Pause Outreach sequences for an out-of-office rep
Automatically pause Outreach sequences for an out-of-office rep from a Slack request with Stepwork. Every active sequence they own is paused with a resume date noted.
- Use case
- Helpdesk & requestsSales
- Best for
- Sales Development Manager, Sales Operations Analyst
- Applications used
Outreach
Slack
- Business outcome
- Customer experience
The problem
They are on PTO. Their emails are not.
A rep heads out for a week, and their sequences keep sending. Prospects reply, ask for a call, and hear nothing back until the rep returns.
Someone has to remember to pause every sequence by hand before the rep leaves. When they forget, the first day back goes to apologizing for awkward handoffs.
The outcome
No automated outreach fires under someone who is out
Stepwork pauses every active sequence owned by the listed rep and notes the resume date. The run records who asked, how many sequences were paused, and when they are due to resume.
- Every active sequence the rep owns is paused.
- The resume date is noted with the pause.
- An email that matches no Outreach user stops the run.
The process
From PTO notice to paused sequences
A manager posts the rep and their return date in Slack. Stepwork pauses the sequences in Outreach, in the same order every time.
- Step 1
Request it in Slack
A sales manager posts the rep’s email and their return date in the sales ops channel. That message starts the flow, and Stepwork records who asked and when.
- Step 2
Find their active sequences
Stepwork signs in to Outreach and lists every active sequence the rep owns. If the email matches no Outreach user, the run stops.
- Step 3
Pause each sequence
Stepwork pauses each sequence and notes the resume date, so the team knows when sends should start again.
- Step 4
Confirm and reply in Slack
Stepwork checks that nothing is still sending under the rep, then posts the count and resume date back in Slack.
Why Stepwork
PTO stops the sends, not the relationship
Stepwork runs the pause path you recorded in Outreach. Every active sequence pauses on one request, so nothing goes out under a rep who cannot answer.
Similar use cases
Similar use cases
- Reassign Outreach sequences from a departed repMoves the departed rep's active prospects and sequences to the assigned successor, preserving step position.
- Add a prospect list to a sequence in OutreachImports the provided prospect list into Outreach and enrolls them in the named sequence with the correct owner mapping.
Reassign Zendesk tickets from out-of-office agentMoves the listed agent's open tickets to covering agents or the team queue for the duration of their absence.
FAQ