Emergency Outreach release notes

  • Release version: Store
  • Updated June 11, 2026
  • 7 minutes to read
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    Summary of Emergency Outreach Release Notes

    Emergency Outreach is a ServiceNow application designed to help employers quickly notify employees during emergencies, such as health crises, and enable employees to self-report their status. It supports multiple communication channels including SMS and email, offers scheduling capabilities, and provides localization in multiple languages. The application includes features for configuring notifications, managing audiences, and monitoring employee responses through dashboards and reports.

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    ServiceNow provides this application to both private employers and government agencies, with important notices that compliance with applicable laws and regulations remains the responsibility of the implementing organization. Legal language should be reviewed and customized as needed.

    Key Features

    • Notification Channels: Supports SMS, email, and scripted notifications (e.g., Slack), enabling flexible outreach communication.
    • Audience Management: Allows defining targeted audiences using user collections, departments, groups, and locations, including support for alternate table criteria.
    • Scheduling and Time Zone Support: Enables scheduling outreach communications with time zone awareness and exclusion of specific days.
    • Response Handling: Dynamic response options configurable via tables, facilitating easier customization without scripting.
    • Localization: Supports multiple languages including Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, and Spanish.
    • Security and Compliance: Regular security fixes and improvements to access controls (ACLs) ensure secure usage.
    • Domain Separation: Supports domain separation for multi-tenant environments.
    • Dashboard and Reporting: Earlier versions included a dashboard for monitoring outreach status; this dashboard has been deprecated in versions 1.32.1 and later.

    Version Highlights and Improvements

    • Scheduling Enhancements: Added the ability to schedule single or recurring outreaches, with due dates for surveys and daily health verification features.
    • Localization Updates: Incremental support and updates for multiple languages across releases.
    • Performance and Quality: Improvements in notification dispatching, error message translations, and bug fixes related to daylight savings and notification timing.
    • Security Updates: Regular fixes addressing ACL issues, notification security, and response handling.
    • User Experience: Improved messaging banners, error notifications, and UI enhancements for clarity and usability.

    Practical Considerations for ServiceNow Customers

    • Customers upgrading to version 1.32.1 or later will notice the removal of the Emergency Outreach dashboard; plan accordingly for monitoring needs.
    • Carefully review and customize notification templates and legal language to ensure compliance with your organization's policies and applicable laws.
    • Utilize localization features to support diverse employee populations effectively.
    • Leverage scheduling and dynamic response capabilities to tailor outreach campaigns to specific events and time zones.
    • Ensure proper configuration of ACLs and security settings following updates to maintain data security.
    • For government agencies, confirm that acceptance and use of the application complies with ethics and legal requirements, noting that ServiceNow provides the application free of charge with no future payment obligations.

    Version history for the Emergency Outreach on the ServiceNow Store.

    Important:
    For details on system requirements and family compatibility, view the application listing on the ServiceNow Store website.

    Version history

    Version 1.34.2 - June 2026
    Fixed: Remediated non-Glide ACLs
    Version 1.34.0 - August 2025
    Changed: Minor ACL updates
    Version 1.33.0 - February 2024
    Removed: The Emergency Outreach dashboard has been deprecated. Customers who have downloaded the 1.32.0 or any older version will continue to have the dashboard and can continue to use it. Customers who have downloaded the 1.32.1 or newer version of the app will NOT have the dashboard.
    Version 1.32.1 - January 2024
    Security fixes.
    Version 1.32.0 - November 2022

    Fixed:

