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Notion has become the go-to tool for everything from note-taking to project management. Here's how we built a practical onboarding hub that actually works for new hires and contractors.
Everyone knows Notion. The awesome tool that started as a simple note-taking application but soon evolved into something that can do everything.
You can use it for notes, as I already mentioned, but also to track project status. It has databases. It has its own AI to help you quickly create new pages. It can even work as a ticketing system for support, so you can track issues, gather customer feedback, and link it all to the product team. For roadmap planning, issue tracking, and more, it's all there.
And it's not just for small companies. Huge companies use it too: OpenAI, Vercel, Figma, Deel, Cursor. That proves it's a solid choice even for fast-growing teams. These companies have scaled incredibly quickly, and they're still using Notion. So, I think it's safe to say this tool is a great choice.
They use Notion for calendar scheduling, as a CRM, project management, team wiki, and as an all-in-one tool.
Another plus is integration. Notion connects with more than 170 apps today. And not just niche tools, the usual suspects you're already using: Google Drive, MS Teams, Jira… all with official Notion integrations.
But as always at ShakeDew, we don't just stay in theory. We wanted to test the tool and create something real.
So, I started researching problems I often struggle with, issues my clients face, and even checked Reddit to see what people complain about. One theme stood out: onboarding new people is always a pain.
That's when I thought, Why don't we build an onboarding hub for new hires?
The first step was to see if someone had already done this. Obviously, they had. In fact, one company I love, Cursor, built a template to onboard their employees and made it free. I'm a big fan of their product, so I based my work on that template, customizing it for my needs.
Coming from the consultancy world, I designed this specifically with contractors in mind. I created five main sections:
Before day one, I make sure new hires:
This section includes:
Shows the manager, teammates, and relevant co-workers they'll collaborate with.
The catch-all section with every relevant link and piece of information they'll need.
Clear milestones:
All of this is powered by four databases:
Each database is linked back into the sections above.
👉 Here's the link to the Notion page: Shakedew Self-Serve Onboarding
The next step would be adding integrations with the tools you already use. For example:
Then, automate it. Each time a new user is created in Google Workspace (i.e., a new hire), the onboarding process kicks off automatically. Someone just needs to review it to confirm all the information is correct.
This isn't hard. What I did here is actually pretty simple. But most companies don't have this in one place. Onboarding often lives in people's heads, not in a documented system. That makes it much harder to bring new people in.
Having a hub like this, with checklists and clear expectations for week one, month one, and beyond, can make onboarding faster, smoother, and ultimately more successful.
What's your experience with onboarding processes? Reply to our newsletter or connect with us on LinkedIn - we're always interested in real-world implementation stories.