What is a Follow-up?
A follow-up is a reminder that something needs to be done
by someone at some point in time. This task could be done now, or later. The
creator of the Follow-up can attach it to himself
A new follow-up has a Topic and a short message. Once the Follow-up has been created, its initial message cannot be modified. However, you can add other messages (called reminders) to the follow-up.
A follow-up can be associated to a Contact. For example, if a client had a problem with a certain piece of equipment, a follow-up could be written about it, and associated to his Contact Card.
Administrators can control access to the follow-ups of Contacts in the Access to Contact Types tab.
If you create a follow-up that is not associated to a Contact, it can only be found in your follow-up list. The other members of your team can't see it. If you want to show it to someone else, you can refer it, so that it also appears in that person's follow-up list.
This is very useful when you have to ask someone to do something for you; simply write a follow-up and refer it to him.
Here is a simple example of how follow-ups can be used: let's say that you have to fill the vending machine in the hall before Friday. You write a follow-up 'due on Friday'.
On Wednesday, you have some time to spare, so you decide to go fill it then. Unfortunately, it appears that the vending machine is broken, and you can't do your task. You write a follow-up 'The vending machine is broken', and you refer it to your company's technician.
When he logs in to TeemWork, the technician will see the entire follow-up, including your initial message, so he will know that this job must be done by Friday.
Once the machine has been repaired, the technician writes a reminder 'I fixed it'.
You will see this reminder, and will know that you can now finish your task. Follow-ups can be closed, so that they no longer appear on your list.
As you can see, follow-ups are an efficient mean of communication, and a convenient way of remembering what you have to do.
To learn how to write a new Follow-up, a Reminder, or how to close a follow-up, read the 'Writing a simple Follow-up' section.