Employee Onboarding with Make.com: Step-by-Step Guide

Using make.com, you can design a clear employee onboarding workflow that guides HR teams, managers, and IT from the first request through approvals and notifications. This how-to article walks you through the structure of the onboarding scenario so you can replicate and adapt it to your own needs.

Why Automate Employee Onboarding with Make.com

Manual onboarding often relies on emails, spreadsheets, and disconnected tools. With make.com, you centralize the process in one visual workflow, ensuring that every new hire request is submitted, reviewed, and approved consistently.

By building a scenario once and reusing it, you reduce errors, save time, and make it easier for teams to collaborate around hiring and onboarding decisions.

Plan Your Onboarding Workflow in Make.com

Before you open the make.com scenario editor, outline the key steps of your onboarding process. The page you reviewed shows a typical structure, which you can follow and adapt.

Core stages your workflow should cover

• Submission of an employee or hire request
• Review and approval by a manager or decision maker
• Optional second-level approval for special cases
• Notifications to HR, IT, and other teams
• Creation or update of records in your HR system or spreadsheet

Having these stages defined will make the build in make.com much easier, because each step will map to a module or a group of modules.

Set Up Your Make.com Scenario

Once your process is planned, it is time to create a new scenario in make.com and add the modules that represent each part of the workflow.

1. Create a new scenario in Make.com

1. Log in to your make.com account.
2. Click Create a new scenario from your dashboard.
3. You will see the visual canvas where you can drag and drop modules.

The onboarding example on the source page uses triggers, approval paths, and routing to manage different outcomes. You can follow a similar approach.

2. Add the trigger module

Your onboarding process needs a starting point. In make.com, this is handled by a trigger module.

• Use a form tool, spreadsheet, or ticketing system as the trigger.
• Configure the trigger to fire whenever a new employee request is submitted.
• Map all relevant fields, such as name, role, manager, and starting date.

This ensures that every new request enters the onboarding flow automatically without manual copying and pasting.

3. Build the approval flow in Make.com

Approval is the heart of the onboarding pipeline described on the source page. In make.com, you can add modules that send requests for approval and then route the flow depending on the outcome.

1. Add a module to send an approval request to the manager (for example, via email or chat).
2. Capture the response using a follow-up module or webhook.
3. Use a router module to branch the scenario based on the manager’s decision.

Typical branches you may configure:

• Approved – proceed with HR and IT steps.
• Rejected – send a notification to the requester and stop the flow.
• Needs changes – loop back and request more information.

Design Conditional Paths in Make.com

The onboarding example from the source page illustrates different pathways for each decision. make.com gives you routing tools to design these conditions clearly.

4. Configure routing and conditions

With a router in make.com, you can define separate paths and add filters so each path runs only when certain conditions are met.

• Set one path for standard approvals.
• Set another path for escalations or high-level approvals.
• Add filters based on department, location, or job type.

This conditional structure keeps the main scenario simple while still supporting complex approval rules.

5. Add notifications for each outcome

Once you have multiple paths, you need to keep everyone informed. The example flow uses clear notifications after each major decision, and you can do the same in make.com.

• Send confirmation messages to requesters when their hire is approved.
• Notify HR so they can prepare contracts and documentation.
• Inform IT to set up accounts, devices, and access rights.

You can use modules for email, chat tools, or project management systems to send these updates automatically.

Connect HR and IT Systems in Make.com

The onboarding scenario becomes truly powerful when you link it with your internal systems. make.com helps you connect apps without writing code.

6. Create or update employee records

After an approval, you should record the new hire in your HR or people database.

1. Add a module that creates a new row in a spreadsheet or table.
2. Map all fields from the request: personal details, role, manager, team, and location.
3. Store the approval date and any reference numbers from your source systems.

This single source of truth makes it easier to track all active and pending onboardings.

7. Trigger IT and access provisioning

The onboarding example also highlights the importance of IT tasks. In make.com, add modules that automatically create tickets or tasks for technical setup.

• Create tasks in your ticketing system for account creation.
• Generate requests for hardware preparation.
• Assign tasks to the correct IT group based on department or office.

By automating these steps, you lower the risk of a new employee arriving without the tools they need.

Monitor and Optimize Your Make.com Workflow

Once your scenario is live, you should monitor its performance and refine it. make.com provides detailed execution history so you can see how each onboarding runs.

8. Test and refine the scenario

1. Run test requests through the flow with different approval outcomes.
2. Verify that every branch, notification, and data mapping works as planned.
3. Adjust filters, messages, and conditions based on feedback from HR and managers.

Iterating on the workflow ensures it stays aligned with your current policies and hiring practices.

9. Scale and standardize onboarding

After testing, you can use the same scenario as a template for different locations, job families, or departments. In make.com, you can duplicate and tweak the workflow without rebuilding it from scratch.

• Create variations for specific regions or legal requirements.
• Standardize the core approval logic to maintain consistency.
• Maintain shared modules for common actions like notifications.

Resources to Go Further with Make.com

To explore more about automating employee onboarding, review the original onboarding overview at make.com employee onboarding. You can also work with automation specialists, such as Consultevo, to design advanced workflows, integrate additional systems, and optimize performance.

By following the structure described here and using the visual tools in make.com, you can build a reliable, repeatable employee onboarding process that supports managers, HR, and IT from the first request through the new hire’s first day.

Need Help With Make.com?

If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your Make scenarios, work with ConsultEvo — certified workflow and automation specialists.

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