Bringing on a new employee should be exciting, not a paperwork slog. If you’re in HR or ops and tired of chasing emails, digging for forms, or just plain wasting time, this guide is for you. We’re going to break down—step by step—how to automate your employee onboarding workflow using Formstack. You’ll get the real story: what’s worth setting up, what’s pointless busywork, and how to avoid the common traps.
Let’s get right to it.
Step 1: Map Out Your Ideal Onboarding Flow (Before Touching Any Software)
This is the step most people skip—and then regret later. Before you even open Formstack, grab a notepad or whiteboard and sketch out:
- What info you actually need from a new hire (not just what’s on the old forms)
- Who needs to approve or sign off at each stage
- What documents need to be generated, signed, or stored
- Where the data ultimately needs to end up (HR system, payroll, IT requests, etc.)
Pro tip: Talk to the team members who actually do the onboarding. They’ll tell you which steps are there for a reason, and which are just legacy nonsense.
A good onboarding workflow usually looks something like this:
- New hire submits personal and tax info
- Manager and/or HR signs off
- IT gets notified to set up accounts
- Payroll gets the info they need
- Everyone gets confirmation
Now you’re ready to build something that makes sense, instead of just digitizing a mess.
Step 2: Build Your Core Form(s) in Formstack
Open up Formstack and start creating the main form your new hires will fill out. This is the backbone of your workflow.
Keep it simple: Only ask for what you’ll actually use. Every extra field means more friction, more mistakes, and more headaches.
What to include: - Legal name, address, contact info - Emergency contacts - Tax details (W-4, state forms) - Direct deposit info - Any compliance stuff (NDAs, policy acknowledgements)
Skip these for now: - Stuff you can pull from an HRIS or resume - “Nice to have” questions (favorite color, pet’s name, etc.)
Formstack tips: - Use conditional logic to only show relevant fields. (No need to show state tax info to someone in a state with no income tax.) - Make use of file upload fields if you need IDs or certifications. - Use clear section headers—nobody likes a wall of form fields.
Honest take: Don’t try to shove everything into one giant form. It’s better to have a main onboarding form, and separate (short!) follow-ups for things like equipment requests or benefits selection.
Step 3: Set Up Automated Approvals and Routing
This is where automation actually saves you time. In Formstack, you can use workflows to route submissions for approval or additional steps.
Here’s how:
- Go to the “Workflows” section (might be called “Approvals” in your version).
- Define the steps: For example, after a new hire submits info, it routes to HR for review, then to IT, then to payroll.
- Assign approvers: You can set these as specific people, roles, or even dynamic based on form inputs (e.g., route to the right manager).
- Set up notifications: Make sure folks get an email or Slack message when it’s their turn.
Things to watch out for: - Don’t overcomplicate. Every approval is a potential bottleneck. - Make sure back-ups are in place for when someone’s on vacation. - Test the routing with a dummy submission before rolling it out.
Pro tip: If some steps don’t really need a human to look at them, skip the approval—just automate the notification.
Step 4: Automate Document Generation and E-Signatures
If your onboarding still relies on chasing down signatures, this is the step that’ll save you the most sanity.
Formstack lets you: - Auto-generate offer letters, NDAs, or policy docs from the form data - Send them out for e-signature - Store signed copies automatically
How to do it: 1. Use Formstack Documents (sometimes called “Document Generation”) to create templates. 2. Map fields from your onboarding form to the template—no more copy-paste errors. 3. Add an e-signature field using Formstack Sign, or integrate with another e-sign tool if you have to. 4. Set up delivery: signed docs can be emailed to HR, uploaded to a cloud drive, or even sent to a payroll system.
Watch out for: - Mismatched fields—double-check your template mapping. - Local legal requirements for e-signatures (rare, but check with whoever does your compliance).
Don’t bother: Generating PDFs for every little thing. Focus on the must-have docs: offer letter, NDA, maybe a handbook acknowledgment.
Step 5: Connect to Your Other Tools (Without Breaking Things)
Nobody wants to copy-paste info from Formstack into another system. The good news: Formstack integrates with a decent list of HR, payroll, and collaboration tools.
Common integrations: - Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive for storing documents - Slack or Teams for notifications - ADP, BambooHR, or other HRIS tools (if your org uses them) - Email (Gmail, Outlook)
How to set it up: 1. Go to the Integrations section in Formstack. 2. Pick your tool and connect the account (sometimes you’ll need admin access). 3. Map the fields—make sure the right data goes to the right place. 4. Test it with a dummy submission.
Don’t overdo it: You don’t need every integration from day one. Start with the ones that actually save you time. If you find yourself spending hours troubleshooting a fancy integration, ask if it’s really worth it.
Heads-up: Zapier or Power Automate can help fill in gaps if there’s no direct integration, but expect some fiddling.
Step 6: Pilot Your Workflow With a Real Hire (Or Yourself)
Before you set this loose on every new employee, try it out on a real onboarding—ideally, yourself or a friendly team member. You’ll catch stuff you’d never notice just clicking around in the builder.
Checklist for your pilot: - Does the form make sense and is it easy to fill out? - Are all notifications and approval steps working? - Do documents generate correctly and get signed? - Is everything ending up where it should (HRIS, IT, payroll, etc.)? - How long does it actually take compared to your old process?
If something’s annoying, fix it now. No amount of automation will make a broken process better.
Step 7: Roll Out, Train, and Actually Listen
Now you’re ready to launch. Send a quick guide to managers and anyone involved in approvals. Don’t overthink training—a short video or step-by-step doc is fine.
Tips for rollout: - Start small. Launch with one department or location first if you can. - Collect feedback from real users, not just managers. - Iterate. Your first version won’t be perfect, and that’s fine.
What to ignore: Fancy dashboards or “insights” about your onboarding flow. Focus on making it smooth for new hires and your team—everything else is just noise.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Keep Improving
Automating onboarding in Formstack can save you loads of time—if you keep it simple and focus on what matters. Don’t get seduced by endless features or integrations. Build what actually helps your team and new hires, and tweak it as you go.
Most importantly, don’t be afraid to cut steps or forms that aren’t pulling their weight. The best workflows are the ones nobody complains about—or even notices.