Overview

The Onboarding Pipeline is a visual board with columns — like a whiteboard with sticky notes — where each column represents a stage in your hiring process (also known as a "kanban board"). It tracks every new hire from initial recruiting through their first day on the road. Each employee moves through a series of stages, with built-in task tracking, time targets (SLAs — the maximum number of days a new hire should spend in each stage), and automation to keep your pipeline moving efficiently.

Navigate to Onboarding in the sidebar to access the pipeline.

How the Pipeline Works

The onboarding pipeline is organized as a series of stages displayed as columns on the board. Each column contains cards representing employees currently in that stage.

• Employee cards show the hire's name, contact info, transfer status, and how long they've been in the current stage.
• Drag and drop cards between columns to advance (or move back) an employee through the pipeline.
• Click a card to expand it and view detailed task checklists, notes, and actions.

When an employee is added to DSP Ops Center with the ONBOARDING status, they automatically appear in the first stage of the pipeline.

Default Onboarding Stages

DSP Ops Center ships with six default stages that mirror the typical DSP hiring process:

Customizing Stages

Admins can modify the onboarding stages to match your DSP's specific workflow.

To customize stages:

1. Navigate to Admin in the sidebar.
2. Select Onboarding Stages.
3. From here you can:
• Edit a stage — Change the name, description, or time targets.
• Reorder stages — Adjust the sort order to change the pipeline sequence.
• Deactivate a stage — Remove a stage from the active pipeline without deleting historical data.

Time Targets

Each stage has two configurable time thresholds:

These thresholds drive the color-coded time indicators on each employee card (see Time Tracking below).

Moving Employees Through Stages

There are two ways to advance an employee to the next stage:

Drag and Drop

1. Click and hold an employee card on the pipeline board.
2. Drag it to the target stage column.
3. Release to move the employee.

Click to Advance

1. Click an employee card to open their details.
2. Click the Next Stage or Previous Stage button at the top of the card to move the employee forward or backward in the pipeline.

When an employee moves to a new stage:

• The stage transition is recorded with a timestamp.
• Any configured automations for the new stage are triggered (see Stage Transition Automations below for details on setting up automatic notifications).
• The time tracker resets for the new stage.

Time Tracking

Every employee card on the pipeline board displays a color-coded time indicator:

Estimated Completion

The pipeline calculates estimated completion dates for each employee based on historical averages. The system tracks how long past employees spent in each stage and uses those averages to project when current employees will reach the Complete stage.

Task Tracking

Each stage has a set of tasks that should be completed before advancing the employee. Click an employee card to view and update their task checklist.

Recruiting Phase Tasks

• SparkHire video interview sent (if your DSP uses SparkHire)
• SparkHire video interview completed (if your DSP uses SparkHire)
• Interview scheduled and completed
• Interview score and notes

Decision Phase Tasks

• Hire decision made (with decision maker and notes)
• Offer letter sent
• Offer accepted
• Offer paperwork returned

Verification Phase Tasks

• Background check started
• Background check passed (with provider and notes)
• Drug test started
• Drug test passed (with provider and notes)

Setup Phase Tasks

• ADP setup complete
• Mentor assigned
• Scheduling system setup
• Fleetio setup
• Step Van application sent and completed
• Handbook sent
• Handbook signed

Final Phase Tasks

• Onboarding session scheduled and completed
• I-9 completed
• Training scheduled and completed
• Benefits information sent and elected

Tasks are tracked as checkboxes with optional timestamps and notes. Completing tasks does not automatically advance the employee — you control when to move them to the next stage.

Document Completeness

DSP Ops Center monitors whether each onboarding employee has the required documents on file. The system checks for:

• Offer letter (signed)
• Employee handbook (signed)
• Company policies (signed)
• W-4 form
• I-9 form
• Drug test results
• Birth certificate or SSN documentation
• Driver license

Missing documents are highlighted on the employee's onboarding card and in compliance reports. You can upload documents directly from the employee's profile or send them for electronic signature.

