> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.skillsdb.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Email Notifications
> SkillsDB sends targeted email notifications when actions require your attention — assessment assignments, certification approvals, training due dates, survey invitations, and more. Understand which emails go to whom and what triggers each one.
**Quick Summary:** SkillsDB automatically sends email notifications when something happens in the product that needs a person's attention — a certification is about to expire, an assessment has been assigned, a training request needs approval, a survey has been launched. Every email is paired with an in-app inbox entry so recipients have both a prompt and a place to act.
# Overview
SkillsDB sends transactional email notifications when meaningful events happen to a user — an assessment is assigned, a certification is submitted for approval, training is nearing expiration, a survey has been launched. Notifications are designed to prompt action without creating email overload: each notification is tied to a specific event and, wherever possible, mirrors an item that also appears in the recipient's [Inbox](/core-concepts/inbox).
This page is a reference for the full set of notification emails SkillsDB sends, what triggers each one, and who receives it. Administrators can use this reference to set expectations during rollouts, troubleshoot missing emails, and understand the sequence of notifications in flows like assessment cycles or certification renewals.
**Note:** Customer-configurable email content — custom subject lines, custom bodies, and customer.io-based delivery — is on the roadmap. Today, SkillsDB sends templated transactional emails. When custom email notices ship, this page will cover how to override the defaults.
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## How SkillsDB Emails Work
SkillsDB emails share a consistent structure:
* **Sender.** Emails come from the SkillsDB no-reply address, branded with your organization's name where applicable.
* **Subject line.** Descriptive and action-oriented (for example, "You've been assigned a self-assessment").
* **Body.** A short explanation of what happened, who it affects, and what to do next.
* **Call-to-action link.** Most emails include a direct link back into SkillsDB — for example, to the assessment, certification, or approval that triggered the notification.
* **Context.** Emails include the employee name, assessment name, due date, certification name, or other context so the recipient can act without needing to search the product.
Most notifications are paired with a matching entry in the recipient's [Inbox](/core-concepts/inbox), so if an email is missed, the action remains visible in-app.
***
## Notifications by Category
### Assessments
Assessment emails coordinate the lifecycle of self-assessments and manager assessments — from assignment, through reminders, to completion.
| Email | Trigger | Recipient |
| --------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| **Self-assessment assigned** | Admin launches an assessment cycle that includes the user | The employee being assessed |
| **Manager assessment assigned** | Admin launches an assessment cycle where the user is the manager | The manager assessing one or more direct reports |
| **Self-assessment nudge** | Admin sends a reminder on an open cycle, or the due date approaches | The employee with an incomplete self-assessment |
| **Manager assessment nudge** | Admin sends a reminder on an open cycle, or the due date approaches | The manager with incomplete assessments |
| **Self-assessment completion (notify manager)** | The employee completes their self-assessment | The employee's direct manager |
| **Manager assessment completion (notify employee)** | The manager completes an assessment of the employee | The employee who was assessed |
Nudge emails include the number of outstanding assessments and a direct link back to the assessment page.
### Careers, Skills, and Sections
Emails that fire when an admin or manager changes what's assigned to a person.
| Email | Trigger | Recipient |
| --------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- |
| **Career (role) assigned** | An admin or manager assigns a career to the employee | The employee |
| **Section (group) assigned** | An admin or manager assigns a section to the employee | The employee |
| **Skill assigned** | An admin or manager assigns an individual skill to the employee | The employee |
| **Skill graded by employee (notify manager)** | The employee saves a new self-grade for a skill | The employee's direct manager |
These notifications help employees understand what they are now expected to learn or demonstrate, and keep managers informed of in-flight self-assessments between formal cycles.
### Certifications
Certification emails run the full lifecycle: assignment → submission → review → expiration.
| Email | Trigger | Recipient |
| ------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| **Certification assigned** | An admin or manager assigns a certification to the employee | The employee |
| **Certification submitted** | The employee submits a certification for approval | The employee's manager |
| **Certification approved** | A manager or admin approves a submitted certification | The employee |
| **Certification rejected** | A manager or admin rejects a submitted certification | The employee |
| **Certification expiring soon (employee)** | The certification is within the 30-day expiration window | The employee holding the certification |
| **Certification expiring soon (manager)** | The certification is within the 30-day expiration window | The employee's manager |
| **Certification expired (employee)** | The certification reaches its expiration date | The employee |
| **Certification expired (manager)** | The certification reaches its expiration date | The employee's manager |
Expiration warnings are sent on a recurring schedule so nothing lapses silently. See [Training Expirations](/core-concepts/training-expirations) for the full renewal flow.
