Developer Handover Pack

Everything needed to build the automation from scratch: current state, full agent specs, data flow, and the build stack.

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FS-DOC-04Technical

Developer Handover Pack

Probation Period Management

[YourCompany.com] · HR Department · Prepared by FullSpec · [Today's Date]

This document gives the FullSpec build team everything needed to construct, wire, and validate the Probation Period Management automation end to end. It covers the current-state step map with bottleneck flags, full agent specifications with IO contracts, a field-level data flow trace, and the recommended build stack with estimated hours. The owner's responsibility is limited to the single manual step where HR Manager records the probation outcome in Notion. Every other step described here is handled by the automation.

01Process snapshot

Step

Name

Description

Record New Hire Start Date in HRIS

HR manually enters the employee start date and probation end date into BambooHR, often copied from a spreadsheet or offer letter. Errors here cascade through every downstream reminder. (10 min)

Create Probation Tracker Entry

HR adds a row to the Notion probation tracker with employee name, manager, start date, review dates, and probation end date. (8 min)

Set Calendar Reminders for Review Dates

HR manually creates calendar events for the 4-week, 8-week, and end-of-probation review dates and invites the relevant manager. Manager changes require manual updates. (12 min)

Send Mid-Probation Review Prompt to Manager

HR emails the manager at the 4-week mark with a feedback form. No automated follow-up exists if the email is not actioned. BOTTLENECK: no chase mechanism. (10 min)

Chase Manager for Completed Feedback

HR follows up by email or Slack when a manager has not returned the feedback form. This step repeats until a response arrives with no tracking. BOTTLENECK: fully manual, ad hoc. (15 min)

Review Feedback and Determine Outcome

HR Manager reads returned feedback and confirms with the manager whether the outcome is pass, extension, or termination. Retained as a human step. (20 min)

Draft Probation Outcome Letter

HR opens a template document and manually fills in employee name, outcome, and any extension conditions. Each letter saved and filed separately. (20 min)

Obtain Manager Signature on Letter

HR emails the letter to the manager for signature via DocuSign. The request is sent manually each time with no HRIS tracking. (10 min)

Send Signed Letter to Employee

Once the manager has signed, HR forwards the completed letter to the employee by email and requests acknowledgement. (8 min)

Update HRIS with Probation Outcome

HR returns to BambooHR and manually updates the employee record to reflect the outcome. Often delayed until after other tasks are cleared. BOTTLENECK: lag in record accuracy. (8 min)

File Documentation and Close Tracker Row

HR saves the signed letter to the employee's file, marks the Notion tracker row complete, and archives calendar events. (7 min)

Time cost summary: Total manual time per probation cycle is 128 minutes (approximately 2.1 hours of HR staff time). At 3 to 5 active probations per month and a loaded rate of $50/hour, this costs roughly $650 per 30-day period. At 3 hours/week across ongoing probations, the annual staff cost is $7,800. The automation replaces steps 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11. Step 6 (HR Manager outcome decision) remains manual by design. Step 1 (initial HRIS data entry) remains manual as it is a source-of-truth entry point.

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FS-DOC-04Technical

02Agent specifications

Probation Schedule Agent

Watches BambooHR for new employee records with a confirmed start date. On detection, calculates the 4-week, 8-week, and end-of-probation milestone dates from the start date field and writes a structured tracker row to the Notion probation database. Fires once per new hire and re-evaluates if the start date field in BambooHR is subsequently updated, overwriting the existing Notion row rather than creating a duplicate. This agent eliminates manual tracker creation and calendar reminder setup entirely.

Trigger

New employee record created in BambooHR with a non-null start date field (hireDate or customProbationStartDate, confirmed before build).

