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The onboarding system helps new team members become effective quickly through structured, trackable onboarding journeys. Create reusable templates, assign them to people, and track progress as they complete each step.
Onboarding in mpath provides a systematic way to ensure new team members get up to speed with the right information, connections, and context. Instead of ad-hoc onboarding, you can create templates once and use them for many people.

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Overview

The onboarding system consists of:

Templates

Reusable definitions of onboarding steps. Create once, use for many people.

Instances

Live onboarding assigned to specific people. Tracks their progress through the template.

Phases

Organized groupings of items (Day 1, Week 1, etc.) that structure the onboarding journey.

Items

Individual steps within phases—tasks, readings, meetings, checkpoints, and expectations.

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Key Concepts

A template is a reusable definition of what onboarding looks like for a role or team:
  • Name and description - Identifies the template and its purpose
  • Scope - Optional team and/or job role association
  • Phases - Ordered groupings of items (e.g., “Day 1”, “Week 1”, “First 30 Days”)
  • Active status - Whether the template can be assigned
Templates can be marked as the organization default, which makes them the fallback when no specific team/role match is found.
Create templates that match your actual onboarding process. Start with your most common onboarding path, then create variations for different roles or teams.
Phases organize items into logical time periods:
  • Each phase has a name (e.g., “Day 1”, “Week 1”, “First 30 Days”)
  • Phases are ordered—items in earlier phases should be completed before later ones
  • Phases help onboardees understand what to focus on when
Phases are organizational tools. They don’t enforce timing—you can complete items from multiple phases if needed. But they help structure the journey.
Items are the atomic steps within a phase. Each item has a type:
TypeDescriptionWho Completes
TASKSomething to doOnboardee
READINGDocumentation to readOnboardee
MEETINGConversation to haveEither
CHECKPOINTVerification pointManager/Mentor only
EXPECTATIONContext to understandOnboardee
Items can:
  • Link to external URLs for resources and documentation
  • Be marked as required or optional
  • Have descriptions explaining what needs to be done
An instance is a live onboarding assigned to a specific person:
  • References a template
  • Tracks the onboardee (person)
  • Has an assigned manager and optional mentor
  • Contains progress records for each item
Each person can have one active instance per template. This prevents duplicate onboarding assignments.
Each item in an instance has a progress status:
  • PENDING - Not yet started
  • IN_PROGRESS - Work has begun
  • COMPLETED - Marked as done
  • SKIPPED - Deliberately skipped (optional items)
  • BLOCKED - Cannot proceed
Progress is tracked at the item, phase, and instance level, giving you visibility into where people are in their onboarding journey.

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How to Use Onboarding

1

Create an onboarding template (Admin)

  1. Navigate to Organization Settings → Onboarding Templates
  2. Click New Template
  3. Enter template name and description
  4. Optionally select a team and/or job role to scope the template
  5. Mark as organization default if it should be the fallback
  6. Add phases with descriptive names (e.g., “Day 1”, “Week 1”)
  7. Add items to each phase:
    • Set the item type (TASK, READING, MEETING, CHECKPOINT, EXPECTATION)
    • Mark as required or optional
    • Add description and optional links
  8. Save the template
Start with your most common onboarding path. You can always create variations later for different roles or teams.
2

Assign onboarding to a person (Manager)

  1. Go to a person’s profile page
  2. Open the actions dropdown
  3. Click Start Onboarding
  4. Select a template (smart suggestions based on team/role)
  5. Optionally assign a mentor
  6. Confirm to create the onboarding instance
The system will suggest templates based on the person’s team and job role. If no match is found, it will suggest the organization default template.
3

Complete onboarding items (Onboardee)

  1. View the onboarding widget on your dashboard
  2. Click to access the full onboarding page at /onboarding
  3. Expand each phase to see items
  4. Complete items by clicking the checkmark
  5. Add optional notes to completed items
  6. For CHECKPOINT items, wait for manager/mentor approval
Most items can be completed by the onboardee. CHECKPOINT items require manager or mentor confirmation to ensure quality.
4

Manager oversight

Managers can track their team’s onboarding progress:
  1. View team onboarding status in the dashboard section
  2. Navigate to Onboarding → Overview for detailed view
  3. See progress percentages and stuck indicators
  4. Complete checkpoint items for team members
  5. Mark onboarding as complete when all required items are done
Only managers and admins can mark onboarding as complete. This ensures quality and prevents premature completion.

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Completion Logic

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Item Completion

  • Most items can be completed by the onboardee
  • CHECKPOINT items require manager or mentor confirmation
  • Optional items don’t block phase/instance completion

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Phase Completion

A phase is complete when all required items in that phase are complete.

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Instance Completion

  • All phases must be complete
  • Requires explicit completion action by manager or admin
  • Generates completion timestamp

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Why Time is Insufficient

The system uses explicit completion rather than time-based:
  • “30 days” doesn’t mean readiness
  • Progress varies by individual and role complexity
  • Managers need visibility into actual blockers

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Access Control

ActionWho Can Do It
View templatesAll org members
Create/edit templatesAdmins only
Assign onboardingPerson’s manager or Admin
View onboarding instanceOnboardee, Manager, Mentor, Admin
Complete itemsOnboardee (or Manager/Mentor for checkpoints)
Complete onboardingManager or Admin
View oversightManagers see their team; Admins see all

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Best Practices

Start simple, iterate
Create a basic template first, then refine it based on feedback. You can always add more phases and items later.
  • Use phases to structure the journey
    Group related items together (Day 1, Week 1, etc.) to help onboardees understand what to focus on when.
  • Mix item types
    Combine tasks, readings, meetings, and checkpoints to create a well-rounded onboarding experience.
  • Link to external resources
    Use item links to point to documentation, videos, or other resources that support onboarding.
  • Mark checkpoints for critical items
    Use CHECKPOINT items for things that must be verified (e.g., “Completed security training”, “Met with manager”).
  • Review and update templates regularly
    As your organization evolves, update templates to reflect current processes and expectations.
  • Use optional items for nice-to-haves
    Mark items as optional if they’re helpful but not required. This keeps the focus on what matters most.

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Real-World Examples

Phase: Day 1
  • TASK: Set up development environment
  • READING: Engineering handbook
  • MEETING: Meet with manager
  • CHECKPOINT: Manager verifies environment setup
Phase: Week 1
  • TASK: Complete first code review
  • READING: Code review guidelines
  • MEETING: Pair programming session
  • EXPECTATION: Understand team’s development workflow
Phase: First 30 Days
  • TASK: Ship first feature
  • MEETING: 30-day check-in with manager
  • CHECKPOINT: Manager confirms readiness
Phase: Day 1
  • READING: Product documentation
  • MEETING: Meet with sales manager
  • EXPECTATION: Understand sales process
Phase: Week 1
  • TASK: Complete CRM training
  • MEETING: Shadow a sales call
  • CHECKPOINT: Manager verifies CRM access
Phase: First 30 Days
  • TASK: Close first deal
  • MEETING: 30-day check-in
  • CHECKPOINT: Manager confirms readiness

People

Learn how to manage people and their profiles in your organization.

Teams

Understand how teams are structured and organized.

Job Roles

See how job roles can scope onboarding templates.

One-on-Ones

Use 1:1s to discuss onboarding progress and answer questions.