A buddy selection form that triggers a flow

Goal: a manager names a buddy with two clicks in Slack, the new starter’s record is updated, the manager hears back, and the buddy is briefed, with nobody in HR in the loop.

Time: about 40 minutes.

You will end up with: a published Buddy selection form; a nomination step in your pre-boarding automation; a small Thanks for choosing a buddy automation on the Form Submission trigger; and a Buddy briefing automation on the Buddy Assigned trigger. The buddy programme tutorial extends this with check-ins through the first month.

Before you start

Slack is connected, so the buddy picker renders inside the manager’s message.
A pre-boarding or first-day automation exists and is published.
A short buddy guide is published in Library, Content.

Build a buddy selection form and embed it in the manager's message.

1. Build the form

In Pyn, open Flows in the left navigation, select Forms, then Add Form.
Name it Buddy selection.
Select Add Field, then Employee Fields, Buddy. Set Label to Buddy, Description to Someone on or near the team, a year or more in, who enjoys showing people round, tick Required, and Save.
Select Add Field, then Common, Text. Label it Anything the buddy should know? with the description Optional: working pattern, first project, a shared interest. Leave Required unticked and Save.
Select Preview to read it, then Publish.

The Buddy field is the one that matters: when the form is submitted inside an enrollment, Pyn writes the chosen person as the buddy of that enrollment’s principal, the new starter.

2. Ask the manager, in Slack, a week out

Select Automations and open your pre-boarding automation.
Select Add a step, then Send Direct Message. Title it Choose a buddy.
Under Schedule, choose 1 week before, at 09:00, in the Recipient Time Zone. Under From, choose Pyn Bot. Under To, choose Manager.
Write the message:

Hi @recipient.preferredName. @principal.preferredName joins your team on @principal.startDate as @principal.jobTitle. Please pick an onboarding buddy below. Pyn will brief them and introduce them on day one.
On a new line, select Insert widget, Embed Form, choose Buddy selection under Form, keep Track Action ticked, and Save.
Select the Reminders tab and Add reminder, set to 2 days after send. Scroll to Escalations, select Add escalation, and set it to 4 days, Skip-level Manager.
Select Preview, pick an upcoming joiner under Preview for principal, and check the recipient shown is their manager. Select Send a test to yourself, then Publish.

3. Thank the manager through a form-triggered flow

This is the flow the form itself starts. Its principal is the submitter, the manager, which is exactly who you want to thank.

On Automations, select Create New, then Form Submission, choose Buddy selection from the list, then Done. Title the automation Thanks for choosing a buddy.
Select Add a step, then Send Direct Message. Under Schedule, choose on the day of; under To, Employee (the submitter).
Write it:

Thanks @recipient.preferredName, that’s done. We’ll brief the buddy today and introduce them on day one. If you’d like to change the choice, reply here and the People team will sort it.
Select Publish, then Use This, and choose Automated. There is nothing to verify: it sends once per submission.

4. Brief the buddy the moment they are chosen

The buddy relationship exists only after the form is submitted, and it belongs to the new starter. The Buddy Assigned trigger fires for the starter when the relationship appears, so a step addressed to Buddy reaches the right person however the buddy was set.

On Automations, select Create New, then Buddy Assigned under Team and Org Changes, then Done. Title it Buddy briefing.
Select the trigger card, open Audience, and under Lifecycle keep Current and add Joiner: the principal is the starter, who is a joiner until their first day.
Select Add a step, then Send Direct Message. Under Schedule, on the day of, 09:00, Recipient Time Zone; under To, Buddy.
Write it:

Hi @recipient.preferredName. @principal.managerPreferredName has asked you to be the onboarding buddy for @principal.preferredName, who starts on @principal.startDate. It’s about an hour a week for the first month: a hello on day one, a coffee in week one, and being the person for the small questions. Here’s our short guide.
Select Insert widget, Link To Library Content, choose the buddy guide, label it Read the buddy guide, and Save.
Select Publish, then Use This and Automated.

What you should see

A week before each start date, the manager gets the Slack message with a user picker under it. When they choose and submit: the starter’s profile in Directory shows the buddy; the submission appears in the form’s Activity drawer; the manager’s step reads Actioned and its reminder and escalation are cancelled; Thanks for choosing a buddy enrols the manager and sends; and Buddy briefing enrols the starter and messages the buddy within the hour. A manager who does not respond is reminded after two days and their skip-level manager hears after four.

Next steps

Follow the buddy programme tutorial to add the day-one introduction and the two-week and one-month check-ins.
Add a Mentor field and a Mentor recipient the same way for a mentoring scheme.
If your HRIS carries a buddy field, Buddy briefing fires when HR sets it there too.

Build a form and Embed a form in a message for chapters 1 and 2 in detail.
Trigger a flow from a form submission for chapter 3’s trigger.
Configure a team change trigger for Buddy Assigned.