Tools

BambooHR (read), Notion (write)

Replaces steps

2, 3

Estimated build

8 hours, Moderate

// Input
BambooHR webhook payload {
  employee_id: string,
  first_name: string,
  last_name: string,
  hireDate: ISO8601 date,
  department: string,
  manager_id: string,
  customProbationEndDate: ISO8601 date  // may need custom field confirmation
}

// Computed fields (internal)
milestone_4wk  = hireDate + 28 days
milestone_8wk  = hireDate + 56 days
probation_end  = customProbationEndDate OR hireDate + 90 days (fallback)

// Output
Notion database row {
  employee_name: '{first_name} {last_name}',
  employee_id: string,
  manager_id: string,
  hire_date: ISO8601 date,
  milestone_4wk: ISO8601 date,
  milestone_8wk: ISO8601 date,
  probation_end: ISO8601 date,
  status: 'Active',
  feedback_4wk_received: false,
  feedback_8wk_received: false,
  outcome: null,
  created_at: ISO8601 datetime
}

BambooHR must expose customProbationEndDate via the API before build starts. If this field is not present, the FullSpec team will default to hireDate + 90 days and flag the discrepancy to the process owner for confirmation.
BambooHR API tier must support webhook event subscriptions (available on Essentials tier and above). Confirm tier before build starts.
Notion integration requires a Notion internal integration token with insert and update permissions on the Probation Tracker database. The database ID must be provided before build.
Dedupe logic: before creating a new Notion row, query the database for an existing row matching employee_id. If found, update in place rather than inserting. This prevents duplicate tracker entries on webhook replay.
Manager lookup: manager_id from BambooHR must be resolved to an email address and Slack user ID at agent run time. A BambooHR employee lookup call (GET /employees/{manager_id}) provides the manager email. Slack user lookup by email provides the Slack user ID for the Feedback Chase Agent.
If the BambooHR webhook fires before a start date is confirmed (i.e. hireDate is null), the agent must exit silently and log the event without creating a Notion row. A retry check should run after 24 hours.

Feedback Chase Agent

Runs on a scheduled poll of the Notion probation tracker. At each milestone date (4-week and 8-week), it sends a personalised feedback request email to the responsible manager via Gmail. It then monitors for a response or form submission. If no response is recorded against the Notion tracker row within 48 hours of the email send, the agent posts a direct Slack message to the manager containing the feedback form link. If a second 48-hour window passes without response, it escalates by messaging the HR Slack channel directly. All chase events are timestamped in the Notion tracker row's chase log property.

Trigger

Scheduled poll of Notion probation tracker every 6 hours. Fires email send when current date matches milestone_4wk or milestone_8wk and the corresponding feedback_received flag is false.

Tools

Notion (read/write), Google Workspace Gmail (send), Slack (post DM and channel message)

Replaces steps

4, 5

Estimated build

10 hours, Moderate

// Input (from Notion tracker row)
probation_record {
  employee_name: string,
  employee_id: string,
  manager_id: string,
  manager_email: string,
  manager_slack_id: string,
  milestone_4wk: ISO8601 date,
  milestone_8wk: ISO8601 date,
  feedback_4wk_received: boolean,
  feedback_8wk_received: boolean,
  chase_log: array<{event: string, timestamp: ISO8601 datetime}>
}

// Output (per milestone cycle)
Gmail send: {
  to: manager_email,
  subject: 'Probation review due: {employee_name}',
  body: personalised template with feedback form link,
  timestamp_sent: ISO8601 datetime
}

// On no response after 48 hrs
Slack DM to manager_slack_id: {
  text: 'Reminder: feedback outstanding for {employee_name} probation review.',
  form_link: string
}
Notion chase_log append: { event: 'slack_reminder_sent', timestamp: ... }

// On no response after second 48 hrs
Slack channel post to #hr-alerts: {
  text: 'Escalation: {manager_name} has not submitted probation feedback for {employee_name}. HR action required.',
}
Notion chase_log append: { event: 'escalated_to_hr', timestamp: ... }

// On feedback received
Notion update: { feedback_{milestone}_received: true, feedback_{milestone}_timestamp: ISO8601 datetime }

