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Administrator Guide
Last Updated: 2025-09-19
Steps: Set Up Conversational Messaging for Candidates

Steps: Set Up Conversational Messaging for Candidates

You might need to take additional steps to enable this feature based on your organization's subscription service agreement. Your organization is either on the Main Service Agreement (MSA) or the Universal Main Service Agreement (UMSA). To determine your organization's subscription service agreement:
  1. Select your profile avatar on Workday Community.
  2. Select
    Profile
    .
  3. On your profile page, select your organization's name, which is beneath your name and next to your job title.
  4. View your
    Subscription Service Agreement
     value.
If the value is:
  • UMSA
    , the feature is automatically available. You can skip the
    Enable Innovation Services Feature and AI Data Contributions for MSA Customers
     step. For more information on Machine Learning data contributions, see Concept: Workday AI for Universal Main Subscription Agreement Customers.
  • MSA
    , you must enable this feature through Innovation Services using the
    Enable Innovation Services Feature and AI Data Contributions for MSA Customers
    step.
Note: UMSA customers don't have Innovation Services tasks and reports in their tenants as these are for MSA customers only. UMSA customers can ignore all information regarding Innovation Services.
  • Candidates must have:
    • At least 1 active job application.
    • A phone number for a country that Workday Messaging supports.
    • Opted-in to receive SMS from Workday Messaging.
  • Review setup considerations for Workday Messaging.
You can use Candidate Conversational Messaging for SMS to contact candidates quickly and receive timely responses during recruitment. Conversations can involve several members of the hiring team and a candidate using SMS threads within the context of a job application.
  1. Set up Workday Messaging in your Production tenant and acquire a Production and Non-Production phone number for sending SMS messages to candidates.
  2. Edit Domain Security Policies.
    Configure a security policy for the
    Manage: Candidate SMS Conversations
     domain in the Recruiting functional area.
  3. Configure email notifications for participants to a conversation when they receive a new message.
  4. Access the
    Edit Tenant Setup - Recruiting
     task.
    On the
    Days of Open Candidate Conversation After Move to Hire
     field, enter the number of days you want conversations to stay open after you advance a candidate to the
    Move to Hire
     stage.
    On the
    Days of Open Candidate Conversation After Disposition
    field, enter the number of days you want conversations to stay open after you
    Disposition
     a candidate.
To send a message, access the candidate profile and select the
Candidate SMS
 icon on the collaboration panel.
Candidate SMS messages have a limit of 160 characters.
Security groups with
Modify
 access to the job application can view and send messages to the candidate.
Recruiter Alex initiates a conversation with candidate Rema to schedule an interview for the marketing executive role. Alex goes on leave but the hiring manager Sandra has access to the job application. Sandra messages Rema that Alex is on leave, but the interview will go ahead as scheduled.
Participants to the conversation receive notifications of new SMS messages through:
  • A notification on the Collaboration Panel.
  • A notification in My Conversations, if configured. Otherwise, the notification appears on the notifications page (bell icon).
  • Email, if configured.
Workday displays unanswered messages on the
Unanswered Conversations
 card to the
Recruiter Hub
. When any participant to a conversation responds to a message, Workday removes the read message from the card.