Fourth's Onboarding app is a 'mobile-first' web application which guides successful candidates through their onboarding journey, from the moment they accept their offer of employment, all the way through to being a member of the team.
This can help employers speed up the hiring process and reduce reliance on hiring managers to complete the onboarding process. The onboarding experience for new employees is also enhanced, giving them the freedom to complete it at a time that suits them.
This article shows how the app is used by candidates for the onboarding process.
Important Information
The Onboarding app works hand-in-hand with approved third-party Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). Instead of sending all of the employee data directly to Fourth's HR solution, the Onboarding app is initiated using a series of new API calls.
To use the new Onboarding app, a customer's ATS Vendor must build a new integration with Fourth.
Current integrations:
- Fourth ATS
- Talos 360
- Talent Funnel
- Teamtailor
- Pinpoint
Onboarding App Branding
The Onboarding app is branded using the information provided during configuration. This includes:
- Brand name
- Logo
- Primary colour
- SMS sender name
Initiating Onboarding
The ATS initiates onboarding by using an API call to the 'Create Request' endpoint. This provides a unique 'onboarding ID', which is used to send all of the required candidate details to the Onboarding app.
How this looks will vary, depending on the ATS vendor.
Accessing the Onboarding App
Immediately after the successful candidate has progressed to the 'Onboarding' stage, they will receive an SMS containing a direct link to the Onboarding app.
If the candidate does not use the link within 24 hours, they will receive a reminder SMS to start their onboarding process
Fig.1 - 'Congratulations' and 'Reminder' messages
After using the link, the candidate will need to enter a 6-digit code verification code, which they will receive in another SMS.
Fig.2 - Onboarding Verification and example SMS code
Once verified, the successful candidate can begin their onboarding journey. They can leave the Onboarding app at any point during the process, and continue it by using the link in any of the SMS messages.
If the successful candidate starts their onboarding journey but does not finish, they will receive an SMS reminder message 24 hours later.
Fig.3 - Reminder to complete onboarding
The Onboarding Process
The successful candidate will follow these instructions.
The first screen explains the onboarding process.
- To begin, select Get Started
Fig.4 - Welcome to Onboarding
The Dashboard shows each section of the process. Completed sections are indicated by a blue bar at the side, incomplete sections have a grey bar - see Fig.5.
Fig.5 - Onboarding Dashboard
Information collected during the recruitment process in the ATS will prepopulate the relevant fields in the Onboarding app. Location, Job Title and Start Date fields are critical to the job role and not editable.
Other fields can be updated, such as Address, Date of Birth and National Insurance Number.
Personal Details
- From the Dashboard, select the Personal Details section
- Enter/update the information as required and then select Next
Fig.6 - Personal Details
Once all mandatory fields within each section are complete, the section number along the top will display a blue tick to make it clear that is it complete (see Fig.7).
Bank Details
- Enter the details as required and select Next
Fig.7 - Bank Details
Emergency Contacts
- Enter the details for your emergency contact(s) and select Next
Details for 'Emergency Contact 1' are mandatory. Depending on how the app has been configured, it may be necessary to enter details for a second emergency contact as well.
Fig.8 - Emergency Contact details
References
As with 'Emergency Contacts', depending on configuration it may be required to enter details for two referees.
Fig.9 - References
References will not feed into the new employee record in HR but can populate the contract if required (through Docusign).
- Once the References have been entered, select Next
Diversity and Inclusion
The information that the candidate selects for each field will feed through to their employee record within HR.
During the initial configuration of the Onboarding app, it is possible to choose whether to include this section in the process.
Fig.10 - Diversity and Inclusion
- To continue, select Next
If there are any missing mandatory fields from previous sections, the next page will prompt the user and provide links to those sections.
Fig.11 - Mandatory field check
Once all mandatory fields have been completed, the candidate will be taken to the final screen before they sign their contract of employment.
This screen advises the candidate to make sure the information they have already entered is correct before progressing to their contract.
- To go back to the Dashboard and check over the information, select the House icon from the top left-hand corner (see Fig.12)
- To review specific information, select the appropriate section from the dashboard
- Or, to review all sections, select Continue
Fig.12 - 'You are almost ready!' and checking over the information
Once all data has been checked and is all correct, the candidate can progress to signing their contract.