Integration with E-Signatures

Send documents for electronic signature directly from the onboarding pipeline:

1. Click an employee card to open their details.
2. Navigate to the documents or signature section.
3. Select a signature template (e.g., offer letter, handbook, company policies).
4. Click Send for Signature.
5. The employee receives the document via email.
6. Once signed, the system automatically updates the corresponding task checkbox.

This eliminates the need to track paper documents and ensures signed copies are stored securely in the employee's record.

SparkHire Integration (Optional)

If your DSP uses SparkHire for video interviews during the recruiting phase:

1. In the employee's onboarding card, record when the SparkHire invitation was sent.
2. When the candidate completes their video, update the completed date.
3. Add the video URL for easy reference during the decision phase.
4. Record interview notes and scores.

SparkHire data is tracked per employee and visible to anyone with access to the onboarding pipeline. If your DSP does not use SparkHire, you can skip these fields — they are entirely optional.

Stage Transition Automations

DSP Ops Center can automatically send notifications when an employee moves between stages. Automations are configured per stage and can include:

Automations are configured in the stage settings and use customizable message templates. For example:

• When an employee enters the Verification stage, automatically send them an SMS with instructions for their background check appointment.
• When an employee enters the Final stage, send an email with their onboarding session details.
• When an employee reaches Complete, notify the scheduling channel in DSP Chat so the scheduler can add them to the next week's schedule.

To configure automations:

1. Navigate to Admin > Onboarding Stages.
2. Click the stage you want to configure.
3. Add automation actions with message templates.
4. Save the stage configuration.

Searching the Pipeline Board

Use the search bar at the top of the Onboarding page to find specific employees in the pipeline:

• Search by first name, last name, or email.
• Results filter the board to show only matching employees.
• Clear the search to return to the full pipeline view.

This is especially useful when your pipeline has many employees across multiple stages.

Scheduling Onboarding Employees

Employees with the ONBOARDING status become eligible for scheduling once they've reached the I-9 stage or beyond in the onboarding pipeline. This means you can:

• Add onboarding employees to training shifts before they are fully active.
• Schedule ride-along days during the final onboarding phase.
• Ensure new hires have their first shifts ready when they complete onboarding.

Name Verification

When employees are imported via Google Sheets, the system automatically splits full names into first and last name fields. However, middle names can sometimes be incorrectly placed.

The name verification workflow:

1. After a Google Sheets import, employees with unverified names display a verification banner.
2. Click the banner or navigate to the employee's onboarding card.
3. Review the parsed first name, middle name, and last name.
4. Edit inline if any corrections are needed.
5. Mark the name as verified.

This ensures accurate employee records from day one, which is critical for documents, e-signatures, and compliance filings.

Tips for an Efficient Pipeline

Set Realistic Time Targets

Base your warning and critical thresholds on actual processing times, not aspirational goals. If background checks consistently take 5-7 days, setting a 2-day warning creates noise. Start with:

• Recruiting: Warning 5 days, Critical 10 days
• Decision: Warning 3 days, Critical 7 days
• Verification: Warning 7 days, Critical 14 days
• Setup: Warning 3 days, Critical 7 days
• Final: Warning 5 days, Critical 10 days

Adjust after a few hiring cycles based on your actual data.

Common Bottlenecks

Keep the Pipeline Moving

1. Review the board daily. Identify yellow and red cards and take action.
2. Use automations. Let the system send routine notifications so your team can focus on exceptions.
3. Complete tasks as they happen. Update checkboxes in real-time rather than in batches — this keeps the time indicators accurate.
4. Move employees promptly. When all tasks in a stage are complete, advance the employee. Stale cards in completed stages obscure your true pipeline status.
5. Batch your hiring. When possible, move groups of candidates through stages together. This is more efficient for background checks, drug tests, and onboarding sessions.

Permissions

Access to the onboarding pipeline is controlled by the following permissions:

Admins, Lead Managers, and HR Recruiters typically have full onboarding access. Other roles can be granted access as needed through custom role configuration.