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Employee Onboarding

Interactive step-by-step wizard that teaches new employees how to use every feature in their dashboard.

Employee Feature7 min read

What is Employee Onboarding?

Employee Onboarding is an interactive tutorial that appears when an employee logs in for the first time. It walks them through every feature of their employee dashboard with clear explanations, visual examples, and links to each section.

Instead of leaving new employees confused about where to find things, the onboarding wizard shows them exactly how to view their schedule, clock in and out, request time off, send messages, and use every other employee feature.

What's Included in Onboarding

  • • Welcome screen with video tutorial
  • • How to view your schedule (calendar and list views)
  • • How to clock in and out for shifts
  • • How to see all your shift details
  • • How to read company announcements
  • • How to send messages to managers and coworkers
  • • How to request time off (vacation, sick, personal)
  • • How to drop or pickup shifts
  • • How to track all your requests (PTO, shift drops, etc.)
  • • How to set work preferences and availability
  • • How to update your profile and settings
  • • How to manage notification preferences

Employee Can:

  • • Complete the wizard at their own pace (go back/forward anytime)
  • • Click buttons to jump directly to each feature
  • • Dismiss the wizard and come back later
  • • Mark as complete when they've seen everything

The 12 Onboarding Steps

The wizard guides employees through 12 core features, one step at a time.

1

Welcome to Your Dashboard

Explains what the employee dashboard does and includes a link to a video tutorial (YouTube) showing all features in action.

  • • Overview of employee dashboard features
  • • Link to video walkthrough
  • • Sets expectations for what they can do
2

View Your Schedule

Shows how to access the schedule page and see upcoming shifts in calendar or list view.

  • • Where to find the schedule
  • • How to switch between calendar and list views
  • • How to request shift drops or swaps
  • • How to pick up open shifts

Button: "Go to My Schedule" (takes them directly there)

3

Clock In and Out

Explains the clock in/out system and where to find the clock buttons.

  • • How to clock in when shift starts
  • • How to clock out when shift ends
  • • Where to see clock history
  • • Tip: Use the Clock tab to view all time tracking

Button: "Go to Clock" (opens clock page)

4

My Shifts

Shows how to view detailed shift information including past, current, and future shifts.

  • • View shift details (location, time, assigned tasks)
  • • Track shift status (scheduled, completed, cancelled)
  • • See full shift history

Button: "Go to My Shifts"

5

Company Announcements

Explains where managers post important announcements and how to read them.

  • • Schedule changes and updates
  • • Company news and events
  • • Policy updates and reminders

Button: "View Announcements" (returns to dashboard)

6

Team Messages

Shows how to send direct messages to managers or participate in group chats.

  • • Send private messages to manager or coworkers
  • • Participate in group chats
  • • View conversation history

Button: "Go to Messages"

7

Request Time Off

Explains the time-off request process and the three request types.

  • • Vacation - Planned time off
  • • Sick - Illness or medical
  • • Personal - Other personal needs
  • • Submit request and get notification when approved/denied

Button: "Request Time Off"

8

Drop or Pickup Shifts

Shows how to use shift trading to manage schedule flexibility.

  • • Drop shifts you can't work (notify team)
  • • Pickup open shifts to get more hours
  • • View all shift drop and pickup history

Button: "Go to Shift Trades"

9

Track All Your Requests

Explains how to view the status of all requests in one place.

  • • Pending - Awaiting manager approval
  • • Approved - Confirmed requests
  • • Denied - Declined requests with reason

Button: "Go to My Requests"

10

Set Your Work Preferences

Shows how to set availability preferences to help managers build better schedules.

  • • Set which days and times you can work (availability)
  • • Indicate preferred shift times
  • • Add notes about scheduling constraints

Button: "Go to Preferences"

11

Manage Your Profile

Explains where to update personal information and account settings.

  • • Personal Info - Name, email, phone
  • • Password - Change password
  • • Notifications - Email preferences
  • • Privacy - Data and GDPR settings

Button: "Go to Profile"

12

Email & Push Notifications

Shows what notifications employees will receive automatically.

