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Create a Form Template

Learn how to create form templates in Workforce HR, add sections and questions, and choose the right question types.

This feature is available for users who have enabled Workforce HR.

What's covered in this guide?

  • Add Form Templates

  • Add Sections

  • Add Questions

  • Add References

  • Schedule when to send

  • Question Types

  • FAQs

Add Form Templates

  1. Go to HR > Forms > Form Templates and click Create new Form Template.

Add these details to your form:

  • Name: staff see this when they complete the form.

  • Upload a document to quick-build this form (optional): upload a PDF or DOCX and Workforce’s AI turns it into a form template for you.

  • Category: the reason for the form. See Forms Explained for common examples.

  • Active: whether staff can access and complete the form. Untick it if they shouldn’t have access yet.

  • Available to be assigned when onboarding an employee: lets you send the form during onboarding.

  • Hide from assignee (disables Employee Self-Service): the employee the form is about can’t see it. Use this for forms only managers fill in. When it’s ticked, the employee can’t answer any questions on the form, and it won’t appear in their onboarding steps.

  • Employee Self Service: choose who can open and complete the form at any time, without it being assigned to them:

    • No employees (the default)

    • All employees

    • Selected positions

    • Selected teams/locations

    • Advanced selections: staff who are in both a selected position and a selected team/location.

    You can only set this when you create the template. To change it later, or to add more than one group, use the template’s Employee self service tab. Self-service forms need at least one question the employee answers.

  • Description: what the form is for and when to submit it.

  • Notifications: choose the Position Titles that get notified when the form is submitted or approved, and how many levels up the org chart should be notified. Notifications only go to people with permission to view the form.

Click Create. If you uploaded a document, Workforce builds the form from it first.

⚠️ Important: If you tick Hide from assignee on a template you’ve already set up, its self-service access is removed and the employee is unticked from answering every question. Unticking it later doesn’t bring these back.

Add sections

New templates start with one section and a sample question you can edit. To group similar questions together, click Add Section, enter a Section Name and click Add Section.

💡 Tip: Drag sections into a different order using the ≡ button.

Add Questions

Questions are the individual things staff answer on the form.

To add a question, click + Add Question beside the section, or hover between questions and click Add question here.

For each question, set:

  • Question: what you’re asking.

  • Answer type: how staff answer it. See Question types below.

  • Required: untick this if staff can skip the question.

Under Advanced Answering Options, you can also choose Who should answer this question? See the FAQs below.

Add references

References are material for staff to read or watch while they fill in the form. A reference can be:

  1. Text: any formatted text. Click Add text.

  2. A file or image: a JPG, PNG, PDF, Word document, text file or Outlook email, up to 15 MB. Click Add a file or image.

  3. A video: a YouTube or Vimeo link. Click Add a video url.

To add a reference:

  1. Click the button for the type of reference you want to add.

  2. Add the text, upload the file, or paste the video link.

  3. Click Create.

Schedule when to send

You can schedule a form to be sent to staff automatically, either once or on a repeating schedule.

  1. Open the template and select the When to send tab.

  2. Click + When to send.

  3. Under How often should this be sent?, choose one of these options:

    • Once off: sent once, on the Send date.

    • Monthly: sent on the Send date, then repeated every set number of months.

    • Weekly: sent on the Send date, then repeated every set number of weeks.

    • Days after employee start date: sent a set number of days after each employee’s start date.

    • After a number of worked shifts: sent once an employee has worked a set number of shifts.

    • Offboarding: sent when an employee is given an employment end date.

  4. If you chose Once off, Monthly or Weekly, enter the Send date. This is the first time it will be sent, and it must be a future date.

  5. Under Recipients, choose who receives it:

    • All employees

    • Selected positions

    • Selected teams/locations

    • Advanced selections: staff who are in both a selected team/location and a selected position.

  6. Optionally, tick Number of days before send date(s) to notify employee and enter a number of days. The form is then created, and the employee notified, that many days before the send date. This option isn’t available for After a number of worked shifts or Offboarding. For Once off, Monthly and Weekly, the notice date can’t be before today. For Days after employee start date, the notice can’t fall before the employee’s start date.

  7. Click Create.

Scheduled sends are listed on the When to send tab, showing the frequency, next send date and recipients. You can edit or delete a schedule from this list. Deleting a schedule can’t be undone.

Question types

When you add a question, you can choose these answer types:

  • Multiple Choice (single selection only): pick one option from a list.

  • Checkboxes (multiple selections allowed): pick one or more options from a list.

  • Short Text: a basic text box.

  • Long Text: a larger text box for longer answers.

  • Number: a basic number box.

  • Currency: a number box for amounts of money.

  • Checkbox: a single tick box.

