👤 For all users
🔐 Available on all plans
🎯 For those who installed a template and want to adapt it to their real workflow
With the template installed, you already have the base process structure in place — phases mapped, relevant fields, and start form configured. What comes next is the refinement stage: adapting names, adjusting fields, and configuring the automations that will put the process on autopilot.
Customizing a template isn’t a renovation from scratch. It’s like receiving a furnished apartment and rearranging it to suit your way of living. The structure already exists; what you’re doing is calibrating it to your team’s reality.
We’ll use the Employee Onboarding template as the example throughout, but the logic is the same for any process.
📖 What you’ll do here:
Before editing: understand the template’s logic
Before editing anything, take a few minutes to understand the template’s logic. Why each phase is there, what each field represents, and how the start form was designed. This quick mapping will help you customize with more precision and make better use of what’s already in place.
- Read each phase name and identify what happens there operationally
- Open each phase’s fields and see what’s being collected at each step
- Read the start form — what’s requested of whoever opens a card
Only then will you be able to separate what makes sense to keep from what needs to change.
Create a quick draft before editing. Write down the phases of your real process, the fields you need to collect, and the automations that would make a difference. Use this as a reference during customization.
Step 1 — Adjust phases to your real workflow
Phases are the backbone of the pipe. Each one represents a process step and the card only advances when that step is complete.
What the onboarding template delivers by default:
Planning → First day → First week → First month → Completed → Archived
This structure organizes onboarding around time milestones, from pre-boarding to cycle closure.
Each phase has a clear focus: Planning covers preparation before the first day, First day the initial welcome, First week integration with the team and processes, and First month performance evaluation and development. Completed and Archived are final phases without fields, used to classify finished and canceled cards respectively.
Depending on your process, you may want to adapt this structure. Common examples:
- Split Planning into two phases: Pre-admission (documentation) and Pre-boarding (access and equipment setup)
- Rename phases to your company’s internal language
- Remove First month if your onboarding process is shorter
- Add a Feedback phase after First month to record formal evaluation
How to edit phases:
- To rename: click on the phase title at the top of the column and edit directly.
- To add: click the "+" button at the end of the columns or between two existing phases.
- To reorder: drag the column to the correct position.
- To remove: click the three dots on the phase and select Delete phase.
Deleting a phase permanently removes all cards and information inside it. Make sure it’s empty before deleting.
Watch out for excessive granularity. Create a new phase only when there’s a different responsibility or a clear exit criterion. If two steps have the same owner and the same completion criterion, they’re probably one phase.
Step 2 — Adapt the form fields
Understanding what’s already configured is the first step to mapping the scope of what you still need to adjust.
What the template already delivers:
In the start form (what initiates the process), the template already collects:
- Employee name (short text — required field)
- Employee email
- Tipo do contrato de trabalho (etiqueta — Full-time, Contractor, Intern, Contrato)
- Work arrangement (single select — On-site, Remote, Hybrid)
- Office and current location
- Department and position
In addition to the start form, each phase comes with its own fields:
| Phase | Pre-configured fields |
| Planning | First day of work (date), Digital setup (access checklist), Workstation ready? (yes/no), Onboarding schedule (attachment) |
| First week | First week checklist (meetings, KPIs, training), Training date, First week comments |
| First month | Employee manager (assignee), First month performance (scale 1–5), Qualitative feedback, Development plan (attachment) |
| Completed / Archived | No fields — final classification phases |
What you’ll probably need to add:
The template covers the temporal onboarding structure well. What most teams tend to miss:
- Job title / role: base information for requesting specific equipment and access
- Direct manager in the start form: the template places the manager only in the First month phase; moving it to the start form enables automations from the beginning
- Required equipment: checklist: laptop, headset, monitor, chair (complements the digital setup field that already exists)
- Additional access systems: the template already lists Corporate email, Pipefy, Support system, and Slack; add your team’s specific tools
How to add and remove fields:
- To add: go to pipe settings → Start form or the specific phase → drag or click the desired field type in the side panel.
