New Hire Onboarding

Welcome to Washington University in St. Louis! This guide is intended to help you complete your onboarding tasks in Workday (WashU’s online Human Resources (HR) system) including key information and relevant resources. To complete and learn more about new hire items outside of Workday, such as your WashU Benefits and WashU Perks, visit WashU’s Human Resources webpage.

Jump to:

• Successfully Completing Onboarding
• Considerations for Student Workers
• The Onboarding Dashboard
• Onboarding Process Steps
• Training for New Hires
• Additional Onboarding Resources

Successfully Completing Onboarding

The Onboarding process is designed to welcome you into the organization and deliver important documents that must be completed in order to continue working with university. Onboarding tasks will be delivered to your Workday My Tasks and/or Onboarding Dashboard in groups. You may need to refresh your webpage or take additional action after completing onboarding tasks to see subsequent tasks.

Workers moving from the Non-US Remote location to a US location will be sent onboarding.

Considerations for Student Workers

• WashU key
  • The WashU key used during active enrollment in classes will also be used for Workday access. A new WashU key is not needed. If you do not remember your WashU key, visit the Information Technology WUSTL Connect webpage.
• Checking in and out of Multiple Positions
  • Student workers often hold multiple positions. Confirm the information in the Position field to ensure you are checking into the correct position. Refer to the Enter Time tutorial for detailed instructions.

Onboarding Tasks for Workers after a Change Job

Workers will have onboarding tasks after a change job if one ore more of the following are true.

• The location change is from Danforth to WashU Medicine
• Change from NP or Stipend to Hourly or Salary and the job change reason is not:
  • Change Track
  • FTE Change
  • Location Change
  • Move to LTD
• If a worker changes Company
• The worker falls under the Occupation Health Policy
• The worker moves from Remote Non-US to a US location

Workers who meet one of the above change job scenarios will not receive the employee handbook during the onboarding for the change job.

The Onboarding Dashboard  

The Onboarding Dashboard provides an overall view of the resources available to you and tasks to complete during the Onboarding process. This personalized dashboard displays relevant information for starting your new role at WashU, including helpful contacts and messages from your manager. 

Onboarding Process Steps

Onboarding tasks are presented in four groups. Each group’s tasks must be completed before you can start the tasks in the next group.

If you have completed one group and are looking for remaining onboarding tasks, please return to the Onboarding Dashboard, click the refresh button in your Workday My Tasks, or refresh your web browser.

Note: Group 3 will not appear until you have met with Human Resources to provide your I-9 documentation. 

Group 1: Personal Information Tasks (Due Day 1 of employment)
ALL WORKERS: Enter Home Contact Information Refer to these step-by-step instructions, starting at step 4.
ALL WORKERS: Edit Government IDs (SSN) This task will prompt you to provide either a Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). If you do not have an SSN or ITIN, enter 000+[Employee ID], as referenced in your Onboarding email.
ALL WORKERS: Enter Personal Information Complete as much information as possible during this task. Refer to these step-by-step instructions, starting at step 3.

Group 2: Form I-9 After completing the tasks above, you will receive the following tasks (Group 2).
EMPLOYEES ONLY: Complete Form I-9 Section 1 (must be complete NO LATER THAN your 1st day of work) It is critical to complete the I-9 prior to or on your first day of work. This will allow you to be paid properly and allow you to complete the remaining tasks in your onboarding, which for those who are benefits-eligible, include benefit enrollment. For more information on this policy, visit the WashU Human Resources website.
I-9 Team Review I-9 Section 2(must be complete by 3rd day of work) After you complete Section 1 of the I-9, this task will be assigned to your I-9 partner. It will not appear in your Workday My Tasks or Onboarding Dashboard. You will receive an email notification with instructions to make an appointment with your I-9 Partner to verify your identification. Human Resources will contact you to complete the I-9 form and collect supporting documents. The Group 3 Onboarding tasks will appear after I-9 approval. NOTE: There may be a decrease in I-9 appointment availability during high volumes of hiring events. If you are unable to arrange an appointment within your fist three days of work due to limited availability, contact the Human Resources I-9 Department (Danforth Campus or WashU Medicine) and include your Manager or Departmental HR Partner (found in the Helpful Contacts section of the Onboarding Dashboard) in the message.

