Creating onboarding templates
Build a reusable onboarding template once, and every new hire gets a consistent, complete start.
Contents
How to create an onboarding template
Do I need to add tax and KiwiSaver forms to my template myself?
Who can create onboarding templates?
Can I edit a template after it has been used?
How do I assign an onboarding plan to a specific employee?
Overview
An onboarding template is a reusable structure that outlines the tasks and steps required to onboard new employees. Once created, templates apply quickly to new hires, saving time and making sure nothing gets missed. Add company policies, welcome video links, and define who owns each task. Templates can cover different departments, locations, or roles.
Key benefits:
- Deliver a consistent onboarding experience for every new hire
- Save time when onboarding new employees
- Make sure all required tasks get completed
- Improve communication and accountability
How templates work within MyHR
As an owner or manager with the onboarding permission, you can start with the best-practice onboarding template. This comes pre-populated with a range of tasks to help you get going quickly, or you can create your own from scratch.
Once you generate and sign a new hire's employment agreement through Finalise and share, MyHR automatically creates an onboarding plan ready to go, no manual assignment needed. Want to use a different template, or make changes for this person? You can still customise the plan, or manually assign a template yourself.
Step-by-step instructions
Create an onboarding template
- Select Onboarding from the left side navigation menu.
- Select Create template, or select the ... next to an existing template to duplicate it.
- Enter a template name.
- Enter a welcome message (optional).
- Select Save.
💡 Tip: Once a template is assigned to a specific person, MyHR personalises the welcome message automatically with their first name (for example, "Welcome John"), and includes it in the notification email when their plan becomes available.
From here, build out the template by adding sections, then adding tasks within them.
Adding and editing sections
Templates are grouped into sections of tasks, with a due date assigned by section. Reminders go to task owners a week before the section's due date.
To add a section:
- Select Add section at the end of the template
- Enter a section name and description
- Use the dropdown menus to set the due date (before or after the start date, in days, weeks, or months)
Sections are ordered by date. You can drag and drop to reorder tasks within a section.
To edit a section:
- Select the pencil edit icon at the top of the section
- Edit the section name and/or description
- Use the dropdown menus to update the due date
- Select Save
Adding tasks
Tasks are the individual steps within an onboarding plan that make sure everything required for a new employee gets done. Assign tasks to different people, give them due dates, and track completion, so responsibility and progress stay visible.
Task roles:
- Three roles are added automatically: New Hire, Buddy, and Manager. Add your own to cover anything specific to your business
- Select a role when creating a task to define who typically owns it, you choose the actual person for that role when you create a plan from the template
- Default roles are assigned automatically when a plan starts. Custom roles like Buddy, payroll contact, or IT contact are confirmed manually
Task categories:
- Categorise a task (for example, compliance or asset) so reminders display in the right place
- Report on and track completion by category across your organisation
Task types:
- General Task: a standard task, select Add task > General Task within a section, then give it a title, an assignee, and any extra details
- Toggle visibility off to keep it hidden from the new hire, useful for manager-only tasks like "set up tools for new hire." You can't toggle visibility off if a file's attached.
- Document to accept: select Add task > Document to accept, then choose a document saved under Organisation > Documents. The employee's automatically assigned to review and confirm it
- Documents attached for reference only don't need employee acceptance
- Fillable PDFs let your new hire type their answers straight into the document in the app, no printing or scanning needed. Not fillable? They can add text or draw on it instead.
FAQs & troubleshooting
What is the welcome message?
A welcome message is a generic message that applies to all employees. Once assigned to a specific person, it becomes part of their onboarding plan and is included in the notification email when the plan becomes available.
Do I need to add tax and KiwiSaver forms to my template myself?
No. The relevant new-hire tax forms are now included automatically as default tasks in every onboarding plan, so there's no need to add them to your template yourself: tax and KiwiSaver forms in New Zealand, the Fair Work information statement and superannuation forms in Australia, and no additional forms for Canada.
Who can create onboarding templates?
Account owners and managers with the Manage Onboarding permission can create and manage onboarding templates.
Can I edit a template after it has been used?
Yes. Edit a template any time, changes only apply to new onboarding plans created after you save.
How do I delete a template?
- Select Onboarding on the left navigation menu.
- Select the template you want to delete.
- Select Delete template.
- Confirm the deletion by ticking Yes, I understand and selecting Delete.
Deleting a template will not affect onboarding plans that have already been created using that template.
How do I assign an onboarding plan to a specific employee?
A template isn't specific to an employee, a plan is. New hires get one automatically once their agreement's signed through Finalise and share, built from your default template.
Want to use a different template, or reassign an existing plan? See our Running an onboarding plan guide.
Building this for an existing employee, or anyone who won't get a plan automatically? See our All about onboarding employees using MyHR guide to start a plan manually.