Team & Collaboration

How Do Team Collaboration Features Work?

Learn how team members collaborate in Propel using internal notes, mentions, handoffs, and activity feeds to work together on prospects and conversations.

Propel provides several collaboration features that help team members work together effectively on prospects, conversations, and listings. This guide explains how to use internal notes, mentions, handoffs, and activity feeds to collaborate with your team.

Overview of Collaboration Features

Propel's collaboration features enable teams to:

  • Share context - Add internal notes that only your team can see
  • Notify team members - Use mentions to alert specific people
  • Escalate conversations - Hand off conversations to team members when needed
  • Track activity - Monitor what's happening across your organization

Use Case Examples:

  • Property Management: Leasing team adds notes about prospect preferences, mentions property manager for special requests
  • Real Estate: Agents mention transaction coordinators for contract questions, hand off to listing agents for property-specific inquiries
  • Short-Term Rentals: Guest services team notes guest preferences, mentions maintenance for issues
  • Commercial Real Estate: Team members collaborate on complex deals, hand off to specialists for territory-specific inquiries

Internal Notes

Internal notes are private notes that only your team can see - prospects never see these notes. Use them to share context, document important information, or coordinate with team members.

What Are Internal Notes?

Internal notes are:

  • Team-only - Visible to all organization members, not to prospects
  • Persistent - Saved with the engagement and visible in conversation history
  • Searchable - Included in engagement search and filtering
  • Contextual - Associated with specific engagements or contacts

When to Use Internal Notes

Use internal notes to:

  • Document preferences - Note prospect requirements, budget, timeline
  • Share context - Explain why a prospect needs special attention
  • Coordinate actions - Leave instructions for team members
  • Track status - Document where things stand in the process
  • Record decisions - Note why certain actions were taken

Examples:

  • "Prospect mentioned they need to move in by March 1st - prioritize this inquiry"
  • "Called prospect - they're interested in viewing unit 205 this weekend"
  • "Prospect has two large dogs - check pet policy before confirming tour"
  • "Application submitted - waiting for credit check results"

Adding Internal Notes

You can add internal notes in several places:

From the Engagements Page

  1. Open an engagement from the Engagements page
  2. Scroll to the Notes section
  3. Type your note in the notes field
  4. Click Save or press Enter

From the Engagement Detail View

  1. Click on an engagement to open the detail view
  2. Find the Internal Notes section
  3. Add your note
  4. Save the note

Note: Internal notes are automatically saved and visible to all team members immediately.

Best Practices for Internal Notes

  • Be specific - Include relevant details like dates, amounts, property IDs
  • Be concise - Keep notes brief but informative
  • Use consistently - Establish team conventions for note format
  • Update regularly - Keep notes current as conversations progress
  • Include context - Explain why something is important

Mentions

Mentions allow you to notify specific team members about engagements or conversations. When you mention someone, they're alerted to the conversation and can take action.

What Are Mentions?

Mentions are:

  • Notifications - Alert team members to specific conversations
  • Contextual - Associated with engagements or notes
  • Actionable - Team members can respond directly
  • Trackable - Visible in activity feeds

When to Use Mentions

Use mentions to:

  • Get attention - Alert team members to important conversations
  • Request help - Ask team members to handle specific inquiries
  • Share expertise - Involve specialists in relevant conversations
  • Coordinate handoffs - Notify team members when taking over conversations

Examples:

  • Mention property manager for maintenance requests
  • Mention leasing agent for application questions
  • Mention transaction coordinator for contract inquiries
  • Mention team lead for escalated situations

How Mentions Work

When you mention a team member:

  1. Notification sent - Team member receives notification (if enabled)
  2. Engagement highlighted - Mentioned conversations appear in their view
  3. Context shared - Team member can see why they were mentioned
  4. Action enabled - Team member can respond or take over

Mentioning Team Members

To mention a team member:

  1. Open an engagement or add a note
  2. Type @ followed by the team member's name
  3. Select the team member from the dropdown
  4. Complete your note or message
  5. Save or send

Note: Mentions work in internal notes, engagement comments, and other collaboration features.

Handoffs

Handoffs allow you to transfer conversations to team members when the AI needs human assistance or when you want a team member to take over. Handoffs ensure important conversations get the right attention.

What Are Handoffs?

