Automate onboarding with Workday + BetterCloud

Every IT admin knows that day one for a new hire can be a mess. You’re juggling requests, scrambling to create accounts, configuring permissions for apps that someone forgot to mention, and digging through spreadsheets to figure out what gear to assign. 

Instead of chasing info across departments, everything just… flowed?

Turns out, it can. The answer lies in one powerful combo: Workday + BetterCloud.

When HR and IT actually talk (for real)

You know how HR lives in Workday and IT lives in, well, 40 other tools? That’s part of the problem.

Typically, when someone new is hired, IT finds out through a forwarded email. Or worse, after the person has already started and has no computer, no login, and no clue what to do.

But with Workday integrated with BetterCloud, that handoff becomes automatic. As soon as HR marks someone as “hired” in Workday, BetterCloud is triggered and starts working behind the scenes. No email chains, no bottlenecks, no guessing.

It’s like HR and IT are finally in the same room—without needing to schedule another meeting.

The magic of day 0 prep

That Workday trigger? It doesn’t wait until the new hire walks in. It fires up before day one—sometimes days in advance.

That gives BetterCloud the time and smarts to:

• Auto-create accounts across all key apps (Slack, Google Workspace, Zoom, and more)
• Provision devices based on department, role, and location
• Configure access to folders, channels, calendars, and tools

Envision a new hire opens their laptop, logs in, and everything’s just there. Calendar? Synced. Email? Live. Docs? Shared and accessible. It’s not magic. It just feels like it.

Top 5 workflow actions to include in your onboarding flow

We chatted with the BetterCloud implementation team and it’s clear that the success of any onboarding experience hinges on five critical workflow steps. Get these right, and you’re golden; miss the mark on even one, and the whole process can fall apart, making or breaking the new user’s or client’s journey.

1. Trigger from Workday ‘Hire’ statusAs soon as the status in Workday changes to “Hire Complete,” that should launch your onboarding workflow in BetterCloud. No delays. This ensures downstream automations kick off immediately.

2. Create user accounts in core appsAuto-provision accounts in tools like Google Workspace, Slack, Zoom, and Salesforce. Use templates based on department or location so you’re not building from scratch every time.

3. Assign Role-Based Access Controls (RBAC)Tag the user with role-based groups in BetterCloud. This way, they automatically gain (and later lose) access to the correct folders, calendars, email groups, and Slack channels. One tag does the job of 20 manual steps.

4. Push welcome materialsSend a welcome email or Slack message with personalized onboarding instructions, links to team documentation, or even a short video intro. It makes a huge difference when someone feels guided, not lost.

5. Generate IT checklist reportsUse BetterCloud to log each action taken—provisioned tools, assigned devices, added to groups. That gives IT a paper trail and the confidence that everything was completed. It also helps during audits.

Doing more with less (Yes, it’s possible)

IT teams are perennially short on time. And coffee. Having the right HRIS paired with BetterCloud leads to ewer help desk tickets. Fewer “Hey, can you add this person to…” messages. Less human error.

When you’re not stuck clicking through admin tasks, you get to work on the fun (and strategic) stuff. Like rolling out new tools. Fortifying security. Planning for scale.

Automation doesn’t replace IT. It just makes the team more impactful.

Zero-touch, High-touch

The more automation you build in, the more human the experience can feel. Why? Because instead of spending all morning fixing login issues, IT can focus on people.

Say hello one on one. Host a quick orientation. Actually welcome new hires like a team should.

A new hire’s first impression of IT shouldn’t be, “I submitted a ticket but haven’t heard back.” It should be, “Wow, everything’s ready and someone even checked in to see if I needed help.”

That level of service? It builds trust. And trust builds strong, efficient teams.

Offboarding gets the same love

Offboarding is where things can get messy.

Someone leaves, and suddenly IT’s scrambling to disable accounts, revoke access, and figure out what data needs transferring. And when it’s done manually? Things slip through the cracks.

With Workday + BetterCloud, the process is buttoned up. As soon as Workday logs a termination or departure, BetterCloud springs into action:

• Deactivates accounts
• Removes access rights
• Reassigns files or data
• Flags sensitive actions for review

No gaps. No leftover permissions floating around. Just clean, controlled closure.

The proof is in the productivity

Companies using Workday + BetterCloud aren’t just telling feel-good stories. They’re seeing results:

• New hires fully onboarded in hours, not days
• Massive drops in IT support requests
• Increased HR satisfaction (less back-and-forth)
• Higher retention, thanks to smoother starts

It’s not just about efficiency. It’s about empowerment. New employees feel valued from the jump, and IT teams get to operate with clarity and control.

Let IT breathe again

IT isn’t supposed to live in firefighting mode.

You didn’t get into this field just to reset passwords and manage spreadsheets. You wanted to solve real problems, build smart systems, and help teams grow.

Workday + BetterCloud helps you do exactly that. It transforms onboarding from a frantic checklist into a quiet, confident rhythm. The kind where IT is five steps ahead, not two steps behind.

Be ready before they even start with BetterCloud

In an ideal world a new hire shows up and says, “Wow, you were ready for me.”

Because with Workday and BetterCloud working behind the scenes, you can be. You didn’t just check a few boxes—you delivered an experience. One that starts with connection and ends with capability.

That’s not just good IT. That’s onboarding done right, and it feels pretty good for all parties involved.

Unlock Zero-Touch Employee Management with Workday + BetterCloud

Supercharge your Workday workflows by pairing them with BetterCloud automation. From day-one provisioning to secure offboarding, BetterCloud turns every Workday HCM update into immediate, IT-approved action across your entire SaaS stack.

• Automate onboarding across Zoom, Slack, Google, and more
• Enforce security policies at every stage of the employee lifecycle
• Save IT hours with no-code, Workday-triggered workflows

Ready to see it in action?

Book a personalized demo and discover how BetterCloud transforms Workday HCM data into powerful, hands-free SaaS management.