Union Application Intake Automation | Microsoft Forms Case Study
From Paper Chaos to One-Click Intake: Automating Union Application Processing
How a regional labor union replaced manual filing, folder navigation, and confirmation emails with a single Microsoft Forms submission.
Labor Union Client Overview
Our client is a regional labor union that needed application intake automation for the thousands of paper membership and PAC card forms their staff process each year. Members submit applications at store locations across the territory, and the team needed a faster, more reliable way to capture, file, and route every submission. Client name withheld at client's request.
The Challenge
Without application intake automation, every paper form had to be processed by hand. Staff would scan or photograph the document, decide which SharePoint folder it belonged in, navigate into that folder, create a dated subfolder, upload the file, rename it consistently, and then compose a confirmation email to the team. PAC-related contacts had to be notified separately whenever a PAC card was included. The process was time-consuming, inconsistent, and prone to misfiling, especially as application volume grew. There was no single source of truth for what had been submitted, by whom, or where it had been saved.
The Application Intake Automation Solution
We built a fully automated intake pipeline using three Microsoft 365 tools the labor union already had access to, no new software purchases required. (For another example of how this stack can transform operations, see our labor union swag automation case study.) Microsoft Forms serves as the intake point. Staff fill out a standardized 9-question form for each application, attach the scanned document, and hit submit. The form captures application type, submitter and union rep, member name and store code, PAC card status and contribution amount, the file attachment, and any additional notes. Power Automate handles everything that happens next, automatically, within seconds of submission. It reads the form response, determines the correct SharePoint folder based on application type, creates a dated subfolder if one doesn't already exist, saves the document with a standardized file name, sends a confirmation email with all submission details, and conditionally CCs the PAC notification contacts only when a PAC card is included. SharePoint Online stores the documents in a clean, consistent folder hierarchy organized by application type and date, making every submission easy to find, audit, and report on. Stack: Microsoft Forms · Power Automate · SharePoint Online · Outlook
Application Intake Automation: Technical Highlights
Behind the scenes, the application intake automation flow uses conditional routing logic, a nested if/else expression that checks application type first, then PAC inclusion, to route files to one of three folder paths. File names are generated dynamically at runtime based on member name and application type, ensuring consistency without any staff input. The CC field on the confirmation email uses a Power Automate expression that only populates when a PAC card is included, so notifications never go to the wrong people. Dated subfolders are auto-created on first use each day, and every form field is included in the confirmation email, giving the team a complete record without needing to open SharePoint.
Results & Impact for the Labor Union
The intake process went from a multi-step manual workflow to a single form submission. Staff time spent per application dropped significantly, misfiling was eliminated, and the labor union now has a consistent, searchable record of every application received. The application intake automation runs around the clock and requires no manual intervention, built entirely on tools the organization already pays for.
What This Looks Like in Practice
A union rep opens the shared form link on their phone, fills in the member's details, attaches the scanned application, and submits. Within seconds, the file appears in the correct SharePoint folder, dated and named correctly, and the team receives a confirmation email listing every detail of the submission. If a PAC card is included, the relevant contacts are automatically CC'd. No email threads, no folder navigation, no chasing down paperwork.
9
Form fields captured per submission
3
Application types automatically routed
24/7
Runs continuously with no manual intervention
$0
Added software cost. Built on existing Microsoft 365
