Employee Onboarding Workflow

Why should we automate onboarding instead of managing it with checklists and email?

Checklists and email threads make it easy for a step to be missed or for HR to lose track of where a new starter is in the process, especially when several people onboard at once. This workflow creates a single record per new starter with a status and timeline, so IT, manager and HR tasks are triggered automatically and progress is visible without anyone chasing updates. It reduces the coordination overhead of manually notifying each party and tracking replies.

What is the ROI of using this template compared to handling onboarding manually?

The template is ready to use, so a workspace can publish it and start running live onboarding cases within minutes rather than building a process from scratch. Time is saved on repetitive tasks like sending welcome emails, requesting emergency contact details and prompting IT or managers, since these steps run automatically as part of the workflow. HR staff spend less time on status updates and more time on the tasks that need their judgement, such as documents, training and support plans.

Who is responsible for each task in this workflow?

IT is assigned a fire-and-forget task to set up accounts and equipment, and the manager is assigned a fire-and-forget task to prepare the workspace and plan the first week; neither of these block the workflow from continuing. HR is assigned blocking tasks for document and payroll collection, mandatory training completion, and — if needed — a support plan, while the manager is assigned blocking tasks for induction with 90-day objectives and the 30-day check-in. Blocking tasks mean the workflow waits for that person to complete their task before moving to the next step.

What happens at the 30-day check-in decision point?

After the manager completes the 30-day check-in task and records notes and a progress rating, the workflow routes based on the recorded progress. If progress is marked as needing support, HR is assigned a task to create a support plan due in 3 days, and those notes are saved to the record before the employee is marked Onboarded. If progress is marked on track, or for any other recorded value, the workflow proceeds directly to setting the status to Onboarded and sending the welcome-aboard email.

What information does the new starter need to provide, and do they need an account?

New starters take part entirely through forms emailed to them and never need to create an account. They receive one form to provide emergency contact details, accessibility or dietary needs and confirm they have read the code of conduct, and their responses are saved directly to the onboarding record. This keeps the process low-friction for the new hire while still capturing the details HR needs on file.

Can we customise the fields collected or the tasks assigned in this workflow?

Yes, a workflow can be changed by describing the change in plain English or by editing its steps directly in the workflow editor. This means fields on the intake form, the emergency/compliance form, or the tasks assigned to IT, managers and HR can be adjusted to match how a specific business runs onboarding. Earlier versions of the workflow are kept, so changes can be made with a record of what the workflow looked like before.

What is recorded on the employee's record versus on individual tasks?

Information entered on tasks the workflow waits for — such as HR's document and payroll collection, induction notes, training completion, and check-in notes — is saved directly to the record and visible in its timeline. Information entered on the fire-and-forget IT and manager tasks, such as setup notes or the first week plan, stays with that task and appears in the record's task list rather than as a record field. Answers submitted through the emailed emergency contact and compliance form are also saved to the record.

How does the workflow handle document collection and payroll setup?

HR is assigned a blocking task to upload the signed employment contract, ID document and payroll forms, and to record the payroll setup date. The workflow waits for this task to be completed before continuing, and once done, these details are saved to the record so they form part of the employee's onboarding history. Each business should confirm its own record-keeping obligations for employment documents and payroll data.

Can this workflow send SMS updates or notify the new starter's personal mobile number?

Email and SMS are both built into the platform, and a workspace can send through its own AWS SES, AWS SNS or Twilio account if it wants to use its own sending infrastructure. This workflow as described uses email for the welcome message, document collection prompts and check-in related communications, and can be adjusted by editing its steps to add SMS notifications where useful.

How do we track where a new starter is in the onboarding process at any point?

Each onboarding request is a record with a reference number, a status such as Pre-Start, Induction, Settling In or Onboarded, and a timeline of what has happened so far. Table views and dashboards show records grouped by status, making it straightforward for HR to see how many new starters are at each stage without opening individual records. Workspace activity is also logged, giving visibility into actions taken across the onboarding process.