Onboarding is where staffing agencies lose the most time: chasing forms, retyping answers, and checking who is ready to work. NextCrew is built to take that work off your desk.
Summary
You change a candidate's HR Status to Onboarding. NextCrew sends them your hiring documents, with the right state forms for where they live. They fill everything in on their phone, and their answers fill their profile and Payroll tab. NextCrew reminds them, tracks each document, and moves them to Docs Signed when they finish. You counter-sign where required, run any checks, and move them to Hired. What goes wrong: a wrong address on the profile, so the wrong state forms go out.
How to do it
- Check the candidate's address, then change their HR Status to Onboarding. See Send Onboarding Documents.
- Watch progress in Workflows. See Track Onboarding in Workflows.
- Counter-sign the documents that need your signature. See Counter-Sign Onboarding Documents.
- Run background checks, compliance tests and E-Verify where needed. See Run Background Checks, Compliance Tests and E-Verify.
- Check everything, enter the Hire Date and set the HR Status to Hired. See Move a New Hire to Hired.
That is the whole onboarding path. Read on for what NextCrew does for you along the way, and the guide for each step.
On this page
The onboarding flow at a glance
The bar along the top is the HR Status at each step. The badge on each step shows who does it. On a phone, swipe sideways to see all six steps.
| Onboarding | Docs Signed | Hired | ||||||||
STEP 1 You Set HR Status to Onboarding One change on the HR tab. Check their address first. | → | STEP 2 Automatic Package sent Your documents, plus the state forms for their address. | → | STEP 3 New hire Complete and sign In a browser or the app. Details filled in, ID photo from their phone. Reminders on day 3, 5 and 7. | → | STEP 4 Automatic Docs Signed The status changes itself. Answers fill the profile and Payroll tab. PDFs are saved. | → | STEP 5 You Counter-sign and check Admin rows in Workflows. Background checks and E-Verify where needed. | → | STEP 6 You Hire Enter the Hire Date and set Hired. Your welcome email goes out. |
You · Automatic · New hire
Your team does three steps. NextCrew runs everything in between.
Your HR Statuses may have different names. See Set Up HR Statuses and Referral Sources.
See it through your new hire's eyes
Most recruiters never see onboarding from the other side. It's worth four minutes. When you know what your new hire sees, you can answer their questions on the first call, and you'll spot a form that confuses people before it slows them down.
▶ Watch a new hire complete their documents (4 minutes)
| What your new hire does | Why it's quick for them |
|---|---|
| Opens the link from your email | No app to download first. It works in any browser, on a phone or a computer. |
| Checks the details at the top of each form | Their name and address are already filled in. Nothing to type twice. |
| Fills in one document at a time | Step by step, so they always know what's left. |
| Signs with a finger or mouse | No printing, scanning or posting. |
| Takes a photo of their ID | Straight from their phone camera. |
| Stops and comes back later | Their progress saves. The same link picks up where they left off. |
Try it once yourself. Set a test Crew Member profile with your own email address to Onboarding, and complete the package on your phone.
The calls you'll get, and the answers
| Your new hire says | What to do |
|---|---|
| "I never got the email." | Ask them to check Spam or Junk, and the Messages in the app if they have it. Check the email address on their profile, then resend. |
| "I made a mistake on a form I already sent." | They can't change it themselves. Reset it for them. See Reset, Resend or Cancel an Onboarding Form. |
| "A form won't open on my phone." | Ask them to open the same link on a computer. |
| "The link says everything is complete." | Their package is done. Check Workflows to see what they sent. |
Send new hires Complete Your Hiring Documents. It's their guide to the same steps, with the same video.
Why onboarding in NextCrew saves you time
General e-signature tools were built to get one contract signed. Staffing agencies onboard people every week, often dozens at a time. With a general tool, someone picks the documents for each person, uploads them and sends them. The new hire types their name, address and phone number again on every form, prints or downloads pages, and sends back a photo of their ID. Then someone in your office types it all into your system.
NextCrew was built for staffing volume. Here is what changes:
| The old way | In NextCrew |
|---|---|
| Pick and upload documents for each new hire | Change one HR Status. NextCrew sends the right package. |
| Work out which state forms each person needs | NextCrew adds the state forms for the state in their address. |
| New hires retype the same details on every form | Their name and address are filled in. They answer each question once. |
| Print, scan or photograph pages | They complete everything in a browser or the app, and take ID photos with their phone. |
| Retype answers into your records and payroll | Answers fill their profile and Payroll tab. |
| Chase people who haven't finished | NextCrew sends reminders and tracks each document as a task. |
| Check your inbox to see who is done | The HR Status changes to Docs Signed by itself, and you get a notification. |
Your team's time goes on the checks that need a person, not on paperwork.
What NextCrew sets up for you
When you start with NextCrew, we turn your documents into online forms: the I-9, W-4 and W-9, your handbook, contracts and policies, such as your no-show and background check policies, and bank details for direct deposit. We also add the state forms for the states you hire in.
These forms fill in the Crew Member's profile as they answer. To add or change one of them, contact NextCrew support. For a simple form of your own, such as a policy to sign, see Build and Send Form Packages.
Send your own forms and policies
NextCrew builds your onboarding package. Most agencies also have forms of their own: a policy to sign, a client site agreement, a uniform checklist, a survey. You can build these yourself in Form Packages, with no need to wait for anyone.
| To send it | Do this | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| To chosen people | Open the package and choose Send To. Pick the people and how to tell them: email, text or app. | New hires, or everyone at one client |
| As a link | Open the package and choose Get Link. Paste the shortcut link into your own email or message. | One form for everyone, such as a policy in your welcome email |
See Build and Send Form Packages for building the form, field by field.
Guides in this folder
- Send Onboarding Documents: one status change, and what the new hire sees.
- Track Onboarding in Workflows: who has finished, how long each form took, downloads, and each new hire's tasks.
- Counter-Sign Onboarding Documents: add your signature where it's required.
- Reset, Resend or Cancel an Onboarding Form: when something needs correcting.
- Run Background Checks, Compliance Tests and E-Verify: from the Crew Member's profile.
- Move a New Hire to Hired: the final check.
- Build and Send Form Packages: your own forms, sent to chosen people or shared as a link.
Questions people ask
How do I send custom forms?
Build them in Form Packages. Then choose Send To to send them to the people you pick, or Get Link to paste a shortcut link into your own email. See Build and Send Form Packages.
Can I track orientation, uniforms and other onboarding steps?
Yes. Add them as tasks on the new hire's record, assigned to whoever owns each step. See Track each new hire's other to-dos with tasks.
Can I add my own form to the onboarding package?
Yes. Ask NextCrew support to add it, so its answers fill the Crew Member's profile like the rest of onboarding. Or send it as its own package alongside onboarding.
Do new hires need the app?
No. They can complete everything in a browser.
Other ways people ask this
- How do I onboard a new hire in NextCrew?
- How do I send I-9 and W-4 forms?
- What is paperless onboarding?
- How do new hires sign their documents?
- Onboarding checklist for staffing agencies
- How do I send custom forms?
- Can I email a link to a form?
Related guides
- Recruit Candidates: Start Here — the steps before onboarding
- Build and Send Form Packages — your own forms and policies
- Set Up HR Statuses and Referral Sources — naming your stages
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