Gmail send requires a Google Workspace service account with domain-wide delegation, or a dedicated HR Gmail OAuth credential. The sending address must be agreed before build (e.g. hr@[YourCompany.com]).
Feedback receipt detection: if feedback is collected via a Google Form, configure a Form submission trigger or a Google Sheets append event to update the Notion feedback_received flag via an intermediary step. If feedback is freeform email reply, the agent must poll the Gmail sent thread for a reply and update Notion on receipt.
Slack integration requires the automation platform's Slack app to be installed in the workspace with chat:write and users:read.email OAuth scopes. The #hr-alerts channel ID must be stored in the credential store before build.
The 48-hour window is calculated from the timestamp of the initial Gmail send stored in the Notion chase_log, not from the milestone date itself.
Milestone poll logic must skip rows where status is not 'Active' (e.g. 'Outcome Logged', 'Closed') to prevent chase emails firing after an outcome has been recorded.
Confirm with the process owner whether the feedback form is a Google Form (preferred for automated receipt detection) or an email-based questionnaire before finalising the Gmail template.

Outcome and Documentation Agent

Listens for a Notion database property change where the outcome field on a probation tracker row is set to 'Pass', 'Extend', or 'Exit' by the HR Manager. On detection, it selects the correct Google Docs template based on the outcome value, performs a field merge to populate employee name, outcome type, effective date, and any extension conditions, exports the merged document to PDF, and creates a DocuSign envelope routing it to the manager for signature first and then the employee. Once DocuSign reports all signatures collected via its completion webhook, the agent writes the final probation status back to BambooHR and updates the Notion tracker row status to 'Closed', filing the signed PDF link in the Notion record.

Trigger

Notion database property change event: outcome field updated from null to 'Pass', 'Extend', or 'Exit' on an Active probation tracker row.

Tools

Notion (read/write), Google Workspace Drive and Docs (read/write), DocuSign (envelope create, send, webhook), BambooHR (write)

Replaces steps

7, 8, 9, 10, 11

Estimated build

10 hours, Complex

// Input (from Notion outcome update event)
probation_record {
  employee_name: string,
  employee_id: string,
  manager_email: string,
  employee_email: string,
  outcome: 'Pass' | 'Extend' | 'Exit',
  probation_end: ISO8601 date,
  extension_end_date: ISO8601 date | null,  // required if outcome = 'Extend'
  outcome_recorded_at: ISO8601 datetime,
  notion_page_id: string
}

// Template selection logic
template_id = {
  'Pass':   GOOGLE_DOCS_TEMPLATE_ID_PASS,
  'Extend': GOOGLE_DOCS_TEMPLATE_ID_EXTEND,
  'Exit':   GOOGLE_DOCS_TEMPLATE_ID_EXIT
}[outcome]

// Google Docs merge fields
merge_fields {
  {{employee_name}}: string,
  {{outcome_date}}: formatted date string,
  {{outcome_type}}: string,
  {{extension_end_date}}: string | 'N/A',
  {{manager_name}}: string
}

// DocuSign envelope
envelope {
  document: PDF export of merged Google Doc,
  signers: [
    { name: manager_name, email: manager_email, routing_order: 1 },
    { name: employee_name, email: employee_email, routing_order: 2 }
  ],
  subject: 'Probation outcome letter: {employee_name}',
  status: 'sent'
}

// On approval (DocuSign completion webhook)
BambooHR PATCH /employees/{employee_id} {
  customProbationStatus: outcome,  // 'Pass' | 'Extend' | 'Exit'
  customProbationClosedDate: ISO8601 date
}
Notion update {
  status: 'Closed',
  signed_letter_url: DocuSign completed document URL,
  closed_at: ISO8601 datetime
}

