How do waiting steps work in workflows?

Workflows can pause for approvals, ticket replies, external replies, scheduled time, or sub-tasks—each resumes automatically when its condition is met.

A waiting step is intentional: the workflow pauses until something happens, then continues without someone re-running the whole flow from scratch.

Common wait types

Approval wait: an action needs a human Approve before it executes (often shown on the ticket).
Ticket reply wait: the workflow posts a question on the ticket and resumes when someone replies on that thread.
Scheduled wait: the workflow sleeps for a set duration (for example to allow an HRIS change to propagate) and then wakes automatically.
Outreach wait: specialised flows that message someone by email or chat and pause until they answer (used for controlled information gathering).

What users experience

The ticket or workflow run page shows that the run is paused or waiting.
When the wait completes, the next agent or automation steps continue with the new information included.

Example

A workflow asks payroll a question on the ticket and enters a waiting state. When payroll replies “Employee ID is 998877,” the workflow resumes, fills the form, and closes the task.

Guardrails

Long waits should have an owner so stuck flows are noticed.
Do not use scheduled waits as a substitute for business approval—use the approval mechanism when human judgment is required.