With Workstream, you can quickly send important documents like offer letters, tax forms, and onboarding paperwork for online signing. It works with Dropbox Sign (formerly HelloSign), so you can easily upload your documents, add signature fields, and make any adjustments you need.
This article will show you how to prepare documents for information collection and e-signatures using Dropbox Sign in Workstream’s hiring and onboarding processes.
We’ll walk you through how to upload and prepare documents in two key stages:
During the hiring process (sending documents to applicants)
During the onboarding process (collecting documents from new hires)
📌 You’ll need these permissions to upload and prepare documents:
Create and edit hiring process templates
Edit onboarding processes and onboarding documents
If you don't have them, ask your Super Admin for help.
Customize documents by adding fields, assigning signers, and previewing how each section will appear during signing.
Using the document editor
The document editor helps you prepare forms that need to be filled out or signed during hiring or onboarding — like job offers or onboarding forms. This section introduces the editor layout and tools to help you get started.
Document editor features
Once your document is uploaded, you can add fields, assign them to the right person, and arrange everything directly in the editor. This section covers how to use the tools to build clear, easy-to-complete hiring and onboarding forms.
Area | Description | Usage |
A: Signer | Located at the top left. Shows who will complete the fields. | Select Sender to auto-fill fields with existing data from Workstream, or choose "Applicant/Employee" or "Company Signer" to assign fields for the person signing. |
B: Fields Panel | Left sidebar listing available fields: Signature, Auto-fill, and Standard fields like Textbox. | Drag and drop fields onto the document preview to customize it. |
C: Document Preview | Center panel showing the template. Highlighted fields are where the signer will input information. | Place, move, and adjust fields visually on the document. |
D: Field Settings Panel | Right sidebar that appears when a field is selected. Allows you to edit options like placeholder text, formatting, and linked auto-fill values. | Customize each field's text, size, font, and data binding. |
E: Toolbar (Top Icons) | Icons for undo, redo, copy, delete fields, and zoom control. | Helps you manage edits easily while customizing the document. |
Choosing signers
When preparing documents in Workstream's Hiring or Onboarding processes, it's essential to assign each field to the appropriate signer. The document editor offers four signer roles to facilitate this: Me (Now), Sender, Applicant/Employee, Company.
⚠️ Important: Only the Sender signer can auto-fill fields. If you want fields to auto-fill with info from Workstream—like an applicant’s name, email, or job title—use the Sender signer.
Other signer types (like Applicant, Employee, Me, or Company Rep) can’t auto-fill anything. Those fields need to be completed manually, either during setup or after the document is sent.
Signer Type | What it’s used for |
👤 Me (Now) | Purpose: Lets you fill in fields yourself while setting up the document. Use Case: Use this when you need to add info that only you know—like notes or custom details that aren’t stored in Workstream. Important: This signer type doesn’t support auto-fill. You’ll need to type everything manually.
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📬 Sender (Recommended) | Purpose: Pre-fill fields with data already saved in Workstream. Use Case: Use this when you want to automatically add things like an applicant’s name, email, or job title—no manual typing needed. Functionality: As the Sender, you can only add Textbox fields here. When you add one, you’ll see a dropdown of data fields you can pull from. The options depend on where you're working:
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👥 Applicant/Employee | Purpose: Assign fields that the recipient must complete. Use Case: Use this when you need the applicant (in Hiring) or employee (in Onboarding) to fill in their own information—such as signing their name or entering personal details.
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🏢 Company | Purpose: Assign fields that someone from your team needs to fill out or sign. Use Case: Use this when a manager, HR rep, or anyone else on your team needs to add their signature or complete part of the document. Perfect for things like approvals or countersignatures.
