What is a PEER Message?  

PEER Messages is an internal messaging/communication system in PEER.  This has several benefits: 1) a backup to emails, in case you delete or misplace one, or there are network/junk folder issues, 2) all your communications and actions in PEER can be found in one place, not mixed in with the seemingly bazillion emails we all get every day, and 3) we can build in more functionality and automation by having the messages inside of PEER and capture better metrics/data related to various peer functions.

When

Beginning in Fall of 2024, we are introducing a completely re-vamped Messages Inbox in PEER. Through Spring 2025, you will find that many communications that were previously handled as regular emails have become PEER Messages.

How this works

Messages that would have previously been sent only as an email will now be sent to your PEER Messages Inbox.  From the inbox, you will be able to go directly to the relevant area of PEER to respond to a message or to take a specific action.

PEER Messages come in 3 types: 1) Notifications, 2) Actions, and 3) Communications.

1) Notifications are exactly what they sound like...a notice that something has happened or taken place.  2) Actions are messages that you need to do perform some action (approve, submit, etc). For the most part, Notifications and Actions will be PEER-system generated.  3) Communications are messages sent from one user to another, which you can reply to inside the system directly.  Of the three types, Communications are the most like regular email, except that instead of appearing in Outlook, they will appear in your PEER Messages Inbox.

A PEER Message of any of the three types (Notification, Action, Communication), about activity in PEER on a record that belongs to you (e.g. you created it), or an action that you need to take in PEER (e.g. a pending COI certification, approve a contract request, etc.) will be sent to your PEER Message Inbox.

For the vast majority of these messages, you will ALSO receive an email. But rather than give you the full details, the emails will now only notify you of a new item in your inbox. Even if you misplace or delete the email, you can go to your PEER Messages Inbox and find it.

     IMPORTANT: You will still get an Outlook email alerting you to a new PEER Message.  What will change        is that the contents of the message will be visible in the PEER Message. The Outlook email will only                notify you that you have a new message you need to go into PEER to view.

     There will also continue to be certain workflows where we still send a regular, full Outlook Email.  For              example, you may get a PEER Action Message that you need to approve a contract.  PEER will continue        to send you reminder emails until you approve, but you would still only have the one Action Message in          your PEER inbox.
This change is being rolled out gradually by module, rather than converting all emails into PEER Messages at once.  

Because of this phase-in, you may receive a mix of traditional emails and notifications over the next few months until we are finished migrating all applicable workflows.
From your PEER Messages Inbox, you will be able to track and manage ALL your PEER messages and any items/contracts/records requiring your action.


Accessing your PEER Messages Inbox


From anywhere in PEER, you can see the Messages button in the navigation bar.  This button displays a helpful count of unread messages which will update periodically (every 5 minutes) without the need to refresh your screen.


Clicking on the Messages button opens the Messages Quick Look, which is a helpful way to see a summary of your unread messages from any screen in PEER, without going to your full Inbox.


Messages Quick Look


The Messsages Quick Look shows you a preview of any new (unread) messages. To go to your full inbox, click the blue button in the Quick Look.

You can also click on an individual message and it will open the full inbox and go ahead and load that message into the reader pane.



PEER Messages Inbox


In your inbox, you can view all messages, search, mark a messages unread, and filter by status and type.
The message will include a button to take you to the page/record the message is about or where action needs to be taken.

Viewing your messages:


Inbox Features


1. Click this button to refresh your inbox on demand.  Inbox is programmed to refresh every 5 minutes even if you don't click the button.
2. Search.  Entering a term or phrase here will search all  your messages by subject and body
3. Filters: Toggle between Inbox and Archived Messages, toggle showing Notices or Actions, or both.  You can also show only your new (un-read) messages.

4. Archiving.  When you no longer need a message, click this button to move it to your archive. You can view the archive by selecting from the "Show" selector (see #3).  More information about the archive and managing your inbox is further below in the next section.
5 Every message will have either a View Details button (for notifications and communications) or Take Action button (for an Action message).  If View Details, the button will take you to the record the message relates to.  If Take Action, then the button will take you to where you need to complete the requested action (e.g. the approvals screen).

6. Just like in Outlook, click on a message preview on the left will load the message body in the right side. Also note the rewind button, which is used to make a message un-read (bold) again.



Over time, we will be migrating emails to notifications on a case by case basis.  Some emails may remain emails if the workflow requires it.


Managing Your Inbox:


Messages stay in your inbox indefinitely until:

1) They are either read (Notifications) or complete (Actions).  After that, PEER will automatically archive these messages after 90 day.  Communications (for now) stay in your inbox indefinitely and cannot be archived.

2) Once archived, PEER will keep for another 90 days. Messages that are archived more than 90 days will be deleted (permanently).

3) You can un-archive messages, in which case they will return to the inbox in a read state, meaning they will go back to the archive automatically in anther 90 days.  To keep the message indefinitely, mark it un-read.


Unsubscribe:


Some message will have an Unsubscribe button in the top right of the message pane.  Clicking the Unsubscribe button means you will no longer receive notifications about events on this item (An awards ticket in the example below). This is useful if its an item that you don't need to be notified about for some reason.


How to get Help with PEER Messages:


Contact the PEER team at peer-vumc@vumc.org if you have questions or problems with this new feature.