How do you create onboarding paths?

The next step in configuring the Onboarding module is to prepare the onboarding path. If you haven’t yet configured your message templates, we recommend reviewing this article and setting them up first.

Onboarding paths ensure coherent high-quality onboarding process for all candidates, regardless of which recruiter or manager conducts the process. They also facilitate collaboration between the recruiter and supervisor in the period between the hiring decision and the first day of work of the newly hired employee.

The button in the top right corner of the Onboarding Module ensures constant access to path management functionalities. The button is visible to every user with access to path management.

Note: Access to the paths can be granted and denied by the Administrator in the settings.

The paths are the same for all users with access rights. It means that every user with access rights can see and use exactly the same paths. For every path, you can see who and when edited it most recently.

When you enter “Path management” for the first time, you will see a sample onboarding path, which will help you learn how to operate the Onboarding Module.

This path will have sample message templates and lists of tasks to be performed by the HR leader, the supervisor, people from other departments and the newly hired employee. The path and tasks can be fully edited and adjusted to your individual needs. You can also copy the path.

Note: changes made to the path settings do not affect the active onboarding process of the candidate who is going through this path at the moment, so when you edit the paths, you do not need to worry about the impact on the currently active onboarding processes.

However, if you want to create a new path from scratch, follow the instructions below:

Click the “Path management” button to enter the path editing option. Click the “+ Add new path” tile to add a new path.

Note: you can have up to 100 paths in the Onboarding Module.

Enter the name of the new path. You can also add its description.

For every path, you can (but do not have to) set:

The instructions on setting each of those lists are presented below.

A list of automatic messages enables you to select a set of email messages that will be automatically sent to the newly hired employee in predefined time intervals. For example, if you want to improve the candidate’s engagement and brand awareness before their first day of work, you can create a path to send the most essential details about your company once a week.

Templates of onboarding messages can be added and edited in the settings, which is discussed in the previous chapter. When creating a path, you need to select messages to be sent and specify the time of automatic mailing. The time is set for each message individually, while the reference point is the moment when the candidate’s stage is changed to “Employed” or the start of work day (messages can be sent both before and after the start of onboarding ir the start of work day, as well as on this day). For example, you can configure an automatic message containing a presentation of your company to be sent 7 days after the candidate’s stage is changed to “Employed” or 3 days before the newly hired employee’s first day of work, while a message with the first assigned task can be mailed 1 day after the first day of work.

TIP: If you want some messages to be sent after a newly hired employee starts work, remember to add their business email address. Otherwise the messages will be sent to the private email address given during the job application process. If a given path makes use of the option to send an email message after the first day of work and no business email address is added for the candidate, the system will display a reminder about adding such an email address. You can add or edit the business email address in the candidate’s details (click the three dots next to the selected candidate in the candidate list and next click “Add business e-mail”).

After you launch the onboarding path, the messages will be sent automatically.

Every message can be edited directly in the path, in case you do not want the changes to be applied to the message template (use system settings to make changes in the template). To do this, click the pen icon next to the selected message in a given path. Editing the message in the path does not affect any already launched onboarding processes that use this path and message. The following message items can be edited directly in the path:

TIP: Messages in the paths are displayed in chronological order, according to the mailing date.

NOTE: If the message mailing time defined in the onboarding path cannot be met, the message will not be sent. Example: the candidate starts work next week. If you assign a path containing a message to be automatically sent 2 weeks before the first day of work, such a message will not be sent to this candidate. Remember that all messages and their statuses (e.g. “sent” or “pending”) can be checked in the candidate’s details in the Onboarding Module.

For every onboarding path, you can create a list of tasks that the HR leader has to complete before a newly hired employee appears at work for the first time.

Each tasks needs a description, a file and execution time.

TIP: Tasks in the paths are displayed in chronological order, according to the execution date.

For every onboarding path, you can also create a list of tasks that the supervisor has to complete before a newly hired employee appears at work for the first time. Those tasks are added in the same way as the tasks of the HR leader. For every task, you can attach files and specify the execution date. After you launch the onboarding process for a given person, their supervisor will automatically get access to the module and see the list of tasks.

If you want to make other departments of your company, e.g. IT or Administration, involved in the onboarding process, use the “Other tasks” option.

Select the department to perform a given task from the list:

After you launch this path, all members of a given department will be notified about the assigned tasks. The person who completed a given task and time of completion will be specified for each and every task.

TIP: How can you define departments and their specific members? It can be done by the Administrator in the “Company departments” section of the system settings. Next, the Administrator can go the “Users” section to add a new user to the selected department or edit the department to which an existing user is assigned:

In an onboarding path, you can also add tasks to be performed by the newly hired employee before or during the first days of work. Those tasks can be added in the same way as the tasks of the supervisor or other tasks. Tasks for the newly hired employee can also be added by their supervisor through the Business Account.

After the onboarding process is launched, the employee will see the tasks in their account (which is discussed in detail here) and will be able to mark them as completed. The HR leader and the supervisor can monitor the progress of completion of the employee’s tasks.

Done! You can now save the path and use it later in your onboarding processes (by selecting it in the “onboarding path” field for the newly hired person).

TIP: You can configure many onboarding paths for different forms of employment or different positions. However, regardless of the number of onboarding paths created in the Onboarding Module, you can use the same message templates for all of them, which ensures that your communication with all candidates is coherent, no matter who creates a given onboarding path and what position a given candidate will hold.