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
-
Add a custom field called "Probation end date" to the employee project
-
Create an automation: 2 weeks before probation end date → Create a task assigned to the manager titled "Complete probation review for [employee name]"
-
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
-
Add a multi-select field called "Equipment assigned" with options like Laptop, Monitor, Keyboard, Headset
-
Create an automation: When status changes to "Offboarding" → Create an IT task to collect the equipment listed in the field
-
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.