  • Date: a date picker.

  • Time: a time picker.

  • Date Time: date and time in one field.

  • Rating: a star rating, out of 10 by default.

  • Number Slider: choose a value on a slider.

  • Signature: adds a “sign here” box to the form.

  • File Upload: upload a file, such as a PDF or photo.

  • Photo Upload: take or upload a photo.

  • Video Upload: staff record a video with their camera, then upload it. You can set a maximum recording time under Max Duration (seconds).

FAQs

Is it possible for a manager to sign a form?

Yes. Add a Signature question, then open Advanced Answering Options and, under Who should answer this question?, tick A manager of the assigned employee will answer the question.

How do I create a form?

  1. Go to HR > Forms > Form Templates and click Create new Form Template.

  2. Enter a name and category, and tick Active.

  3. Under Employee Self Service, choose who can access the form. The options are listed in the next question.

  4. Add a description and set up notifications.

  5. Click Create, then add sections and questions.

What are the access options?

  • No employees (the default)

  • All employees

  • Selected positions

  • Selected teams/locations

  • Advanced selections: a combination of a position and a team, for example “All Bartenders in Manchester”

You can add more groups later on the template’s Employee self service tab. Anyone in any of those groups can access the form.

What question types are available?

  • Text: Short Text, Long Text

  • Dates and times: Date, Time, Date Time

  • Numbers: Number, Currency, Number Slider, Rating

  • Choices: Multiple Choice (one answer), Checkboxes (several answers), Checkbox (a single tick)

  • Signatures and uploads: Signature, Photo Upload, File Upload, Video Upload

Can I add a table, or an "Other" option to multiple choice?

No. Neither is available. For “Other”, add a Short Text question straight after the multiple choice question.

What files can people upload?

File Upload accepts JPG, PNG, PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT and Outlook (.msg) files, up to 15 MB. Photo Upload opens the camera on phones.

How do I make a form signable?

Add a Signature question and tick Required. You can add as many signature questions as you need.

How do I get a manager to answer or sign part of a form?

On the question, open Advanced Answering Options. Under Who should answer this question?, tick one or more of these:

  • Assigned employee will answer the question

  • A manager of the assigned employee will answer the question

  • Assign answering the question to specific people

  • Assign answering the question to another position(s) / team(s)

This works for any question type, including signatures.

Can I add conditional logic to forms?

Yes. Click Add follow up question on a question, then set the answer that should show the follow-up.

  • This works on most question types, but not on signatures or uploads.

  • A follow-up question can’t have its own follow-up.

Can I add a required question that can be skipped on forms?

Untick Required and people can skip the question.

Can I use merge fields on forms?

No. Merge fields only work in contracts.

Can sections be scored or averaged on forms?

No. Scoring is only available in performance reviews.

Can I build a form from an existing document?

Yes. When creating the template, upload a PDF or DOCX and AI will build the questions for you. You can also use Extract from document on a single section. Excel files aren’t supported.

How do I get notified when a form is submitted?

In the template’s Notifications, choose Position Titles. People with those titles in the employee’s reporting line are notified when the form is submitted or approved. You can also notify a set number of levels up the org chart.

How do I set up approvals?

Open the template and go to the Approval Processes tab.

  1. Choose Add Approval Process or Add Multi-Stage Approval Process.

  2. Set When submitted by and Requires approval from.

Things to know:

  • The template must be Active.

  • Approvers can be selected positions, selected teams/locations, or a combination of both (Advanced selections). You can’t choose all employees or named people as approvers.

  • The same position or team can’t be under both When submitted by and Requires approval from.

  • In a single-stage process, one approver decides.

  • In a multi-stage process, each stage can have several approvals. One person from each approval’s group must approve before the form moves to the next stage. If anyone declines, the form is declined.

Can forms be sent automatically on a schedule?

Yes. Use the template’s When to send tab. The options are:

  • a set date

  • every few weeks or months (choose every 12 months for once a year)

  • a number of days after the employment start date

  • after a number of shifts worked

  • at offboarding

You can also notify staff a set number of days before a form is sent.

Can a form be sent automatically after sick leave?

No. Assign it manually, or make it available for self-service.

Can one form trigger another when it's approved?

No.

How do I include a form in onboarding?

Tick Available to be assigned when onboarding an employee, then choose the form in the Forms field when you invite or onboard the employee. Only active forms with at least one question appear. Forms linked to the employee’s position are always included and can’t be removed.

Forms set to Hide from assignee can still be included, but they don’t appear in the new starter’s onboarding steps, because a manager fills them in.

How do I preview a form as an employee will see it?

Assign it to a test employee, then use See Workforce as… > Impersonate. You can also test on the Staging site, which resets daily.

Enable Workforce HR

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