Guide to creating an onboarding template

As an owner or manager with the onboarding permission, you can start with the best-practice onboarding template in ‘My Business’ that comes pre-populated with a range of tasks to help you get going quickly; or create your own from scratch.

Once you’ve set up your template, you’ll assign it to a specific person (the template will become a plan) and apply completion dates to the various sections. You can assign people to the roles you have set up in your template and add any tasks specific to your new hire.

Step-by-step instructions

How to create an onboarding template

Select Onboarding from the left side navigation menu.
Select Create new template.
From the 'Start from' drop down menu, select either New template to create a new template from scratch; or select an existing template to make a duplication of an existing template and make edits.
Enter a template name.
Enter a welcome message (optional).
Select Save.
Add sections to group tasks by due dates.
Within sections, add the tasks that should be completed during onboarding.
Assign each task to the appropriate person (for example the employee, manager, or another team member). Add any documents or instructions if required.

FAQs & troubleshooting

What is the welcome message?

A welcome message is a generic message that is applicable to all employees.

The welcome message becomes part of the onboarding plan once it is assigned to a specific person and is also sent in the notification email when the plan becomes available to them.

The welcome message will also include a heading which will automatically include the employee’s first name, eg. “Welcome John”, once the plan is available.

What are sections

The template is grouped into sections of tasks, with a due date assigned by section. Reminders will be sent to task owners a week before the section’s due date.

In your template, you’ll have the ability to set the name of sections, the date when tasks are due, and a description of the section.

You can add a new section by selecting ‘Add section’, at the end of your template or draft plan. Your new section will be ordered by date and you can drag and drop tasks into it from other sections, if needed.

How to edit sections:

Select the pencil edit icon at the top of the section.
Edit the section name and/or description.
Use the drop down menus to enter details for the due date of tasks within the section. You can select whether the tasks are due before or after the employee's start date, and by days, weeks or months.
Select Save.

What are tasks?

Tasks are individual steps within an onboarding plan that ensure everything required for a new employee is completed.

Tasks can be:

Assigned to different people
Given due dates
Tracked for completion

This helps ensure accountability and visibility across the onboarding process.

When you’re creating a task, you’ll be able to select a role, e.g. the new hire or manager, for each task. This means you can define the type of person who will usually own the task and once you create a plan from the template, you will be prompted to select the specific person for that role, who will then be assigned the task to complete.

Three roles are populated automatically: new hire, buddy, and manager, and you can also add your own roles to your template to cover the range of tasks specific to your business.

How do I add a task?

There are two types of tasks which can be added - a General Task, or a Document to accept (such as a policy, handbook, training document, etc).

How to add a General Task

Within a section, select Add task
Select General Task
Enter a task title.
Enter 'Further details' (optional) to provide instructions or context to the tasks.
Assign to a person or role using the drop down menu.
Select a task type from the drop down menu.
Select Save.

Note: You can add a document to attached to the task as a reference, however this document is for reference only. The employee will not be required to confirm acceptance when attaching in this manner.

How to add a Document for acceptance

Within a section, select Add task
Select Document to accept
Search for a document saved under Organisation > Documents
Select the document name. A blue tick icon will appear next to the document.
Select Document acceptance required? Yes
Select Select.

Note: if you have added a document with acceptance, the employee will be automatically assigned the task and will be asked to confirm acceptance of the document.

Assigning roles to a task

Assigning roles to a task ensures the right people are responsible for completing each step in the onboarding process. Assigning roles helps to:

Clearly define who is responsible for each task
Improve accountability across managers, admins, and employees
Ensure tasks are completed on time
Provide visibility over progress and ownership

Default role options include New Hire and Manager. These are automatically assigned when you start a plan for a specific employee.

You can custom add other roles such as a Buddy, payroll person, IT person, etc. When you start a plan for a specific employee, these are manually confirmed.

What is a task category?

Task categories ensure your reminders display in the right place and allow you to report on and track task completion across your organisation.

When you’re creating a task, you have the opportunity to select a category for that task, eg. ‘compliance’ or ‘asset’. You can then report on the completion of tasks for that category across all your employees to assess your level of compliance or to keep track of what assets were assigned during your employees’ onboarding process.

Are there examples of tasks which I can use as a reference?

Yes, we have a library of tasks that you can search, and then simply add to your template to cover compliance, culture, and training-related induction tasks.

Access the task library by adding a new task and selecting Select task from MyHR examples.

Then select the task you are interested in, and select Continue.

Can I add a document to an onboarding plan?

Yes, there are two ways to add a document into an onboarding plan.

Documents to accept

If you have documents that you want all employees to read and accept as part of starting their employment, e.g. the company handbook or code of conduct, you can upload these documents to MyHR and then add them to the onboarding template. On creating a plan, your new hire will be automatically tasked with digitally accepting the document, automating the distribution and tracking of key materials.

Forms and information

You can attach a document to a task for reference. This document will be available to download for anyone who has access to the plan or the reminder associated with the task.

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. Templates can be edited at any time. Changes will apply only to new onboarding plans created after the changes are saved.

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 a plan to a specific employee?

While an onboarding template is not specific to an employee, an onboarding plan is.

Once you’ve finalised your template and added your new employee to MyHR, you can assign the template to them to create a draft onboarding plan. You will then customise the plan for that employee (if needed), and publish it.

Once it is published and your new employee is activated in MyHR, they will be able to view the plan and start on their onboarding tasks.

People who have tasks assigned to them will have reminders in MyHR, and the new hire and manager will be alerted by email about the onboarding plan.