Employment Contract
- To generate the contract, select Next
Fig.13 - Progress to contract
The candidate's contract will be generated using Docusign within the app. All data that has been collected throughout both the recruitment and onboarding journey will populate the relevant fields within the contract.
- To start the contract process, select Start
- The Docusign frame allows candidates to navigate through each page, using the Next button
Fig.14 - Starting and navigating through the contract process
- Once all pages of the contract have been viewed and completed, add an electronic signature (with the tools provided - see Fig.15) and select Adopt and Sign
Fig.15 - Adopting a signature and 'signing' the contract
After the contract has been signed, the Onboarding process can be finalised.
- To complete the Onboarding Process, select Finish
This action will initiate data transfer from the Onboarding app to the Workforce Management HR module, creating the employee record.
The app will update the successful candidate on the progress of the employee creation within the final page of the app.
Once completed, a 'Congratulations' page will display, confirming that the onboarding process is complete, and the candidate will receive an SMS confirming completion (see Fig.17).
Fig.16 - Employee record creation status and 'Congratulations!' page
Fig.17 - Onboarding completed SMS
Fourth Account
The new employee will receive two emails to confirm that they have been given a new Fourth account, which will give them access to their Employee Self-Service app.
The first email will introduce them to the Account, and confirm their username - Fig.18).
Fig.18 - 'Welcome to your Fourth account' email
The second email will contain a secure link to take the new employee to their Fourth account where they can set themselves a password..
Fig.19 - Fourth account activation email
Documents
When the employee is created, their right to work documents and contracts will automatically be loaded into their employee record.
- To view the right to work documents, go to HR > Employee Info > Document Management
- Select View against the document in question
Fig.20 - Document Management
Because the contract is from Docusign, it will be stored in a separate 'E-Sign' section of Document Management.
- To view the contract, go to HR > Employee Info > Document Management and select E-Sign Documents from the top of the page
Fig.21 - E-Sign Document Management
Documents loaded via the Onboarding app will be stored on a secure server and will not use the portal storage allowance.
Cancelling and Pausing Onboarding
Occasionally, it may be necessary to cancel or pause an employee's onboarding. How this is managed depends on the ATS vendor.
Cancelling Onboarding
An Onboarding request can be cancelled as long as the new employee has not generated and signed their contract. This is because the employee record is created within the HR module once the contract is signed.
Once an Onboarding request is cancelled, if the candidate attempts to open the Onboarding app they will be directed to a screen to advise them that the link has expired
Fig.22 - Onboarding app 'Link Expired' error message
Pausing Onboarding
Sometimes a successful candidate's onboarding details may need amending. Maybe because of an agreed change of location, or salary, for example. It is possible to pause the onboarding whilst these changes are made before resuming with the new information.
If an onboarding request is paused, the candidate will be notified via an SMS.
Fig.23 - Onboarding paused SMS
If they attempt to open the Onboarding app they will see the following message:
Fig.24 - 'Onboarding paused' app landing page
Pausing a request allows for changes to be made to the offer of employment, and the ATS can send any amendments which will change the data within the Onboarding app.
Once amendments have been made, the candidate will receive an SMS advising they can recommence their onboarding.
Fig.25 - Contgratulations SMS
Error Handling
Occasionally there may be errors in the data sent from Onboarding, resulting in the employee not being created in the HR module. Examples of these errors are:
- Issues with employment details, such as Location or Job Titles that do not exist in HR
- Issues with employee details, such as invalid bank details
When an error occurs due to employment details, an error message will be returned to the ATS. How these errors are displayed and handled will vary, depending on the ATS vendor.
To fix any issues relating to employment details, the onboarding request will need to be paused and the necessary changes made in the ATS.
When an error has occurred due to issues with employee details, the successful candidate will see an error message within the app.
Fig.26 - Employee details error message in Onboarding
The error message will explain the issue and direct the user to the page that needs to be amended.
Once the invalid information has been corrected, the user will be guided back through the app and will need to re-sign their contract. This will ensure that the correct data is stored within their contract before the data is sent, once again, to the HR module.
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