  • • Schedule Updates - New shifts and changes
  • • Team Messages - Announcements and updates
  • • Time-Off Approvals - PTO request responses
  • • Shift Reminders - Upcoming shift alerts

You're Ready to Go!

Final screen shows a summary of all features learned and confirms the employee is ready to use the dashboard.

Employee can click "Complete Onboarding" to mark the wizard as done and start using the dashboard normally.

How Employees Navigate Onboarding

The wizard is designed to be flexible and employee-friendly. They control the pace.

Navigation Controls

  • Next Button: Move to the next step
  • Back Button: Return to previous step to review
  • Skip Step: Some steps can be skipped if employee already knows the feature
  • Dismiss: Close the wizard temporarily and come back later
  • Complete: Mark onboarding as done (final step only)

What Happens After Dismissing

  • • Onboarding wizard disappears from dashboard
  • • Employee can use dashboard normally
  • • Small banner appears on next login: "You haven't completed onboarding - Resume tutorial?"
  • • Employee can click "Resume" to continue where they left off
  • • Employee can click "Dismiss Permanently" to never see it again

Progress Tracking

The system remembers which step the employee was on. If they dismiss at step 5, they'll resume at step 5 next time. Progress is saved automatically.

When Onboarding Appears

The onboarding wizard appears automatically in specific situations.

Automatic Triggers

First Login Ever

When an employee logs in for the very first time after being added to the system, the wizard appears automatically.

After Dismissing (If Not Completed)

If employee dismissed without completing, a small banner offers to resume on next login: "Continue onboarding tutorial?"

Never After Completion

Once marked as complete, the wizard never appears again for that employee (unless admin resets their onboarding status).

Benefits for Managers

The onboarding wizard reduces the time managers spend training new employees.

Less Training Time

Instead of spending 30 minutes showing every new hire how to use the system, let the wizard handle it. You just answer specific questions.

Consistent Training

Every employee gets the same quality tutorial. No missed steps or forgotten features because you were busy during training.

Fewer Questions

Employees learn where to find things themselves. Reduces "Where do I see my schedule?" and "How do I request time off?" questions.

Self-Paced Learning

Employees go through at their own speed. Some finish in 10 minutes, others take longer. They're not holding up your time.

Video Tutorial Included

The first step of onboarding includes a link to a YouTube video walkthrough of all employee features.

What the Video Covers

  • • Complete visual tour of the employee dashboard
  • • Live demonstration of clocking in and out
  • • How to navigate the schedule and request time off
  • • Sending messages and viewing announcements
  • • Setting preferences and managing profile

Video vs Wizard

Watch Video First (Recommended)

  • • See everything in action
  • • Visual learners benefit most
  • • Quick 5-minute overview

Then Use Wizard for Details

  • • Go step-by-step at your pace
  • • Jump to specific features
  • • Interactive buttons to try features

Best Practices

1. Encourage Employees to Complete It

When adding new employees, tell them "You'll see a tutorial when you first log in - please go through it so you know where everything is." This sets the expectation.

2. Let Them Go at Their Own Pace

Don't rush employees through onboarding. Some people need more time to read and understand each step. The wizard is designed to be self-paced.

3. Be Available for Questions

The wizard covers the "how" but employees may have questions about "why" or specific policies. Make yourself available during their first day.

4. Recommend the Video

Tell new hires to watch the video tutorial in the first step. Visual learners especially benefit from seeing features demonstrated.

5. Check Who Has Completed Onboarding

If an employee seems confused about basic features, they may have skipped onboarding. Encourage them to go through it or walk through features yourself.

6. Use It to Reduce Repetitive Training

When hiring multiple employees at once, let the wizard handle initial training so you can focus on job-specific details rather than explaining the dashboard repeatedly.

Get Started

Ready to give your new employees a smooth, guided onboarding experience?

Employee Onboarding | XShift AI