Three separate Google Docs templates must be created and locked (Pass, Extend, Exit) before build starts. The agent will clone the correct template at run time using the Google Drive copy API and then perform the merge on the copy, leaving the original template unmodified.
Google Docs merge is performed by replacing placeholder strings (e.g. {{employee_name}}) in the document body using the Google Docs API batchUpdate method. Templates must use exactly these placeholder strings, verified before go-live.
DocuSign integration requires a DocuSign developer account promoted to production, with an integration key and RSA key pair configured for JWT grant authentication. The account ID and base URI must be stored in the credential store.
DocuSign completion webhook (Connect) must be configured to POST to the automation platform's inbound webhook endpoint when envelope status changes to 'completed'. The endpoint URL is generated at build time.
BambooHR write-back requires the customProbationStatus and customProbationClosedDate custom fields to exist and be writable via the API before build starts. Confirm field names and API write permissions with the process owner.
If extension_end_date is null and outcome is 'Extend', the agent must pause and post a Slack alert to the #hr-alerts channel requesting the extension end date before proceeding. Do not generate a letter with a blank extension date.
DocuSign signing order is manager first, employee second. If the process owner confirms a different order for any outcome type, a conditional branch must be added to the envelope creation logic before build is finalised.

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FS-DOC-04Technical

03End-to-end data flow

Full trigger-to-output data flow trace with field names at each agent handoff

// ── TRIGGER ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
// BambooHR fires a webhook on new employee record creation
BambooHR.webhook -> event {
  event_type: 'employee.created',
  employee_id: 'EMP-0042',
  first_name: 'Jordan',
  last_name: 'Hartley',
  hireDate: '2024-05-06',
  department: 'Operations',
  manager_id: 'MGR-0011',
  customProbationEndDate: '2024-08-04'
}

// ── AGENT 1: Probation Schedule Agent ────────────────────────────────────────
// Resolve manager email via BambooHR GET /employees/{manager_id}
BambooHR.GET('/employees/MGR-0011') -> {
  manager_email: 'sarah.chen@[YourCompany.com]',
  manager_name: 'Sarah Chen'
}

// Resolve manager Slack user ID via Slack users.lookupByEmail
Slack.users.lookupByEmail('sarah.chen@[YourCompany.com]') -> {
  manager_slack_id: 'U04XXXX1234'
}

// Compute milestones
milestone_4wk  = '2024-06-03'   // hireDate + 28 days
milestone_8wk  = '2024-07-01'   // hireDate + 56 days
probation_end  = '2024-08-04'   // customProbationEndDate

// Write Notion probation tracker row
Notion.pages.create -> probation_page {
  notion_page_id: 'abc123def456',
  employee_name: 'Jordan Hartley',
  employee_id: 'EMP-0042',
  manager_email: 'sarah.chen@[YourCompany.com]',
  manager_slack_id: 'U04XXXX1234',
  hire_date: '2024-05-06',
  milestone_4wk: '2024-06-03',
  milestone_8wk: '2024-07-01',
  probation_end: '2024-08-04',
  status: 'Active',
  feedback_4wk_received: false,
  feedback_8wk_received: false,
  outcome: null,
  chase_log: [],
  created_at: '2024-05-06T09:14:00Z'
}

// ── HANDOFF: Schedule Agent -> Feedback Chase Agent ──────────────────────────
// Chase Agent reads active Notion rows on 6-hour poll schedule

// ── AGENT 2: Feedback Chase Agent (milestone_4wk reached) ────────────────────
// Notion poll detects: current_date == milestone_4wk AND feedback_4wk_received == false
Notion.query -> probation_page { notion_page_id: 'abc123def456', ... }

// Send Gmail feedback request
Gmail.send -> {
  to: 'sarah.chen@[YourCompany.com]',
  subject: 'Probation review due: Jordan Hartley',
  body: 'Hi Sarah, Jordan Hartley reached their 4-week review milestone...',
  feedback_form_link: 'https://forms.gle/XXXX',
  timestamp_sent: '2024-06-03T08:00:00Z'
}
Notion.update -> chase_log.append({ event: 'email_sent_4wk', timestamp: '2024-06-03T08:00:00Z' })