Handoffs are:

  • Automatic or manual - Can be triggered by rules or initiated manually
  • Email-based - Team members are CC'd on responses
  • Contextual - Include conversation history and context
  • Trackable - Visible in activity feeds and engagement history

When Handoffs Occur

Handoffs happen automatically when:

  • AI needs help - Complex questions the AI can't answer
  • Authorization needed - Price negotiations, policy exceptions
  • Specialized knowledge required - Questions needing expert input
  • Rules trigger - Automation rules detect handoff conditions

Handoffs can also be:

  • Manually initiated - Team members can hand off conversations
  • Rule-based - Automation rules trigger handoffs based on conditions

Understanding Handoff Types

Automatic Handoffs

Automatic handoffs occur when:

  • Prospect explicitly requests human assistance
  • AI determines human help is needed (authorization, complex questions)
  • Rules trigger based on inquiry characteristics
  • Property-specific agents need to be involved

Manual Handoffs

Team members can manually hand off conversations:

  • From the engagement detail view
  • When reviewing responses
  • When coordinating with team members

How Handoffs Work

When a handoff occurs:

  1. Team member CC'd - Specified team members receive emails
  2. Context included - Full conversation history is available
  3. Engagement updated - Handoff is recorded in engagement history
  4. Activity logged - Handoff appears in activity feeds
  5. Team member can respond - CC'd team members can take over

Setting Up Handoffs

Handoffs are configured in:

  • Mailbox settings - Default handoff agents and handoff rules
  • Automation rules - Conditions that trigger handoffs
  • Property agent assignments - Property-specific handoff routing

For detailed setup instructions, see Setting Up Handoffs.

Activity Feeds

Activity feeds show what's happening across your organization, helping team members stay informed about conversations, responses, and team actions.

What Are Activity Feeds?

Activity feeds are:

  • Real-time updates - Show recent activity across your organization
  • Comprehensive - Include responses, approvals, handoffs, and more
  • Filterable - Can be filtered by date, action, and other criteria
  • Searchable - Search for specific activities or contacts

What Activity Feeds Show

Activity feeds display:

  • Email responses - When Propel responds to prospects
  • Approvals - When team members approve or reject responses
  • Handoffs - When conversations are handed off to team members
  • Engagement updates - Status changes and stage transitions
  • Team actions - Notes, mentions, and other team activities

Viewing Activity Feeds

You can view activity feeds in several places:

Dashboard Activity

The Dashboard shows recent activity:

  1. Navigate to Dashboard
  2. View the Recent Activity section
  3. See recent engagements and team actions
  4. Click on activities to view details

Engagement Activity

Each engagement shows its activity history:

  1. Open an engagement
  2. View the Activity or History section
  3. See all actions related to that engagement
  4. Track conversation progress

Organization Activity

View activity across your organization:

  1. Navigate to Settings > Activity (if available)
  2. See organization-wide activity
  3. Filter by date, action, or team member
  4. Search for specific activities

Activity Feed Features

Activity feeds include:

  • Timestamps - When activities occurred
  • Team member attribution - Who performed each action
  • Action types - What type of activity occurred
  • Context - Relevant details about each activity
  • Links - Direct links to related engagements or conversations

Using Activity Feeds

Use activity feeds to:

  • Monitor activity - See what's happening across your organization
  • Track progress - Follow conversations through your pipeline
  • Identify issues - Spot problems or bottlenecks
  • Coordinate work - See what team members are working on
  • Review performance - Understand response times and activity levels

Collaboration Best Practices

Establish Team Conventions

  • Note format - Agree on how to format internal notes
  • Mention usage - Define when to mention team members
  • Handoff criteria - Clarify when handoffs are appropriate
  • Response times - Set expectations for team member responses

Use Features Appropriately

  • Notes for context - Use notes to share information, not urgent requests
  • Mentions for alerts - Use mentions when you need someone's attention
  • Handoffs for escalation - Use handoffs when expertise or authorization is needed
  • Activity feeds for monitoring - Use activity feeds to stay informed

Maintain Communication

  • Update notes regularly - Keep notes current as conversations progress
  • Respond to mentions - Acknowledge when mentioned
  • Review handoffs - Take action on handed-off conversations
  • Monitor activity - Stay aware of what's happening

Coordinate Effectively

  • Share context - Use notes to provide background information
  • Notify appropriately - Mention team members when their input is needed
  • Hand off strategically - Hand off conversations that need specialized attention
  • Track activity - Use activity feeds to coordinate team efforts

Related Documentation

Team & Collaboration

How Do I Set Up My Team?

Learn how to add team members to your Propel organization, manage roles and permissions, send invitations, and remove members when needed.

Team & Collaboration

How Do Shared Mailboxes and Routing Work?

Learn how mailboxes are shared within your organization, how to route inquiries to team members, and how to set up effective routing rules using handoffs and automation.

Team & Collaboration

How Do I Create Property Agents and Assign Them to Listings?

Learn how to create property agents, assign them to listings, manage agent information, and understand how Propel uses agent assignments for personalized responses.

Automation & Rules

How Do I Set Up Handoffs?

Learn how to set up handoffs in Propel to automatically involve team members when the AI needs human assistance. Understand handoff configuration, when handoffs occur, and best practices.