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Selecting fields to add
See the available fields we use for your documents below:
I. Signature fields
Fields | Description |
Signature | Signature fields allow your users and applicants to sign online documents uploaded in your Workstream account. You can resize and add as many signature tags as you want and specify even the field name |
Initials
| Initials fields allow admins, managers, and/or applicants to verify and acknowledge documents. You can resize and add as many initial fields as you want and specify even the field name |
II. Auto-fill fields
Fields | Description |
Date signed
| Date signed fields allow you to find out when the recipient has signed an uploaded document. You can add as many Date signed tags as you want and specify the date formatting, the font styles and sizes, and even the field name |
Full name
| Initials fields allow admins, managers, and/or applicants to verify and acknowledge documents. You can resize and add as many initial fields as you want and specify even the field name |
| Email fields allow you to automatically add email addresses to documents. You can add as many Email tags as you want and specify the font styles and sizes, and even the field name |
Company
| Company fields allow you to automatically add the company name or brand name to documents. You can add as many Company tags as you want and specify the font styles and sizes, and even the field name |
Job Title
| Job Title fields allow you to automatically add the job titles to documents. You can add as many Job title tags as you want and specify the font styles and sizes, and even the field name |
III. Standard fields
💡 You can also add Conditional logic to the Textbox, Checkbox, and Dropdown fields which lets you make rules that decide which fields show up on a document, depending on what the signer does.
Fields | Description |
Textbox
| Textbox fields allow you to add a general purpose text field that recipients can fill out. You can add as many Textbox tags as you want and specify the font styles and sizes, validation, add a placeholder text, the field name, and even mask typed texts (for any sensitive information). |
Checkbox
| Checkbox fields allow you to add checkboxes to documents to make it simple for you and your applicants to select options, accept terms, or mark tasks as completed. You can add as many Checkbox tags as you want and specify if it's checked by default, and even the field name |
Dropdown
| Dropdown fields allow you to add dropdown menus for any parts of your document that need recipients to select from a list of items. You can add as many Dropdown tags as you want and specify the items, a default option, font styles and sizes, and even the field name |
Radio Group
| Radio Group fields allow you to add radio buttons for any parts of your document that need recipients to select from 2 items, almost the same as the dropdown fields. You can add as many Radio group tags as you want and specify the items, and even the field name |
Preparing documents for signing
This section shows you how to prepare those documents using our built-in editor:
Upload your document
Assign signer roles (applicant, employee, company, etc.)
Add and customize fields like signature boxes or auto-filled text fields
📌 Depending on which process you’re using—Hiring or Onboarding—the flow and signer types will slightly differ.
Preparing documents for signing.
Preparing for online signing
The Online Signing stage is part of the hiring process, where you can prepare documents—such as offer letters—for applicants to review and sign. You can also add fields for your company representative to sign, making it easy to handle approvals or countersignatures. This stage is typically used toward the end of a hiring funnel when you're ready to move forward with an offer.
Follow the steps outlined in the Setting up offer letters in the online signing stage section of this article.
Prepare the document
Choose a signer: Each field you add to the document needs to be assigned to a signer.
Tip: Use the Sender signer to automatically fill fields with information from the applicant’s profile in Workstream. Since you’re in the hiring flow, these fields will pull data directly from the applicant’s details.
Drag and drop fields:
From the left-side panel, drag fields like Signature, Auto-fill, or other Standard fields into the document.
Add multiple signers by assigning fields to different people.
Customize each field: When you click a field, a settings panel will appear on the right where you can:
Edit placeholder text
Adjust the field size and format
Link to auto-fill values (only available with the Sender signer)
Make fields required or optional
Review and save: Before sending out the document, double-check:
All fields are assigned to the correct signer
Auto-fill fields are linked properly (especially if you're using the Sender signer)
Preparing onboarding documents
The Sign Onboarding Documents module is part of the onboarding process, designed for collecting required forms and signed documents from new hires—such as tax forms, policies, or ID submissions. Just like in hiring, you can assign fields to both the employee and a company signer. The setup is similar to the hiring document editor but is tailored for employees who are already hired and entering your organization.
Follow the steps outlined in the Upload onboarding documents section of this article.
Prepare the document
Choose a signer: Each field you add to the document needs to be assigned to a signer.
Tip: Use the Sender signer to automatically fill fields with information from the employee's profile in Workstream. Since you’re in the onboarding flow, these fields will pull data directly from the employee's details.
Drag and drop fields:
From the left-side panel, drag fields like Signature, Auto-fill, or other Standard fields into the document.
Add multiple signers by assigning fields to different people.
Customize each field: When you click a field, a settings panel will appear on the right where you can:
Edit placeholder text
Adjust the field size and format
Link to auto-fill values (only available with the Sender signer)
Make fields required or optional
Review and save: Before sending out the document, double-check:
All fields are assigned to the correct signer
Auto-fill fields are linked properly (especially if you're using the Sender signer)