// 48-hour check: no feedback_4wk_received flag set -> post Slack DM
Slack.chat.postMessage -> {
  channel: 'U04XXXX1234',
  text: 'Reminder: feedback outstanding for Jordan Hartley probation review.',
  feedback_form_link: 'https://forms.gle/XXXX'
}
Notion.update -> chase_log.append({ event: 'slack_reminder_sent', timestamp: '2024-06-05T08:00:00Z' })

// 96-hour check: still no response -> escalate to HR channel
Slack.chat.postMessage -> {
  channel: '#hr-alerts',
  text: 'Escalation: Sarah Chen has not submitted probation feedback for Jordan Hartley.'
}
Notion.update -> chase_log.append({ event: 'escalated_to_hr', timestamp: '2024-06-07T08:00:00Z' })

// On feedback received (Google Form submission or email reply detected)
Notion.update -> { feedback_4wk_received: true, feedback_4wk_timestamp: '2024-06-05T11:32:00Z' }

// ── MANUAL STEP (retained): HR Manager logs outcome in Notion ─────────────────
// HR Manager sets outcome field: 'Pass'
Notion.page_updated -> {
  notion_page_id: 'abc123def456',
  outcome: 'Pass',
  outcome_recorded_at: '2024-08-02T14:05:00Z'
}

// ── HANDOFF: HR Manager Notion update -> Outcome and Documentation Agent ──────

// ── AGENT 3: Outcome and Documentation Agent ─────────────────────────────────
// Notion change event detected, outcome = 'Pass'

// Clone correct Google Docs template
GoogleDrive.files.copy(GOOGLE_DOCS_TEMPLATE_ID_PASS) -> {
  new_doc_id: 'GDOC-COPY-789',
  file_name: 'Probation_Letter_JordanHartley_Pass_2024-08-02'
}

// Merge fields into cloned document
GoogleDocs.batchUpdate(GDOC-COPY-789) -> replace {
  '{{employee_name}}' -> 'Jordan Hartley',
  '{{outcome_date}}' -> '2 August 2024',
  '{{outcome_type}}' -> 'Pass',
  '{{extension_end_date}}' -> 'N/A',
  '{{manager_name}}' -> 'Sarah Chen'
}

// Export merged doc to PDF
GoogleDrive.export(GDOC-COPY-789, mimeType='application/pdf') -> letter.pdf

// Create and send DocuSign envelope
DocuSign.envelopes.create -> {
  envelope_id: 'DSX-ENV-5566',
  document: letter.pdf,
  signers: [
    { name: 'Sarah Chen', email: 'sarah.chen@[YourCompany.com]', routing_order: 1 },
    { name: 'Jordan Hartley', email: 'jordan.hartley@[YourCompany.com]', routing_order: 2 }
  ],
  subject: 'Probation outcome letter: Jordan Hartley',
  status: 'sent'
}
Notion.update -> { docusign_envelope_id: 'DSX-ENV-5566', status: 'Awaiting Signatures' }

// ── ON APPROVAL: DocuSign completion webhook ──────────────────────────────────
DocuSign.Connect.webhook -> {
  envelope_id: 'DSX-ENV-5566',
  status: 'completed',
  completed_at: '2024-08-03T10:21:00Z',
  signed_document_url: 'https://docusign.net/signed/DSX-ENV-5566.pdf'
}

// Update BambooHR with final outcome
BambooHR.PATCH('/employees/EMP-0042') -> {
  customProbationStatus: 'Pass',
  customProbationClosedDate: '2024-08-03'
}

// Close Notion tracker row
Notion.update -> {
  status: 'Closed',
  signed_letter_url: 'https://docusign.net/signed/DSX-ENV-5566.pdf',
  closed_at: '2024-08-03T10:22:00Z'
}

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FS-DOC-04Technical

04Recommended build stack

Orchestration layer

A workflow automation platform with one workflow per agent (three total) sharing a single credential store. Each workflow is independently deployable and testable. No cross-workflow dependencies at runtime; agents communicate via Notion database state only.

