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Start the onboarding process

Learn how to onboard a new hire in Workstream, starting with marking them as hired.

Updated this week

This article walks you through how to start the onboarding process for new hires in Workstream.

The steps differ depending on your version:

  • Classic version: Has a dedicated Onboarding tab.

  • New version: Onboarding is part of the Team tab.
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📌 Before you can onboard new hires, first change the applicant’s status to "Hired". This automatically tags them for onboarding.

Classic version

Newly hired employees will appear in the New list where you can start their onboarding.

  1. Find the team member

    1. In Team View, go to Onboarding.

    2. Select the Overview tab.

    3. In the New tab, find the employee you want to onboard, then select Start onboarding.
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  2. Start onboarding

    1. Select the Onboarding process you want to take them through, then complete the following steps (these may vary depending on your setup):

      1. Enter the Hired date and Start date.

      2. Enter the Compensation details.

      3. (Optional) Select a Manager.

      4. Select an Employment type and Exception status.

      5. Enter Additional pay.

    2. Once all steps are completed, click Next, confirm the information, then click Confirm and Send Invitation.

​The new hire will now receive both an email and a text message to start their onboarding. They will also be moved from the New to the In progress list.
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New version

Newly hired employees will appear in the Waiting to onboard list where you can start their onboarding.

💡 The new version combines Active, Onboarding, and Offboarded employees in one place.

  1. Find the team member

    1. In Team View, select the Team tab.

    2. Go to the Onboarding tab.

    3. Find the team member you want to onboard, then Start onboarding.
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  2. Enter employment details

    1. Complete the required fields (these may vary depending on your setup).

    2. Select the Onboarding Process you want to take them through.
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    3. Select Preview, check the details, then Confirm.

  3. Set up job and earnings details

    1. Add job-specific details:

      • Tax entity (carried over from earlier step)

      • Job title (select from existing jobs or create new)

      • Workplace location

    2. Enter the employee’s earning types and amounts. You can add multiple types.

    3. (Optional) Use + Add another earning to include more earning types.

    4. (Optional) Use Assign another job if the employee will have multiple roles.

    5. Select Save.

  4. Assign time off policies

    1. Select from available policies in the dropdown menu.

    2. Select Save when done.
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​The new hire will now receive both an email and a text message to start their onboarding. They will also be moved from Waiting to onboard to the In progress list.

All managers assigned to that hire’s location and department will also be notified by both email and text. If multiple managers are assigned, each one will get the notification, and any of them can complete the onboarding tasks for the new hire.
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？What happens after you start onboarding?

  • Automatic Reminder: If the new hire hasn’t completed their onboarding within 48 hours, Workstream will automatically send a reminder. This reminder includes a breakdown of any tasks they haven’t finished.

  • Follow-up options: You can re-send the onboarding link anytime from the team member’s onboarding tasks to give them a quick nudge.
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Duplicate profile validation (New version only)

Workstream automatically checks for duplicate employee records (for example, when two profiles share the same SSN). This helps keep your team data accurate and prevents duplicate entries.

If a duplicate SSN or profile is detected, the employee will see a warning during onboarding. They can either:

  • Confirm their info is correct → Onboarding pauses, manager is notified.

  • Edit their info → Correct the duplicate data.
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When a duplicate is flagged, take these actions:

  1. Open the flagged employee’s profile.

  2. Select View next to the duplicate notice.

  3. Compare the two profiles side by side.
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  4. Decide if it’s the same person:

    • If it is the same person

      1. Check the boxes to pull new information into the existing profile.

      2. Confirm that merging cannot be undone.

      3. Select Merge profiles & Start onboarding.
        ​Note: This merges their information into one record.
        Any documents or files linked to the new hire will carry over.
        The duplicate (new) record will be deleted.

    • If it is not the same person

      1. Select They are not the same person?

  5. You will be prompted to restart onboarding for the employee.

Once done, this sends a new onboarding link so the employee can resume onboarding starting from the Basic Information module.

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