### Training and Learning
| Email | Trigger | Recipient |
| ------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| **Learning resource assigned** | An admin, manager, or the employee adds a resource to the employee's learning plan | The employee |
| **Learning assignment updated** | One or more items in the employee's assigned learning are changed in bulk | The employee |
| **Suggested training approved** | An admin approves a training suggestion submitted by an employee | The employee who submitted the suggestion |
See [Building a Learning Plan](/user-guide/building-a-learning-plan) for how the learning plan itself works, and [Training Approvals](/core-concepts/training-approvals) for the approval workflow.
### Surveys
| Email | Trigger | Recipient |
| -------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- |
| **Survey assignment** | An admin launches a survey that targets the user | The recipient of the survey |
| **Survey nudge** | An admin sends a reminder on an open survey | Users with incomplete survey responses |
| **Survey due soon** | The survey is within the automated reminder window | Users with incomplete survey responses |
| **Survey completion (notify manager)** | An employee completes a survey that's configured to notify managers | The employee's manager |
| **Survey launched (notify creator)** | An admin's scheduled survey goes live | The survey creator |
Survey emails include the number of active recipients and a direct link to the survey.
### Account and Access
| Email | Trigger | Recipient |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ---------------------------- |
| **Welcome email** | A new user is added to SkillsDB | The new user |
| **Manager invitation** | An admin is granted the Manager role | The newly designated manager |
| **Employee invitation** | An employee is added to SkillsDB | The newly added employee |
Welcome and invitation emails include the link and initial sign-in path appropriate to your organization's authentication method.
### Career Activity Actions
When an administrator triggers a **Notify** action from the [Activity Log](/core-concepts/activity-log) for a career, SkillsDB sends a targeted notification email to the selected audience — for example, "All assigned" or "Experts only" on a skill that was recently updated. These emails fall under the general pattern above: subject summarizing the change, body with context, and a CTA back into SkillsDB. The Activity Log records whether the email went out on each action row.
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## Troubleshooting
First, verify the email action is recorded in the appropriate activity log (for career notify actions) or that the triggering event actually occurred (for example, check the assessment cycle's launch history). If the event did occur, check the recipient's spam folder and verify their email address is correct in their profile. If the email still appears to have been sent but did not arrive, contact SkillsDB Support with the recipient's email address and the approximate time of the event so we can investigate delivery.
Manager notifications are scoped to direct reports. If a manager receives a notification about someone outside their team, there may be an administrator override or the person may have moved between managers recently. Check the person's **Manager** field in their profile to confirm the current reporting line.
Company-wide email controls are on the roadmap under the **Custom email notices** initiative. Today, the email types listed above are sent by default. If you need a specific email suppressed during a rollout or pilot, contact SkillsDB Support — we can help coordinate.
Most in-app actions have a matching Inbox entry, but a few notifications are email-only — for example, survey launch notifications to the survey creator. Lifecycle actions that require response (assessments, approvals, requests) always have a matching Inbox entry so they cannot be lost. See [Inbox](/core-concepts/inbox) for the full set of in-app action items.
Expiration emails are sent on the recurring schedule that powers the "Expiring Soon" warnings in the app — typically within 30 days of the certification's expiration date, and again on the expiration date itself. Both the employee and their manager receive the expiring-soon and expired notifications.
***
## Related Articles
The in-app companion to email notifications — every action that needs attention shows up here
How certification assignment, submission, and expiration drive the certification email flow
The training approval workflow and the notifications tied to each stage
Where administrators can trigger targeted notify actions on career-level events
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## Need Help?
If you run into any issues or have questions, reach out to your organization's SkillsDB administrator or contact [SkillsDB Support](https://www.skillsdb.com/support).