Webhook configuration

Inbound: BambooHR employee.created webhook (Agent 1 trigger) and DocuSign Connect completion webhook (Agent 3 on-approval branch). Both webhooks require a publicly accessible HTTPS endpoint generated by the orchestration layer. Outbound calls to BambooHR REST API, Notion API, Gmail API, Slack Web API, Google Drive and Docs APIs, and DocuSign eSign REST API are all request-response (not webhook-based) from the orchestration layer.

Templating approach

Google Docs template cloning via Drive files.copy API, followed by in-document merge using Docs batchUpdate replaceAllText requests. Three locked master templates (Pass, Extend, Exit) are stored in a designated HR Templates folder in Google Drive. The agent selects the template by outcome value at run time. Templates must be finalised and approved by the process owner before go-live; the agent uses the current version of the master at run time.

Error logging

All agent execution errors (BambooHR field missing, Notion write failure, DocuSign envelope error, BambooHR PATCH rejection) are written to a dedicated error log table (e.g. in Supabase or equivalent structured store) with fields: agent_name, employee_id, error_code, error_message, timestamp, retry_count. A Slack alert is posted to #hr-alerts on any error with retry_count >= 2, prompting manual intervention. Successful runs log a summary row for audit purposes.

Testing approach

All agents are built and validated against sandbox or staging credentials first: BambooHR sandbox account, Notion test database (duplicate of production schema), Google Workspace test user accounts, Slack sandbox workspace, and DocuSign developer account (demo environment). End-to-end tests cover all three outcome types (Pass, Extend, Exit) and the 48-hour chase escalation path before any production credentials are connected.

Credential store entries required

BAMBOOHR_API_KEY, BAMBOOHR_SUBDOMAIN, BAMBOOHR_WEBHOOK_SECRET, NOTION_INTEGRATION_TOKEN, NOTION_PROBATION_DB_ID, GOOGLE_SERVICE_ACCOUNT_JSON (Drive, Docs, Gmail), GOOGLE_DOCS_TEMPLATE_ID_PASS, GOOGLE_DOCS_TEMPLATE_ID_EXTEND, GOOGLE_DOCS_TEMPLATE_ID_EXIT, GOOGLE_DRIVE_HR_FOLDER_ID, SLACK_BOT_TOKEN, SLACK_HR_ALERTS_CHANNEL_ID, DOCUSIGN_INTEGRATION_KEY, DOCUSIGN_ACCOUNT_ID, DOCUSIGN_RSA_PRIVATE_KEY, DOCUSIGN_BASE_URI, DOCUSIGN_CONNECT_HMAC_SECRET, HR_SENDER_EMAIL

Estimated total build time

Probation Schedule Agent: 8 hours. Feedback Chase Agent: 10 hours. Outcome and Documentation Agent: 10 hours. End-to-end integration testing and error-path validation: 8 hours (from delivery schedule). Total: 28 hours across approximately 3 to 4 working weeks including credential setup and QA pilot.

Before build begins, the FullSpec team requires the following confirmed from the process owner: (1) BambooHR API tier and custom field names for probation start, end, status, and closed date; (2) Google Docs template drafts for all three outcome types, locked and approved; (3) DocuSign production account promoted and integration key issued; (4) Notion Probation Tracker database ID and schema confirmed; (5) agreed Gmail sending address and Google service account with domain-wide delegation; (6) Slack workspace with automation app installed and #hr-alerts channel ID. Any of these items outstanding at build start will delay the corresponding agent. Contact support@gofullspec.com to confirm access items.

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Developer Handover Pack