    • Added an information message to highlight when the emergency outreach does not have audience selected
    • Quality improvements
    Version 1.31.1 - August 2022
    • Changed:
      • Removed dependency from sn_imt_core's ArrayUtil; customers can now use emergency ourtrach application without employee readiness core.
      • Changed message banner from information to error message when blocking a record creation.
    • Fixed:
      • Added a new reference attribute "Emergency Outreach" where customers can optionally set the column to explicitly make clear which outreach should be updated when an SMS response is made to ensure the correct acknowledgement record can be updated when there are multiple outreaches for a particular user.
      • Fixed notifications to ensure any new users that are added or that qualify after the first sent outreach receive notifications.
      • Fixed translation related issue to ensure the error messages are translated.
      • Quality improvements
    Version 1.30.0 - May 2022
    • New: Localization for features in the May 5 release
    • Fixed: Outreaches are sent at an incorrect time when the user that schedules them has a time zone different than the system time zone
    Version 1.29.0 - March 2022
    Fixed: General performance improvements, particularly with dispatching large amounts of notifications
    Version 1.28.0 - February 2022
    Fixed: Added read role to the sn_imt_checkin.notification_logging property
    Version 1.27.0 - January 2022
    New: Localization for 22 languages other than English. Translations are available for features released up until the December 16, 2021 release.
    Version 1.26.0 - January 2022
    Fixed: Mobile push notifications for outreach acknowledgements
    Version 1.25.1 - December 2021
    Changed: Updates to the translation engine
    Version 1.23.0 - September 2021
    Fixed: Minor bug
    Version 1.22.0 - August 2021
    Fixed: Minor bug
    Version 1.21.0 - August 2021
    New: Localization for features from the July 22 release
    Version 1.20.0 - July 2021
    Fixed: Outreach scheduling bug
    Version 1.19.0 - July 2021
    Fixed: Security bug
    Version 1.18.0 - June 2021
    Fixed: Notification bugs
    Version 1.17.0 - April 2021
    • New: Localization for features from the April 15 release
    • Fixed: Minor bug related to timing of scheduled notifications and the Health Verification log
    Version 1.16.0 - April 2021
    Fixed: Issue where the exposed contact notification failed to send from a Contact Tracing case
    Version 1.15.2 - March 2021
    • New: Localization for features from the February 18 release
    • Fixed:
      • Outreach recipient receives multiple notifications if they are removed from the audience and then readded
      • Changing the response mode on new outreach produces script error
      • Other minor bug fixes
    Version 1.14.0 - February 2021
    • New:
      • Support for SMS Exposure Surveys
      • Localization for features from the February 4 release
    • Fixed: Security fix
    Version 1.13.1 - February 2021
    Fixed:
    • Daylight Savings Time scheduling issues
    • Other minor bug fixes
    Version 1.12.0 - January 2021
    New:
    • Added ability to use alternate table criteria to define a Safe Workplace audience
    • Localization for features from the December 17 release
    Version 1.11.0 - December 2020
    • New:
      • New common structure for employers to request consent to various privacy policies
      • Changes to update users on the status of Emergency Outreach instance generation
      • Localization for features from the December 3 release
    • Fixed: Minor bug fixes
    Version 1.10.1 - December 2020
    New:
    • Easily configure SMS as an outreach channel
    • Localization for features from the November 19 release
    Version 1.9.0 - November 2020
    • New: Localization for features from the November 5 release
    • Fixed: Issue with user timezones when sending an Outreach
    Version 1.8.0 - November 2020
    • New: Localization for features from the October 15 release
    • Fixed:
      • Localization fixes to email templates and response options
      • Outreaches no longer display a premature confirmation message
      • Other minor bug fixes
    Version 1.7.2 - October 2020
    • New: Localization for features from the October 1 release
    • Fixed:
      • Scheduled outreach recipients no longer receive notifications after they are removed from the Safe Workplace audience
      • Minor bug fixes
    Version 1.6.0 - October 2020
    • New: Localization for features from the September 16 release
    • Fixed:
      • Scheduled outreaches are now triggered in local time
      • The Employee Workplace Readiness Survey assessable record is no longer missing a category
    Version 1.5.0 - September 2020
    • New:
      • Exclude specific days of week on Daily Outreach
      • Localization for the September 3 release features
    • Fixed: Widget name spelled incorrectly in Emergency Outreach Dashboard
    Version 1.4.1 - September 2020
    • New:
      • Created an Outreach notification for exposed contacts in the Contract Tracing application
      • Added additional security for Outreach readiness surveys
      • Localization for features from the August 20 release
    • Fixed: Mobile Exposure Notices are no longer blank
    Version 1.3.0 - August 2020
    New:
    • Ability to schedule a single Outreach for a specific time
    • Added survey due dates
    • New Daily Health Verification feature
    • Ability to schedule monthly Outreaches
    • Localization for features from the August 6 release
    Version 1.2.1 - August 2020
    New:
    • Readiness flows, including out-of-box examples
    • Ability to relate survey instances to specific Outreaches
    • Create new survey instances and cancel old ones on new Outreaches
    • Design changes for Contact Tracing privacy consent
    • Localization for features from the July 23 release
    Version 1.1.2 - July 2020
    New:
    • Add User Collection Option ('Audience') to Outreach notifications
    • Scheduled outreach with timezone support
    • Localization for features from the July 9 release
    • Compatible with ServiceNow instances on the Paris release
    Version 1.0.12 - July 2020
    New: Localization for features from the June 18 release
    Version 1.0.11 - June 2020
    • New:
      • Localization for Emergency Outreach v1.0.9
      • Support for Outreach scheduling
    • Fixed:
      • Survey instances related list
      • When assigning outreaches to departments/groups/locations, child groups, locations, etc. were being used but not the parent
      • There is now only one Save button in the Outreach form when a user is in the advanced UI form
    Version 1.0.9 - June 2020
    • New:
      • Updated localization for:
        • Japanese
        • French
        • German
        • Spanish
        • Italian
        • Brazilian Portuguese
        • Korean
        • Simplified Chinese
      • Added the ability to schedule Emergency Outreach communications
    • Fixed: ACL issues
    Version 1.0.8 - May 2020
    • New: Admins can configure scripted notification channels to send surveys to users on other platforms, such as Slack.
    • Fixed: The Response Value field is now visible in list view.
    Version 1.0.7 - April 2020
    New
    • Editable Templates for Alternate Questions and Content – Enables users to more easily locate and edit the Outreach email notification template, and enables support for additional email notification templates for other types of Outreach communications.
    • Dynamic Response Handling – Eliminates the need to hardcode response options and create additional custom Inbound Actions. Users can now create the response options in a table, where they can be used by one or multiple notification templates.
    Version 1.0.6 - April 2020
    New: The Emergency Outreach UI is now available in the following languages.
    • Brazil/Portuguese
    • French
    • German
    • Italian
    • Japanese
    • Korean
    • Simplified Chinese
    • Spanish
    Version 1.0.4 - April 2020
    • New
      • Added domain separation support
      • General improvements and changes
    • Fixed
      • Minor UI improvements and adjustments, including some label changes
      • On the Outreach Acknowledgements table, a New button now appears as expected
    Version 1.0.3 - March 2020
    Enables employers to quickly notify employees of important information in the event of an emergency, such as COVID-19. Also provides a simple response interface for employees to self-report their health status to ensure employee safety and anticipate staffing gaps. Graphical dashboards make it easy for employers to monitor status.

