Workflows now fully support onboarding processes — helping you keep things consistent, get the right people involved at the right time, and avoid missing critical steps when someone new joins.
You can choose to trigger workflows automatically (based on the first employment start date) or manually (for more control). Here’s how to make the most of it:
🔁 Option 1: Automatic workflows
Best for standard onboarding flows where you want things to happen without manual steps.
How it works:
Go to Workflow > Templates, create a new template and select the automatic trigger.
Choose “First employment start date” as the trigger event.
Set when the workflow should start (e.g. 1 week before the start date).
Add a scope — for example, apply only to specific teams or employee types.
Add your categories and tasks:
Set deadlines (can be relative to the start date, like “1 day before”).
Assign tasks to individuals or teams (e.g. IT or Managers).
Save and turn on the trigger.
💡 Important:
You must turn on the trigger before setting the start date — otherwise nothing will happen.
💡 Tip for new customers:
If you're importing employees and their employment data, make sure no automatic template triggered by start date is active during the import — or workflows will be triggered for all of them at once.
✋ Option 2: Manual workflows
Ideal when you want to control the timing or adjust the content before triggering anything.
How it works:
Go to Workflow > Templates, create a new template without activating the trigger.
Add your tasks, deadlines, and assignees.
Save the template.
You can trigger the workflow:
From Workflow > New Workflow from a template
From the employee list using the bulk actions menu
Or as part of the Onboarding Template flow (see below)
⚠️ Note:
Make sure the employee has a start date set in the Employment section. Without it, any task that uses the start date for its deadline will cause an error.
📦 Using workflows with the Onboarding Template feature
If you're using the Onboarding Template feature (found in Settings), you can choose how workflows are handled at the step when you click “Resume onboarding” for a new hire:
Option A: Use an automatic workflow template
In your onboarding template, select “Use automatic workflow template”.
When you click Resume onboarding for a specific new hire, you’ll see a short message confirming that a workflow will be triggered automatically.
You don’t need to do anything else — the workflow will trigger based on the employee’s start date, as long as the template is active in the Workflow feature.
💡Tip:
Linking the automatic workflow to the onboarding template isn't required — if the workflow template is active and uses the start date as a trigger, it will run either way.
However, linking it gives a clear confirmation message when clicking “Resume onboarding”, which is especially helpful if the person creating the workflow and onboarding templates isn’t the same person who manages new hires. It helps avoid confusion and reassures the user that the process is already automated.
Option B: Use a manual workflow template
In your onboarding template, link a manual workflow template.
When you click Resume onboarding for a specific new hire, you’ll see the workflow embedded directly in the flow and you’ll be able to:
Edit it if needed
Publish it directly from there
Option C: Don’t link any workflow in the onboarding template
You can choose not to link any workflow in the onboarding template.
In that case, you can still trigger a workflow at any time:
From Workflow > New Workflow
Or from the employee list using bulk actions
This option works whether your template is automatic or manual, with a few things to keep in mind:
If your workflow template uses an automatic trigger, it will still be triggered based on the start date — as long as the template is active.
What you won’t get is the confirmation message when clicking “Resume onboarding”, so this setup is best when the person resuming onboarding already knows automation is in place.
If you’re using a manual template, this approach is useful if you:
Prefer to trigger workflows as a separate step
Want to trigger in bulk later
Or if you plan to create the employment after clicking "Resume onboarding"
👀 Where do assignees see their tasks?
When a workflow is triggered (manually or automatically), everyone assigned to a task will:
Receive an email and in app-notification
See their tasks in “My tasks” under Workflow
Also find them in their profile under “Tasks”
Get email reminders:
One day before the task is due
On the due date
If the task becomes overdue
Admins and Owners can track the progress of all onboarding workflows from the Workflow overview, including which tasks are completed or overdue.