Workflows and automations

Because employees are Jira work items, you inherit all of Jira's workflow and automation capabilities. This is where the architecture really pays off — you can build sophisticated people processes using tools you already know.

Default automations

Frank includes these automations out of the box:

• Onboarding document creation: When an employee's status changes to "Onboarding," Frank creates a personalized Confluence page in their folder using your onboarding template.

• Permission group management: When an employee is created, they're added to appropriate permission groups based on their role.

• Access revocation: When status changes to "Alumni," sensitive access is revoked.

Building your own automations

Use Jira Automation to create rules based on employee events. The trigger is usually a status change or a date approaching.

Status-based triggers

When an employee moves to a new status, trigger an action:

• When status changes to "Onboarding" → Send a welcome email to the new hire

• When status changes to "Offboarding" → Create an exit interview task for HR

• When status changes to "Active" → Notify the manager that onboarding is complete

Date-based triggers

When a date approaches or arrives, trigger an action:

• When start date is today → Send a first-day checklist to the employee

• 7 days before work anniversary → Notify the manager to prepare recognition

• 14 days before probation end date → Create a performance review task

Field-based triggers

When a field value changes, trigger an action:

• When department changes → Notify the new department head

• When manager changes → Send introduction to the new manager

• When certification expiration approaches → Send renewal reminder

Example: Probation review workflow

1. Add a custom field called "Probation end date" to the employee project

2. Create an automation: 2 weeks before probation end date → Create a task assigned to the manager titled "Complete probation review for [employee name]"

3. Create another automation: When the review task is completed → Transition the employee to "Active" status (or "Extended probation" if needed)

The entire process runs automatically with the right people notified at the right time.

Example: Equipment tracking

1. Add a multi-select field called "Equipment assigned" with options like Laptop, Monitor, Keyboard, Headset

2. Create an automation: When status changes to "Offboarding" → Create an IT task to collect the equipment listed in the field

3. Link the task to your IT service management project so the request is tracked properly

Connecting to other projects

Employee records can link to other Jira projects throughout your organization:

• IT service requests: Equipment provisioning, software licenses, access setup

• Facilities: Workspace assignment, parking, building access

• Training: Learning assignments, certification tracking

• Finance: Expense reports, travel requests

Use issue links or automation rules to create these connections when employees transition through different stages.