What is DKIM?
Domain Keys Identified Mail, more commonly referred to as DKIM, is an email authentication technique that allows the receiver to check that an email was indeed sent and authorised by the owner of that domain - or mail servers that you have authorised to send on your behalf.
Like SPF, DKIM is an open standard for email authentication that is used for DMARC alignment. A DKIM record exists in the DNS, but it is a bit more complicated than SPF. DKIM's advantage is that it can survive forwarding, which makes it superior to SPF and a foundation for securing your email.
Note: DKIM signatures are not visible to end-users. The validation is all done on a server level.
Do I really need this?
In short, no. By default, the platform uses a no-reply email address from our domain (e.g. no-reply@brand.worldmanager.com). This means that when emails sent out from the platform are received & checked, it will show that it was sent from our domain and be delivered successfully.
However, if you do not wish to use the default no-reply@brand.worldmanager.com address to send out platform-related emails, and prefer for them to come from your own domain (e.g. no-reply@brand.com), then yes, a DKIM record is typically required (and recommended). The reason for this is, when emails are being checked, they will be from your domain, but still get sent out via our mail server - so there is a potential for the check to fail, and the emails to not be delivered. Creating DKIM records, will authorise our mail server to send emails on behalf of your domains.
Note: You can change the default platform email address at any time via the System Configuration section within the platform. Please refer to Email Settings for more information.
It's also worth mentioning that, some tools within the platform will use the email address configured in the user's profile when sending out emails that they've triggered. For example, when sending out Notices (via email), it will use the Notice creator's email address by default (albeit, there is an option to choose to use the platform's default email address).
Tip: Whilst the Notices tool gives you the option to use the platform's default email address, this is not the case for all tools. For example, when sending out interview invites via the Recruitment tool, it will automatically use the account's email address of the user that is progressing the applicant (with no option to choose otherwise).
How do I set up a DKIM record?
Our team actually creates the DKIM records from our end for you, via our mail server provider - which is free of charge.
To get started, please contact our Support Team at wmsupport@franconnect.com and provide them with a list of domains (root and sub) that you wish to create records for. Once created, they will provide you with some DNS (CNAME) records that you will be required to add on your end.
Tip: Implementing the DKIM standard will improve email deliverability. If you use DKIM record together with DMARC (and even SPF) you can also protect your domain against malicious emails sent on behalf of your domains.
DNS Validation
This DKIM validation method requires you to configure DNS (CNAME) records on your end, which we will provide. This is typically done by your IT department/provider, and is a requirement for validating the domain(s).
Important: Regular checks will be performed to validate the domains. So, please ensure the DNS record(s) always exist on your end.