> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help-empuls.xoxoday.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Automated greetings
> Set up no-touch lifecycle messages — welcome, birthday, work-anniversary, and more — that Empuls sends automatically on the right date, with optional point gifts.
Automated greetings are pre-built lifecycle messages Empuls sends to employees without any manual trigger — a welcome message on day one, a birthday note on their birthday, an anniversary message on the right year. You enable each greeting once during platform setup (or any time after) and Empuls handles every future occurrence. Greetings can be message-only or carry a point gift.
This feature is part of the **DIY Onboarding** wizard, which is where Empuls walks new admins through the core engagement setup. You can return to greetings any time after onboarding to enable additional templates or update existing ones.
## Before you start
* You must be a **Super Admin**.
* Employee date-of-birth (DOB) and date-of-joining (DOJ) must be populated for birthday and anniversary greetings to fire. These usually arrive via [HRMS sync](/admin/integrations/hris-hrms) or bulk CSV import.
* Decide whether each greeting should include a point gift; greetings without a gift only send a message.
## How automated greetings differ from milestone automation
Empuls has two related but distinct ways to celebrate lifecycle events:
| Feature | Best for | How to configure |
| ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Automated greetings** (this page) | Quick, low-friction setup of standard messages (welcome, birthday, anniversary), single template per event | DIY Onboarding wizard or **Greetings** settings |
| **Service awards & milestone gifts** | Tiered work-anniversary programs (1 yr, 5 yr, 10 yr with different gift collections, certificates, yearbook) | **Gifts → Manage Gifts → Create Gift → Automate** — see [Automate milestone celebrations](/admin/gifts/milestones-service-awards) |
Use automated greetings as the lightweight default; layer milestone gifts on top when you need richer per-year programs.
## What's in a greeting template
Each greeting template has the following fields:
| Field | What it does |
| ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Name** | Internal label so you can find the greeting again. |
| **Description** | Internal note about when/why the greeting fires. |
| **Message title** | Subject line shown to the employee. Supports placeholders like `{{First Name}}`. |
| **Message** | Body of the greeting. Supports the same placeholders. |
| **Icon / image** | Visual that appears with the message. |
| **Points** | Optional reward-points value attached to the greeting. Set 0 for message-only. |
| **Gift type** | If points are attached, choose between reward points or a gift catalog item. |
| **Condition** | The lifecycle trigger (date of joining, date of birth, anniversary year, etc.). |
| **Interval** | For recurring greetings, how often the greeting recurs. |
| **Scheduled date** | For one-off broadcasts, the specific date Empuls sends. |
| **FYI condition** | Optional recipients (manager, reporting line) who are copied on the greeting. |
## Open Automated Greetings
From the Admin Hub home, click **Get Started** if you're still in DIY onboarding, or navigate to **Admin Hub → Communications → Greetings** any time later.
Empuls loads the list of automated greeting templates. Each row shows the template name, description, condition (trigger), and an enable checkbox.
Click a template row to open the preview pane. You'll see the rendered email exactly as the employee will receive it, with placeholders resolved against sample data.
## Enable a greeting template
In the greetings list, check the box next to each template you want to enable. You can enable several at once.
To change message text, points, or trigger, click **Modify** next to the row. Update fields in the editor and confirm.
Click **Save**. Greetings start firing on the next matching trigger date — for example, a birthday greeting enabled today fires for everyone whose birthday is tomorrow.
## Common greeting templates
| Template | Trigger | Typical use |
| ---------------------- | ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Welcome | Day of joining | First-day note to new hires; often paired with a small points gift. |
| Birthday | Employee DOB each year | Personal note from the company. |
| Work anniversary | DOJ each year | Light-touch anniversary message; use milestone gifts for tiered years. |
| Onboarding day 30 / 90 | Days after DOJ | Check-in messages during onboarding. |
| Exit | Day of disable | Farewell message; usually message-only. |
| Festive | Scheduled date | One-off broadcasts (Diwali, holidays, Founder's Day). |
The exact templates available depend on your plan and any custom templates Empuls has added for your organization.
## Customize a greeting
The editor opens with the current fields pre-filled.
Use the rich-text editor. Insert placeholders like `{{First Name}}`, `{{completed_year}}`, or `{{department}}` so each employee gets a personalized message.
Set a non-zero **Points** value to make the greeting a small gift. The points are deducted from the org budget when each greeting fires.
Use the FYI condition to copy the recipient's manager or HRBP on the greeting — useful for milestone events you want others to acknowledge.
Saved changes apply to all future firings of that template. Already-sent greetings are not retroactively updated.
## Disable a greeting
Uncheck the box in the greetings list and save. The greeting stops firing for any future triggers. To delete a custom greeting entirely, click the **delete** icon next to a non-default row.
## Limits and gotchas
* Greetings rely on accurate DOB and DOJ in employee records. Empty fields mean missed greetings — keep [HRMS sync](/admin/integrations/hris-hrms) healthy.
* Point gifts attached to greetings draw from the org budget. Set caps on your [budgets](/admin/finance/budgets) if you want to control monthly spend.
* A greeting can only fire once per employee per trigger date. Re-enabling a previously enabled-then-disabled greeting won't backfill missed dates.
* For tiered anniversary programs (different rewards per year), use [milestone gift automation](/admin/gifts/milestones-service-awards) instead of stacking multiple anniversary greetings.
## Related
Rich service-award programs with tiered gifts and certificates.
How birthday and anniversary posts appear on the social intranet.
Cap and automate the points that fund gift-bearing greetings.
Sync DOB and DOJ so greetings fire accurately.