Smart Onboarding Flow
a faster onboarding flow with a workflow builder, form builder, and bulk import, so HR admins never have to enter employee data by hand again.
Role
Product Designer
Outcome & impact
These solutions were approved and shipped into the live product. HR admins now only need to fill in about 5 required fields to create an employee record, down from over 30 fields before.
With the form builder and workflow automation working together, HR admins set up the flow once, and it runs automatically every time a new employee onboards. The bulk import feature also lets teams upload existing employee records in one pass instead of entering them by hand.
5
Required fields needed to create a basic employee record
30+
Fields reduced from the previous manual setup
1 setup
Reusable onboarding flow for every new hire
Shipped
Form builder, publishing, and CSV import improvements approved for production
The challenge
HR teams were spending too much time collecting and cleaning employee profile data during onboarding. Repeated manual entry created slow handoffs, inconsistent fields, and extra review work before a new employee record could be trusted.
Research and insights
Working with an internal HR advisor and synthesis from research, the core pattern became clear.
Most HR systems already have their own employee database that can be exported.
Filling in employee information is a back-and-forth process where employees need to submit papers beforehand.
This manual process is time consuming for HR admins, especially when it has to be repeated for every new hire.
Solution
01
Reduce required employee fields - not applied
This was our initial option, but it is a temporary workaround that delays the process and impacts later stages like payroll. Furthermore, because required fields vary by country, this approach is not sustainable.
02
Bulk import with CSV template
For companies that already had employee data, we introduced bulk import with a CSV template so HR admins could upload existing records in one pass.
03
Self Serve Onboarding Form
This solution takes advantage of the workflow automation and form builder already built into the system. It allows HR admins to set up employee fields as a form, which the new hire then fills in themselves. This ensures the submitted info is accurate and cuts down on the back and forth communication between HR and new employees.
Design
Takeaway
While fixing onboarding, I noticed the workflow builder itself was too technical for HR admins. That insight led to a separate case study focused on completely redesigning the workflow builder rather than just its onboarding application.