Group 4: Benefits and Other Tasks After completing the tasks above, you will receive the following tasks (Group 4).
EMPLOYEES (in positions meeting one of the following conditions): Complete the Health History Form Survey. WUSM WUPD Habif Center for Counseling and Psychological Services Employees Any employee reporting to a WUSM supervisory organization Danforth campus employees working with infectious agents, hazards or animal species in a research setting Special employee populations working directly with, or around, pathogenic organisms in research laboratories Visit the WashU Occupational Health Page for information on Occupational Health Services for impacted Workers
EMPLOYEES (based on response to Health History Form Survey): Animal Handler Survey
EMPLOYEES (based on response to Health History Form Survey): Add My Vaccine
EMPLOYEES (based on response to Health History Form Survey): Consent for Treatment Survey
BENEFIT ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES: Benefit Elections Refer to these step-by-step instructions, starting at step 8. Benefits-related Resources: For general information about benefits, reference the WashU Human Resources website Manage Dependents tutorial Add, Change or Remove Beneficiaries tutorial Benefits Open Enrollment in Workday reference guide
EMPLOYEES ONLY: Update Talent Profile Refer to these step-by-step instructions, starting at step 3. This step is essential for WashU Medicine and Academic roles because it provides the opportunity to document any required certifications and acquired education.
ALL WORKERS: Enter Driver License (if applicable to job profile)
EMPLOYEES ONLY (excluding student workers): Change Photo Refer to these step-by-step instructions, starting at step 3. Workday Profile Pictures Standards Policy

Training for New Hires

WashU is in the process of transitioning between two Learning Management Systems (LMS), Workday Learning and Learn@Work. Much of your required training will be assigned in Workday Learning, while some training may continue to be assigned in Learn@Work, our legacy LMS. Depending on your role with WashU, your assignments may differ.

Training in Workday

Training in Workday is accessible starting on your first day. It may be assigned to you based on several factors, including employee type, work location, and scheduled weekly hours. You will also be able to self enroll in training that interests you. Visit the Workday Learning for Learners reference guide for more information about Workday Learning.

Refer to the New Employee Experience: On or After Start Date demo for a brief demonstration that shows how to access and complete New Employee Orientation training that is assigned to new employees with an employee type of staff on their first day. This demo is for a worker only assigned New Employee Orientation. If other training is assigned it will appear in the same location.

New staff whose assigned work location is within 50 miles of 1 Brookings Drive and who are scheduled to work 20 or more hours per week are assigned a New Employee Orientation program that includes an in-person session. If this applies to you, you may wish to select your in-person session before your first day. Refer to the New Employee Experience: Before Start Date demo to learn more about signing up for an in-person session before it’s assigned to you if this applies to you.

Training in Learn@Work

While we are transitioning away from Learn@Work, it will continue to be in use through July of 2026 for some courses and you may receive training assignments there. Visit the Workday Learning Overview page for more information about the transition process and what content is still in Learn@Work.

Related Resources

• Workday Training Guides 
• Onboarding tutorial
• WashU Human Resources
• Getting Started for Employees reference guide
• Employee as Self Support Materials
  • Request Time Off
  • Enter Time (for non-exempt employees)
• Sidekick: Sidekick is a tool that provides in-system, tips and step-by-step guidance for tasks in Workday. Though it is not required, you may download sidekick to use as a helpful resource.
• Request Support: For Workday support requests reach out to the Workday Support Team

• Visit WashU’s Data intelligence platform Collibra to better understand and more effectively use WashU data

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