Document templates for employee signature requests

Document templates will assist you in getting your employees to complete and/or sign your legal-binding documents in a timely manner. The whole process of collecting signatures becomes faster and more efficient for everyone involved with electronic signatures. 

Document templates can include fields that are already created and filled in the employee profile, e-signatures, and fields that need to be filled in (like forms) by any of the signers during their e-signature task. E-signature requests can be made for both existing and new employees. 

To get started, navigate to the Employee management section in Settings and select Document templates. 

 

Creating document templates

Start the product demo and click the blinking blue beacon to advance to the next step.

To start crafting new document templates click Add template on the upper right and follow the below steps:

Step 1️⃣: Edit template details

Fill out all template details:

• Template name: this name will be visible in employees' profiles under the 'Files' tab
• File: the maximum file size is 10MB; acceptable file types .pdf, .ppt, .pptx, .doc, .docx
• Tags: you can filter templates based on one or more tags
• Entity: define entities or entity locations/sites for which this document template will be used
• Departments: select the relevant department(s) for this template; if no department(s) is selected the template will be applicable to employees of all departments

Step 2️⃣: Select signers

Select the signers who will complete and/or sign the document and the order they will be requested to sign. It's possible to select specific signers or assign signers based on their roles. Adding at least one signer is mandatory.

In the below example, the employee John Doe will receive a signature request first and when they sign a signature request will be sent to the line manager. 

You can remove one or more signers from the sequence by clicking the trashcan icon on the right. 

 

Step 3️⃣: Select profile fields

Select the employee profile fields that will be auto-filled on the document when the signer receives it, so you do not have to type them manually. These fields will be available in the next step to be placed in the document template. 
You can select the entire section or subsection and then untick the fields you don't want to include. The selected fields will be filled in according to the data available in the employee profile. For fields that support multiple values, the primary value will be used. For multi-fields, all inner fields will be available for selection in this step.

Step 4️⃣: Place profile fields

Create your document template by placing the fields and the e-signature placeholders for the profile fields and signers that were selected in steps 2 and 3 into the document.

Each field that is placed in the document template needs to have an owner, who can be selected from the “Signers” dropdown on the top left of the editor window. There will be a different color associated with each signer's field. The signers' list includes:

• Me (now): used by the template’s creator to insert manual field values or clickable links
• Sender: this is the Workable application, auto-filling in the fields of the employee profile.
• All the signers that are selected in step 2 (Employee, Line Manager)

The available field categories are explained below:

Field category	Details	Availability
Standard field - Textbox	A textbox is created in the document and the HR admin can resize it and place it as needed so that it can be filled in later with the data from the employee profile.💡Your document should already include the needed gaps where you will place the fields.	✅ Can be assigned to any signer ✅ Employee profile fields selected in step 3
Standard field - Tickbox	This inserts a resizable checkbox in the document, which can be edited by any of the signers (depending on the assignment).	✅ Can be assigned to any signer except for the sender ❌ Employee profile fields
Standard field - Dropdown	This inserts a custom dropdown field in the document, with options that can be selected by any of the signers (depending on the assignment).	✅ Can be assigned only to signers selected in step 2 ❌ Employee profile fields
Standard field - Radio group	This inserts a radio items list in the document, with options that can be selected by any of the signers (depending on the assignment).	✅ Can be assigned only to signers selected in step 2 ❌ Employee profile fields
Signature fields	Specify how signers must sign between a signature and initials.	✅ Can be assigned only to signers selected in step 2

 

Based on the field type and signer, you have the following options: 

Adding employee profile fields

1. Select “Sender” from the signers list
2. Drag a Textbox field at the place you wish the profile information to be filled in
3. Select the field that will be used to fill in this textbox from the properties on the right “What text goes here?”. In the below example, the system will fill in the job title from the employee profile data.
   

 

Adding editable fields

The user creating the document template can add and fill in textbox/tickbox fields on the spot or assign them to any of the signers (excluding the sender). In the below example, the employee will be requested to add text in the field "reason for COVID-19 WFH" and tick one or more of the "access option" checkboxes. 

 

Other fields

Signers (except for the sender) can be assigned fields that need to be filled out. In the below example, the employee will be requested to fill out their full name and the date of the signature.

Once all fields are placed and at least one field is created for each signer, you can complete this step by clicking 'Continue'. You can now use the template.

 

Managing document templates

Use the search bar to search a specific template or filter by entities & locations. 

The following actions can be taken for a template: 

Preview a template

Preview the template as all signers would see it or select a specific signer to preview. Previewing a document template will not include any data in the fields that are filled in automatically from the employee profile. 

Edit a template

HR admins can edit an existing active template. When a template is edited, the same steps as in creation will need to be completed by the administrators. Note that:

• If any of the signers or the documents are changed the HR admin will need to place all the fields from scratch (step 4).
• If any of the fields are removed (step 3) but have already been placed in the document, HR admins will need to manually remove any textboxes that are using these fields. 

Archive a template

HR admins can archive any template that has been used at least once, either in an existing employee e-signature request or in a new employee onboarding workflow, by selecting the “Archive” option from the three dots menu. 

Archived templates are not available to be selected for new e-signature requests. If the document is used in any onboarding workflow, then the task will not be created for any onboarding workflows that will be started after the template is archived.

All archived document templates are available at the bottom of the “Document templates” settings page, in a section that follows the active templates.

Restore a template

HR admins can restore an archived template by selecting “Restore” in each archived template.

Restoring a document template will make it immediately available for new e-signature requests. If the document is still used in any onboarding workflow, then the related task will be created for any onboarding workflows that will be started after the template is restored.

Delete a template

Templates that have never been used for an e-signature request or an onboarding task can be permanently deleted without them being moved to the archived list. The deletion option will be available under the three dots menu.

Deleted templates are not available to be selected for new e-signature requests. If the document is set in a task in any onboarding workflow, then the task will not be created for any onboarding workflows that will be started after the template is deleted. 

 

FAQs

Is it mandatory to include a signature placeholder?

It is not necessary to include a signature placeholder in your document. You can simply use a document as a form for completion, as long as there is at least one field for each signer.

What happens if I edit a document template while the onboarding process is underway?

If you edit a document template (included as a "Sign a document" task in an onboarding workflow) and the onboarding process is underway, then the updated document won't be reflected automatically for the onboardee. In this case, you will need to:

1. Stop the onboarding for the employee(s)
2. Start onboarding again for the employee(s) to receive the updated document

Both actions can be taken from the onboarding dashboard. 

Is it possible to add clickable links in a document template?

Yes, to do so: 

1. Insert a textbox field (with drag and drop) where you need to add the link
2. Select 'Me (Now)' as the Signer
3. Enter the text you want to appear for your link, such as 'Employee Handbook'
4. Toggle on the option to Use as hyperlink on the field settings
5. Enter the web address for your link (including the https:// or http://) in the 'Hyperlink URL' box

When the signer(s) open the request, they'll see the clickable link(s) in blue text. When they click the link(s), the web page(s) will open in a new window.

 

👉 Next steps

• If a document requires completion/signing during onboarding, make sure you add it to your onboarding workflow as a 'Sign a document' task.

• If a document requires signing during employment, learn more about how to initiate the request here: Requesting e-signatures from employees