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Getting Started with Procore Conversations

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Get Started with Conversations:

 

Conversations Tool Setup

 Note
The Conversations tool can only be enabled and configured by users with 'Admin' permissions to the Company level Directory tool (also referred to as a Company Admins).

Video 

 

Video content may not accurately reflect the current state of the system, and/or it may be out of date.

Step 1: Enable The Conversations Beta

While the Conversations tool is in beta, a Company Admin must opt in to the Conversations beta in order to enable the tool for the company's account in Procore. See How do I opt in to the beta for Procore Conversations?

Step 2: Configure Access and Settings

After the beta has been opted into, the Conversations tool can be enabled and configured in the Company level Admin tool. See Configure Access and Settings for the Conversations Tool.

Company Admins can:

  • Choose to enable certain features such as direct messages, item conversations, and the ability to edit or delete a message 5 minutes after sending.
  • Select the projects that the Conversations tool will be available on.

 

Permission Considerations

Access to the Conversations tool is configured by a Company Admin of the Procore account. See Configure Access and Settings for the Conversations Tool. 

Project users can have conversations with any other users in the project's Directory, and on items that they have access to. See How do permissions work for the Conversations tool?

The following considerations exist:

  • Direct Messages:
    • If Direct Messages are enabled for any user, anyone in the project's Directory (and Company Admins) can start private conversations.
    • If Direct Messages are enabled only for internal employees, only users marked as internal employees can start private conversations.
    • Direct messages are private and can only be seen by the individuals in the message. Admin users cannot view direct messages that they are not a part of.
      Note: If you are a Company Admin and need a copy of all Conversations data in the account, a JSON text file can be provided. Please contact Procore Support and include the dates that you want data exported from.
  • Group Conversations:
    • By default, only Admins can create and manage groups. However, you can choose to grant the 'Create and Manage Groups' privilege to internal employees or all users. See Configure Access and Settings for the Conversations Tool.
    • Anyone in the project's Directory (and Company Admins) can be messaged or mentioned in a group.
    • Messages within a group conversation can only be seen by members of that group. 
  • Item Conversations:
    • Conversations for specific items in a project can only be viewed and participated in by users with access to the item in Procore ('Read Only' or higher permissions to the item's tool, and appropriate access if an item is marked as Private).
  • All conversations:
    • Users can only message or mention users who exist in the project's Directory, as well as Company Admins.
    • Users can only edit and delete their own messages (within five (5) minutes of sending, and if the feature is enabled).
    • Users can only hide a conversation from their own view.

 

Conversations on Procore's Web Application

Video

 

Video content may not accurately reflect the current state of the system, and/or it may be out of date.

Overview

When you click the Conversations icon-conversations.png icon in the Procore header, you will see your own view of the Conversations tool, where you can view and respond to direct messages, group messages, and item conversations for all of your projects within a Procore account. If you belong to projects for different companies in Procore, you will only see project conversations for the company that you are currently logged into Procore for.

conversations-view.png

Note:

  • If no conversations exist yet for a project, you will not see the project name in the Conversations tool. (In the image above, 'Conversation Building' is the only project that the user is part of conversations for).
  • Similarly, you will only see items that conversations have been started for in the Items section, and groups that you have been added to in the Groups section.

While viewing an item in a supported tool, you can click the Conversations icon-conversations.png icon on the right side of the page to start or view a conversation (the image below shows Conversations in the RFI tool). To learn which tools you can currently use Conversations with, see Which project tools support Conversations?

conversations-icon-sidebar-rfis.png

Create and Manage Groups

Users with the 'Create and Manage Group' privilege (see Configure Access and Settings for the Conversations Tool) can create groups for messaging specific individuals in the Conversations tool. See Create a Group in the Conversations Tool and Manage a Group in the Conversations Tool.

Send Messages

All individuals in a Procore project can send messages from the Conversations tool, and you can also send messages from within tools that support Conversations. See Which tools and items support Conversations?

There are three (3) different types of conversations: direct messages, group conversations, and item conversations.

See the following tutorials for more information:

View Messages

You can view all of your messages from the Conversations tool in Procore on web or mobile. Unread messages are shown in bold and have notification badges icon-notification-badge-cnvs.png to ensure you never miss important communications.

Note: If you use Procore with different company accounts, you will only see project conversations for the company that you currently are logged into.

See the following tutorials for more information:

Manage Conversations

You can only perform these actions for your own messages, and not on anyone else's behalf.

 

Conversations on Procore's Mobile Applications

Video

 

Video content may not accurately reflect the current state of the system, and/or it may be out of date.

 

Overview

Note:

  • Instead of a Company level tool showing conversations for all of your projects, the Conversations tool will show as a tool within each project.
  • As long as push notifications are enabled for the Conversations tool on your mobile device, you'll get push notifications for any new messages that you receive, regardless of whether the Procore app is currently open.

See Conversations (iOS) and Conversations (Android) for more information available actions. 

 

Best Practices for Procore Conversations

Tool Set Up

Set your preferences: Tailor Conversations to suit your company’s needs. Admins can configure Conversations to customize features like group creation and editing capabilities. Can any project member create a group? Or does it make sense to limit that functionality? Do you want users to have the ability to edit their messages? Or does it make sense to limit editing capabilities? Since the goal is to build adoption across your organization, a good rule of thumb is to limit the amount of restrictions. Learn how to configure Conversations.

Test it out: Instead of opting into Conversations for all projects, enable it on one project to get started. This creates the ability to understand how a project team at your company will adapt to this new tool. Identify which groups, settings, and workflows work best for project teams at your company. Leverage these findings to inform rollout strategy. 

Standardize Conversations Set Up: To create consistency across your company, consider creating the same groups for each project. By creating a uniform experience across all projects, users will become accustomed to communicating in the same ways, thereby increasing adoption of this tool. 

Implementation 

Send a company announcement: Alert internal stakeholders of this new tool by sending company-wide communication. Be sure to mention where users can find it and a brief description of what it is. 

Set Expectations: Be clear on how Conversations is expected to be used across each project and what types of communication, if not all types, should be moved to this tool. 

Host a Lunch & Learn: We’ve created a helpful video designed specifically for internal teams to host a lunch and learn. Use this helpful content to educate your teams.