If you’re tired of onboarding tools that look fancy but don’t actually fit how your team works, this guide’s for you. Maybe you’re in HR and want to finally ditch the spreadsheet shuffle. Maybe you’re a manager who just wants new hires to stop getting lost in the process. Either way, we’ll walk through building a custom onboarding workflow in Empler — step by step, no fluff.
You’ll get the real scoop on what features matter, what’s just window dressing, and how to avoid the classic “now what?” moment after launch. Let’s get to it.
Step 1: Get Clear on What You Actually Need
Before you even log into Empler, write down (yes, really) what your onboarding process should look like. Skip this, and you’ll end up fiddling with drag-and-drop tools for hours — only to realize you missed something.
Questions to ask: - What do all new hires need to do? - What’s different for each department or role? - Who’s responsible for each step? - What’s annoying about our current process? - What should happen automatically, and what needs a human touch?
Pro tip: If your current onboarding "works" but is a mess of email threads and shared docs, jot down what usually goes wrong. That’s what your workflow needs to solve.
Step 2: Map Out the Workflow (Whiteboard, Not Empler Yet)
Before you open any software, sketch your process on paper or a whiteboard. It’s old school, but it works.
- List every step, from sending the offer letter to the final check-in.
- Draw arrows to show what happens next at each stage.
- Mark steps that need approvals, documents, or reminders.
- Make note of where things get stuck in real life.
Why bother? Empler will let you build pretty much any workflow, but if you don’t know what you want, you’ll just end up copying your old mess into new software.
Step 3: Set Up Your Empler Account
Alright, now it’s time to get into Empler. If you don’t have an account yet, sign up and poke around. Don’t worry about making things perfect — you can change just about anything later.
- Go to the dashboard.
- Check if you’ve got admin access (you’ll need it for workflow creation).
- Get familiar with the “Workflows” or “Onboarding” section — that’s where you’ll build everything.
Heads up: If your company’s already using Empler, make sure you’re not stepping on someone else’s toes. Ask around before making big changes.
Step 4: Create a New Workflow
Find the “Create Workflow” or “New Onboarding Workflow” button. The exact name might change, but it’ll be obvious.
- Give your workflow a clear name (e.g., “Engineering Onboarding,” not “Workflow 3”).
- Add a description so your future self (and your team) know what it’s for.
- Decide if this should be the default workflow for all new hires, or just a specific group.
What matters here: Don’t try to build a one-size-fits-all monster. It’s better to have separate workflows for different roles if their onboarding is truly different.
Step 5: Add and Arrange Steps
Now you’ll break your mapped-out process into individual steps or tasks in Empler.
- Use your earlier whiteboard notes as a checklist.
- For each step, add:
- A clear title (“Send welcome email,” “IT setup,” etc.)
- A detailed description, if needed. Assume people won’t remember what you meant six months from now.
- Who’s responsible (HR, manager, IT, the new hire, etc.)
- Due dates or time triggers (e.g., “Day 1,” “Before start date,” “End of week 1”)
Don’t overcomplicate: Start with the essentials. You can always add more later.
Skip these (for now): - Fancy automation (unless you have a real reason) - Custom forms or integrations you’re not sure you need
Step 6: Assign Owners and Notifications
If everyone owns everything, nothing gets done. Assign a clear owner for each step.
- Use Empler to set who gets notified when a task is ready.
- Decide if reminders are needed (they usually are).
- For steps that depend on others being finished, use Empler’s dependency settings — but don’t go wild with branching logic unless you love debugging headaches.
Watch out: Notifications can become noise if you assign too many people to every task. Set up a test run and see what gets ignored.
Step 7: Personalize for Roles or Departments
If parts of your onboarding differ by team, Empler lets you use templates, branching, or “conditional steps.”
- Set up rules like “Only show this step if hire is in Sales.”
- Clone existing workflows to tweak for a new department, instead of reinventing the wheel.
- If you’re not sure, start simple. Over-customizing is the fastest way to confuse everyone.
Reality check: The more branching you add, the harder this is to maintain. Only do it if you’ll actually use it.
Step 8: Add Documents, Checklists, and E-Signatures
Most onboarding involves paperwork. Empler usually lets you:
- Attach PDFs, Word docs, or company policies.
- Add checklists for things like “Read the handbook” or “Set up 2FA.”
- Collect e-signatures if you need them. (But test this — signature tools can be glitchy, and you don’t want a new hire stuck on Day 1.)
Pro tip: Don’t upload outdated docs. If your employee handbook changes often, link to the latest version instead of uploading a file.
Step 9: Test the Workflow (Don’t Skip This)
This is where most teams get lazy — don’t. Run a test with a fake new hire or your own account.
- Walk through every step as if you were the new hire, the manager, and HR.
- Check that tasks trigger at the right times, with the right notifications.
- Make sure documents open, e-signatures work, and nothing is awkward or unclear.
- Ask a couple of colleagues to try it too. They’ll spot things you miss.
What to look for: - Steps that don’t make sense in real life - Tasks that get assigned to the wrong person - Missing info or broken links
Step 10: Launch the Workflow for Real New Hires
When your test run is smooth (or at least not a disaster), roll it out for your next batch of new hires.
- Communicate clearly to everyone involved — managers, IT, HR — so they know what’s new.
- Set expectations that this is a living process. If something’s broken or annoying, you want to hear about it.
- Track completion rates and where people get stuck. Empler’s reporting should help here, but you might need to ask around too.
Don’t expect magic: New workflows always need tweaking. The first few runs might feel clunky, and that’s normal.
Step 11: Iterate and Improve
Give it a couple of weeks, then review how things went.
- Where did new hires get confused?
- Which steps took forever to complete?
- Did anyone ignore notifications (or get spammed by too many)?
- What feedback did you get from managers and HR?
Update your workflow in Empler based on real complaints and suggestions — not just what you think should work.
Resist the urge: Don’t add dozens of steps to “cover every scenario.” Keep it as simple as possible, or you’ll create a maintenance headache.
Honest Take: What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
What actually helps: - Clear task owners and deadlines - Fewer, more meaningful steps - Documents and signatures only where needed - Simple, role-based branching
What sounds good but isn’t worth it (for most teams): - Overly fancy automations — you’ll spend more time fixing them than they save - Endless reminders — people tune them out - Integrating every tool under the sun — start simple, add later
What to ignore (for now): - Custom branding, unless your CEO insists - Analytics dashboards you won’t look at - “Gamified” onboarding steps — nobody cares
Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Building a custom onboarding workflow in Empler isn’t hard, but keeping it useful takes some discipline. Start with your real-world process, build the basics, and test it yourself. Don’t get sucked into adding every possible feature from day one.
Iterate, listen to feedback, and remember: a boring but reliable workflow beats a flashy but confusing one every time. Good luck — and don’t be afraid to change things up as you go.