status | Configuration | A notification doesn't change who handles the case, what tasks they follow, or what the reporter receives. |
| Bullying complaints need a welfare-first investigation with different tasks and a welfare check-in form sent to the student | Handling variation | Same overall process and statuses, but a different team handles it, different investigation tasks apply, and the reporter receives a different follow-up. That's a different journey. |
| High-severity cases are escalated to the Head of HR with additional investigation tasks and a board notification | Handling variation | The process is the same, but the escalation path, tasks, and people involved are meaningfully different for serious cases. |
| Academic appeals go to the Appeals Board with a formal panel review process and appeal-specific follow-up | Handling variation | Still within the Student Complaints process, but a completely different team, different investigation steps, and different communication to the student. |
| Cases involving a staff member trigger a joint HR and Wellbeing investigation with separate interview tracks | Handling variation | Same complaint category and lifecycle, but the involvement of HR changes the team, tasks, and escalation path. |
| Whistleblowing disclosures handled by Compliance with their own statuses, investigation structure, and board reporting | New Workflow | Different team, different lifecycle, different statuses, different compliance requirements, and reported separately to the board. A fundamentally separate process. |
| Safety incidents with their own risk assessment, corrective actions, and regulatory reporting | New Workflow | Different lifecycle, different data tracked, different regulatory framework, different reporting obligations. |
| Staff misconduct managed by HR with disciplinary statuses, formal investigation procedures, and separate analytics | New Workflow | Different team, different statuses, different procedures, and needs to be tracked and reported separately from student complaints. |
Not every change is the same size. Here's what each outcome means for your plan.
New intake forms, new categories, updated field labels, additional notifications. These are standard day-to-day configuration and are always included.
A different journey within the same process. The team, investigation tasks, follow-up forms, or escalation path differ, but the overall lifecycle and reporting stay the same. Each Workflow includes 10 handling variations, with more available if needed. Most organisations use 4-8, so there's typically headroom for growth.
A fundamentally different case management process with its own lifecycle, statuses, custom fields, team, and reporting requirements. This needs its own Workflow, which is an addition to your licence. Talk to your Elker contact to get it set up.