Overview

Tasks are very important to the new hire experience for both new hires and third-party stakeholders, such as a corporate IT team and a new hire's manager. All tasks that are intended for use in onboarding should be created in the Task Library and given an Onboarding Workflow association; this will allow them to be associated with new hire categories and subsequently assigned via the Onboarding Wizard in iCIMS' Onboarding (formerly Preboard).

Onboarding Workflow library tasks (general, informational, form, integration, and file upload) can have prerequisite tasks. This allows clients to determine and enforce the most effective order of Onboarding task completion and create process efficiencies.

This article provides steps for creating a library task with an Onboarding Workflow association and adding prerequisites to an Onboarding Workflow task.

• Note: The steps below can only be performed by a user with access to create and edit library tasks. For assistance, contact your organization's user admin. 

Creating Onboarding Workflow Library Tasks

1. Click Library on the menu bar, then click Task to navigate to the Task Library.
2. Click the Create Library Task button.
3. For a new Onboarding Workflow task, make sure that the association is set to Onboarding Workflow. Complete all relevant fields, including setting any desired prerequisite task(s). Click Save to save the new task to the Task Library. (For more information on these fields, review the list below.)

• Name: The Name field is the display name of the task. This will be the name shown if the task name variable is used.
• Association: The Association field allows users to associate a task with a specific profile type (in this case, Onboarding Workflow). This cannot be edited after the task is created. 
• Assignee Type: The Assignee Type options available are Associated Person, Specific Person, and Relational Person.
  • Associated Person indicates that the task is to be assigned to the Person profile being viewed at the time of the assignment.
  • Specific Person allows the user to assign a task to a specific individual profile from their iCIMS database each time the task is selected.
    • For example, if there is one person in charge of setting up all new hires’ computers, select Specific Person as the Assignee Type. The Specific Person field will then display, allowing you to select that person's name from the type-to-search dropdown.
  • Relational Person will only be available if the Relational Persons feature is enabled for your system. This allows a user to assign a task to a person that has a relation to the Person profile that you are associating the task with.
    • For example, if your organization were to create an onboarding task for a hiring manager to take their new hire out to lunch, follow these steps:
    1. When creating this task in the Task Library, select Onboarding Workflow in the Association and Relational Person in the Assignee Type field. The Relational Person field displays.
    2. Either click into the empty field or select the Add Relational Person icon to launch the Add Relational Person popup.
    3. From the Make a Selection dropdown, select Fields (Workflow) Tab, then Associated Job, then Hiring Manager.
    4. Click Add & Close and continue creating the task.
    • Notes: 
      • The options available in the Make a Selection dropdown differ depending on the task's association.
      • If you are interested in enabling the Relational Person feature, submit a case to iCIMS Technical Support.
• Category: Category gives organizations another way to organize tasks. Each time a user adds a task to a profile, they will have the ability to filter by the task category. User admins can configure these categories by navigating to Admin > System Configuration > System > Tasks > Task Categories.
• Type: The Type field allows users to set a task as general, informational, form, integration, or file upload. This cannot be edited after the task is created. Each task type is described below:
  • General: Requires a new hire or other assignee to perform a described task, such as read an employee handbook, and then mark the task as completed using the Click to Complete button.
  • Informational: Provides a new hire or other assignee with reference information, such as driving directions. Information tasks are non-actionable and do not include the Click to Complete button. Information tasks are listed in the Documents section of the new hire portal rather than the new hire's Tasks list. 
  • Form: Requires a new hire or other assignee to complete a specific iForm, such as a W-4. 
  • Integration: Triggers an integration with an outside vendor, such as Tracker I9. This option is typically only used by iCIMS staff during an integration. 
  • File Upload: Requires a new hire or other assignee to upload a specific file, such as a certification. 
• Fields: The Fields field only displays when file upload is selected in the Type field. Type to search and select desired Person profile file or image fields. 
  • Notes:
    • Only file or image fields on Person profiles display for selection. If the desired field does not display, contact your user admin to add or edit file or image fields on Person profiles.
    • Once selected, the field name and Person profile location displays and by default, selected fields are marked as required. 
    • Selected fields can also be removed from the task if desired by clicking the Delete (X) icon.
    • Upon upload in the new hire portal, files automatically save to the associated file or image field on the new hire’s Person profile.
• Due Date: The Due Date field allows the user to set when this task is due. The due date will be set in relation to either when the task was assigned or a new hire’s start date (an option available for Onboarding Workflow tasks).
• Notifications: Notifications may be set to remind the task assignee about the task assignment. Reminders may be set when the task is assigned, any number of days before the task due date, or when the task is past due.
• Description: The Description field stores a description of the assigned task and can also support the inclusion of images, videos, and documents from the File Library as required.
• Complete Button Text: The Complete Button Text determines the messaging that will appear on the button a user will click to mark the task as complete.
• Prerequisite Task(s): Prerequisite Tasks may be set among certain Onboarding Workflow tasks in the Task Library, including general, informational, form, integration, and file upload. When one or more prerequisite tasks have been set, this task will not be able to be completed by its assignee until all prerequisite tasks are complete. For more information, review the next section of this article.

• Tip: Task notifications are sent automatically by the system, but appear as though they have been sent by the user who assigned the task. The email template sent to the new hire and any third-party stakeholders may be configured by user admins. For information on task notifications for the new hire, review the Configuring Onboard Task Notifications Knowledge Base article. For information on task notifications for third-party stakeholders, review the Configuring Task Notifications Knowledge Base article.

Creating Onboarding Workflow Task Dependencies

iCIMS' Onboarding users are able to create task dependencies among certain Onboarding Workflow tasks in the Task Library, including general, informational, form, integration, and file upload tasks. (Note: Informational tasks, non-library tasks, and tasks with non-Onboarding Workflow associations cannot have prerequisite tasks.)

The following steps reflect updating an existing Task Library task to have prerequisite tasks enforced when assigned in the future. For steps to create a new Onboarding Workflow task in the Task Library, refer to the Creating Onboarding Workflow Library Tasks section of this article.
 

1. Click Library, then click Task to navigate to the Task Library.
2. Select Onboarding Workflow in the Filter by Association dropdown, then select the Edit (pencil) icon for the task for which you would like to set prerequisite tasks.

3. Select any desired prerequisite tasks in the Prerequisite Task(s) section of the Edit Library Task screen, then click Save.

• To add or remove prerequisite tasks, click the Edit (pencil) icon next to the task and move tasks among the Available and Selected columns to reflect desired prerequisite tasks. Click Save to save all changes.
• Non-new hire assignees (such as hiring managers, recruiters, and other individuals) are notified of tasks by email. Email notifications for non-new hire assignee tasks are not sent until each task’s prerequisites have been completed.
• Prerequisite tasks that are selected for a task after a new hire has been assigned onboarding tasks will not be assigned retroactively as prerequisites for that individual.
• If a task is assigned to a new hire without its prerequisite(s), those prerequisites will not be enforced.