- To remove: click the three dots next to the field and select Remove. For newly installed pipes without real data, removal is safe.
Separate input data from control data. Input data is what you collect in the start form (name, job title, work arrangement). Control data is what gets filled in as the process moves along (access checklist, performance evaluation). The template already follows this logic — respect it when adding new fields.
Step 3 — Configure the essential automations
Automations don’t come with the template — you’ll create them from scratch. Start with the ones that eliminate the most repetitive manual work. Three that make an immediate difference in onboarding:
Automation 1: Notify the manager when the card enters First month
Trigger: Card enters the First month phase
Action: Send email to the Employee manager field
Why it makes sense: this is the phase where the manager needs to record performance and feedback — the automatic notification eliminates manual HR reminders.
Automation 2: Move the card when the digital setup checklist is complete
Trigger: All items in the Digital setup field checked
Action: Move Planning card to Day One.
Why it makes sense: the card shouldn’t advance until access is ready — this automation ensures the employee starts their first day with everything configured.
Automation 3: Alert HR when a card has been stalled for more than 3 days
Trigger: Card stalled in the same phase for 3 days without movement
Action: Send notification to the responsible HR member
Why it makes sense: delayed onboardings create bad experiences right at the employee’s first contact with the company.
Step 4 — Define members and permissions per phase
A typical onboarding involves three roles: HR (creates and monitors the card throughout the entire process), IT (acts in the Planning phase to configure access and equipment), and the direct manager (responsible for the first-month evaluation). Each needs adequate access, no more, no less.
To add members: go to pipe settings → Members → Invite by email. Define each person’s role: regular member, administrator, or read-only.
To restrict access by phase: in each phase’s settings, under Phase permissions, define who can view or edit the fields for that step.
Start with open permissions and restrict as needed. Run a pilot version first, identify where there are access issues, and adjust surgically.
Step 5 — Test before opening to the team
Before communicating the process to everyone involved, create 2 or 3 test cards — use fictional names like the example cards that come with the template (Ross Geller, Joey Tribbiani) and go through the entire flow, from opening to the Completed phase.
The test will reveal:
- Fields that are missing or in the wrong phase
- Phases com criterios de saida ambiguos
- Automations that don’t trigger because the condition is incorrect
- Permissions that block actions that should be allowed
Delete the test cards before releasing the pipe for real use.
FAQ
Can I customize the template without losing the original structure?
Yes. The template was installed as a pipe in your account — any changes only affect your instance. If you want to go back to the original, delete the pipe and install the template again.
Is there any phase or field that can’t be removed?
There’s no technical restriction. The only practical limitation is that phases with cards cannot be deleted directly — you need to move or delete the cards first.
Can I add fields in specific phases, not just in the start form?
Yes. Each phase has its own field structure. In the pipe settings, you access and edit each phase separately — that’s how the template was built, with different fields at each process step.
What are the Completed and Archived phases for?
They are final phases without fields, used to classify the card outcome. Completed indicates successfully finished onboarding. Archived indicates canceled or incomplete onboarding (employee withdrew, offer canceled, etc.). You can rename or remove the Archived phase if your process doesn’t use that classification.
How long does it take to customize the template?
For the onboarding template with phase adjustments, field additions, and 2 to 3 basic automations, expect 45 minutes to 2 hours.
Do I need to customize everything before starting to use it?
No. Start with the minimum viable: phases with the right names, essential fields added, at least one automation. Use it for a week and adjust based on what comes up in real operation.
Completion checklist
By the end of this article, you should have:
☐ Phases renomeadas com a linguagem do time (ou mantidas se ja fazem sentido)
☐ Start form fields reviewed and adjusted
☐ Control fields added in the correct phases
☐ At least 1 automation configured (notification or movement)
☐ Members added with appropriate permissions
☐ 2–3 test cards created and the flow walked through to the end
☐ Test cards deleted before go-live
