Onboarding new people to your team tools shouldn’t feel like you’re assembling IKEA furniture with missing instructions. If you’re tasked with getting folks up and running in ZapMail and figuring out who should have access to what, this guide is for you. Maybe you’re a team lead, admin, or just the person who got voluntold. Either way, let’s make this process suck less and actually work for your team.
Why onboarding (and roles) matter more than you think
It’s tempting to just invite people and hope for the best. But a little setup upfront saves you from headaches down the road—like someone accidentally nuking a shared inbox, or a new hire stuck waiting for access to the stuff they need.
User roles are your traffic lights: they keep things moving, but stop disaster before it happens. If you skip this, you end up with either chaos (everyone can do everything) or bottlenecks (nobody can do anything without pinging you).
Step 1: Get your ZapMail environment ready
Before you even think about invites, make sure your own ZapMail setup makes sense. Clean up now, or you’ll just be inviting people into a mess.
- Check your teams and workspaces. Are these organized in a way that fits how your team actually works today—not how things were a year ago?
- Purge old users. If folks have left, remove them. Loose ends here are a security risk and just plain confusing.
- Review your current roles. If everyone’s an admin, nobody’s really in charge.
Pro tip: Make a quick list of what each team or person needs access to. You’ll use this in the next steps.
Step 2: Understand ZapMail’s user roles (and what they actually mean)
ZapMail keeps things simple, but you still need to know what role does what. As of now, you’ll typically see these:
- Admin: Full access. Can add/remove users, change settings, see everything. Only give this to folks you trust not to delete things by accident.
- Manager: Can invite users and manage settings for their team, but can’t mess with overall account-level stuff.
- User: Can use the core features—send, receive, organize mail—but can’t change team-wide settings or invite others.
- Viewer (if enabled): Can see stuff, but can’t touch. Good for auditors or people who just need visibility.
Not every team needs all these roles. The trick is not overthinking it: give people the lowest level they need to do their job, and only bump them up if they hit friction.
What to ignore: Don’t waste time creating custom roles for every edge case unless your team is huge or handles sensitive info. For most groups, the standard roles are fine.
Step 3: Add your new team members
Here’s how you actually get people into ZapMail:
- Go to your admin dashboard or team settings.
- Find “Invite Users” or “Add Members.” The wording might shift as the product updates, but you’re looking for the place to send invites.
- Enter their email addresses. Double-check spelling—typos here mean lost invites and confusion.
- Assign their role at invite. Don’t just leave everyone as default. Think back to your prep list: what do they actually need?
- Send the invite. They’ll get an email to join and set up their account.
What works: Inviting in small batches. If you’re onboarding a dozen people, do the first few, see if there are hiccups, then do the rest. It’s way easier to fix issues before you’ve got a flood of support requests.
Step 4: Set expectations and give just enough guidance
The worst onboarding experience is “Here’s your login, good luck.” A quick welcome message or a short walkthrough saves you a week of basic questions.
- Send a welcome email or Slack message. Point folks to their invite, and let them know where to ask for help.
- Share a cheat sheet or quickstart guide. ZapMail’s official docs are fine, but you can also jot down the 3-5 things everyone needs to know, like:
- Where to find the shared inbox
- How to set up their signature
- Who to contact if they’re stuck
- Make it clear who’s an admin/manager. People need to know who to bug (and who not to).
Pro tip: If you’re onboarding a lot of people at once, do a 10-minute group video call. Walk through the basics, then open the floor for questions. Way more efficient than answering the same Slack DM 12 times.
Step 5: Tweak roles as you go (don’t “set and forget”)
People’s jobs change. Someone starts as a viewer, then needs to manage a project. Or maybe you realize you gave admin access to someone who really doesn’t need it. It’s normal.
- Review roles every quarter (or after big team changes). Set a reminder. It takes five minutes, but keeps things tidy.
- Remove ex-employees fast. Seriously. Nothing good comes from leaving old accounts active.
- Don’t be afraid to downgrade roles. It’s not personal—just good practice.
What doesn’t work: Letting everyone stay as admin “just in case.” That’s how accidents (or worse) happen.
Step 6: Fixing common onboarding headaches
Even with the best plan, stuff goes sideways. Here’s what usually trips people up and how to handle it:
- Lost or expired invites: Just resend them. Most platforms, including ZapMail, make this easy in the user management section.
- People can’t find the invite email: Tell them to check spam or promotions folders. (It’s always there.)
- Role confusion: If someone can’t do something, check their assigned role first before assuming it’s a bug.
- Too many notifications: New users often get overwhelmed. Show them where to adjust notification settings right away.
When to ask for help: If you hit a wall, don’t spend hours banging your head. Reach out to ZapMail support—they’re usually responsive, especially for onboarding snags.
Step 7: Keep your process simple (but documented)
You don’t need a 10-page onboarding manual. But you should have a one-pager or checklist somewhere your team can find it.
- Write down your process. Even if it’s just a Google Doc. Include who’s responsible, what steps to follow, and a link to this guide or your own notes.
- Update it as things change. New team structure? Product update? Tweak the doc.
Why bother? Because when you’re out sick (or just busy), someone else can pick up the slack without a panic.
ZapMail onboarding doesn’t have to be a chore. Keep it tidy, don’t overcomplicate roles, and document what works. If you mess up, fix it and move on. The best systems are the ones you actually use—not the ones that look good on paper. Iterate, keep it simple, and your team will thank you.