    Notice regarding use by employers

    All decisions in connection with the implementation of this application are at the sole decision of the Employer utilizing this application. Employers agree that use of the application is not a representation by ServiceNow regarding the application’s compliance with any law or regulation and any suggested language provided out of the box with the application does not constitute legal advice by ServiceNow.

    Employers remain solely responsible for complying with their legal obligations under applicable law, including (but not limited to) data protection and employment laws, and should modify any language within the templates provided to meet the Employers’ specific requirements.

    Notice regarding use by government agencies

    ServiceNow is offering this application to government agencies and their authorized users, not to employees of government agencies in their individual capacities. Use of this application is being offered free of charge for a limited or extended time period and with no expectation of payment from the government agency to ServiceNow for use during that time period, nor does usage create an actual or implied future obligation on behalf of the government. ServiceNow hereby expressly waives any future claims for payment from the agency in connection with usage of the application. Government customers are solely responsible to confirm with the agency’s Ethics Office or its authorized representative that acceptance and usage of the application is permissible.

    All decisions in connection with the implementation of this application are at the sole decision of the government agency utilizing this application. Agencies remain solely responsible for complying with their legal obligations under applicable laws and regulations, including (but not limited to) data protection and employment laws and regulations, and should modify any language within the templates provided to meet the agency’s specific requirements.