Omni‑Onboarding: We Invented a New Software Category

WorkZerk invented a new category of software. Here's why it was overdue.

For decades, the word "onboarding" has meant one thing: getting a new employee set up. Sorting their tax file number. Handing them a lanyard. Making them watch a 45-minute video about workplace harassment that was clearly filmed in 2007. Maybe a welcome morning tea if the office manager remembered.

HR onboarding software grew up around this exact use case. Platforms like Employment Hero, ELMO, and Flare all do a solid job of getting permanent staff through the door and into the payroll system. No complaints there.

But here's the thing nobody seems to be talking about: employees are only a fraction of the people that businesses and organisations need to "onboard" every single day.

Think about it. A construction company doesn't just hire employees. They bring in dozens of subcontractors who each need site inductions, insurance certificates, White Cards, and Safe Work Method Statements verified before they set foot on a scaffold. A university doesn't just employ lecturers. They enrol thousands of students who need to submit Working with Children Checks, vaccination records, placement agreements, and professional registration documents. A physiotherapy clinic doesn't just have staff. They have patients walking through the door who need to complete intake forms, upload referrals, sign consent declarations, and provide Medicare details.

None of these people are employees. But every single one of them needs to be onboarded.

Until now, there hasn't been a word for software that handles all of this. So we made one up.

Welcome to Omni-Onboarding

Omni-onboarding is the practice of onboarding anyone, not just employees, through a single, flexible platform. Contractors, clients, patients, students, visitors, volunteers, members. Anyone your organisation needs to collect information from, verify credentials for, or confirm compliance with before they can participate, access, or begin.

WorkZerk is the first platform built from the ground up to do exactly this. Not as an afterthought bolted onto an HR system. Not as a "custom form builder" pretending to be something more. But as a purpose-built onboarding and compliance verification platform designed to handle any type of person, in any industry, with any set of requirements.

The reason it works is surprisingly simple: WorkZerk doesn't care who you're onboarding. It cares about what you need from them.

Need someone to upload a document? Done. Sign a declaration? Done. Watch an induction video and confirm they understood it? Done. Provide an expiry date on a certification so you can track when it lapses? Done. All through a passwordless portal that doesn't require the person to download an app, create an account, or remember a password. Just a link or a QR code, and they're away.

That flexibility is the whole point. And it's why we believe omni-onboarding isn't just a nice idea. It's a category that should have existed years ago.

Why "Onboarding" Got Stuck in HR

It's worth understanding how we ended up here.

The software industry loves categories. CRM. ERP. LMS. HRM. These labels help buyers find what they need and help vendors position themselves in the market. "Onboarding software" landed squarely inside the HR category early on, and it stuck. If you Google "onboarding software Australia" right now, you'll get page after page of HR platforms talking about employee journeys, culture fit, and first-day experiences.

That's fine for employees. But it created a blind spot. Every other type of person that organisations need to bring into their world got left out of the conversation entirely.

What happened instead? Organisations improvised. They cobbled together workarounds using email chains, shared drives, spreadsheets, PDF forms, and enough manila folders to deforest a small country. Some built clunky internal systems. Others bought vertical-specific tools that only worked for one type of person in one type of industry.

The result is that most Australian businesses today are managing onboarding across multiple disconnected systems, or worse, not managing it at all. They're chasing documents manually, storing compliance records in places nobody can find them, and crossing their fingers that everything's in order when the auditor calls.

This is the gap omni-onboarding fills.

Seven Businesses, Seven Types of People, One Platform

The best way to explain why omni-onboarding matters is to show how it works in practice. Here are seven real-world examples across completely different industries, all using the same core WorkZerk platform.

1. A Construction Company Onboarding Contractors

Who they're onboarding: Subcontractors, sole traders, and specialised trades (electricians, plumbers, concreters, scaffolders)

The old way: The site manager emails a pack of PDF forms to the new subbie, who prints them, fills them in by hand, scans them (badly), and emails them back. Someone in the office checks whether the White Card is current, whether the public liability insurance covers the right amount, and whether the SWMS is actually specific to this job and not a generic template recycled from three projects ago. Half the time, documents are missing or expired. The subbie starts work anyway because the job can't wait.

With WorkZerk: The site manager sends the contractor a link (or sticks a QR code on the site office door for walk-ups). The contractor opens it on their phone. No app download. No account creation. WorkZerk walks them through each step: upload your White Card, upload your insurance certificate (with expiry date), review the site safety rules, watch the site-specific induction video, sign the declaration confirming you've understood the requirements.

The site manager sees compliance status update in real time from their dashboard. If something's rejected (say the insurance doesn't cover the minimum amount), the contractor gets an automatic email explaining what needs fixing. When a credential is approaching its expiry date, WorkZerk flags it before it becomes a compliance gap.

Everything's stored for seven years. When Safe Work Australia or a principal contractor asks for proof that every person on site was properly inducted? It's all there. No scrambling.

2. A Wedding Photography Business Onboarding Clients

Who they're onboarding: Engaged couples booking photography packages

The old way: After the initial consultation and booking, the photographer sends a contract via email, then follows up separately for the shot list questionnaire, the venue access details, the timeline preferences, a photo release form, and the final payment confirmation. Some couples respond quickly. Others need three follow-up emails over two weeks. The photographer spends more time chasing paperwork than editing photos.

With WorkZerk: The couple receives a single onboarding link after booking. They work through it at their own pace: sign the photography agreement, fill in the questionnaire about must-have shots and family groupings, upload venue maps or access instructions, sign the image release consent, and acknowledge the cancellation policy. The photographer can see exactly where each couple is in the process and only follows up when something's actually incomplete.

It's the same platform a construction company uses for site inductions. The only difference is what's being asked.

3. A Physiotherapy Clinic Onboarding Patients

Who they're onboarding: New patients before their first appointment

The old way: The patient arrives 15 minutes early (if they remember) and fills out a paper form on a clipboard in the waiting room. The handwriting is illegible. The form asks for a GP referral but there's nowhere to attach it, so the receptionist asks them to email it later. The patient forgets. The referral chase begins. Meanwhile, the consent form has the wrong date because the patient used American date format, and the medical history section says "see attached" but there's nothing attached.

With WorkZerk: The clinic texts or emails the patient a link when they book their first appointment. Before they even walk in, they've completed their medical history form, uploaded their GP referral as a photo or PDF, provided their Medicare and private health details, and signed informed consent for treatment. The physio has everything they need before the patient sits down. No clipboard. No chasing.

If the clinic needs to collect updated information annually (say a refreshed medical history or a new mental health care plan), WorkZerk's expiry tracking can prompt the patient to re-submit when the time comes.

4. A University Onboarding Placement Students

Who they're onboarding: Nursing, teaching, and social work students heading out on professional placements

The old way: This one is genuinely painful for anyone who's worked in a university placement office. Each student needs a Working with Children Check, a National Police Check, immunisation records, a first aid certificate, professional indemnity insurance, a signed placement agreement, and sometimes additional site-specific requirements from the host organisation. The placement coordinator manages this across hundreds of students using a spreadsheet that would make Excel weep. Students email documents to a shared inbox. Some are current. Some expired last month. Some are for the wrong state. The coordinator loses sleep.

With WorkZerk: Each student gets an onboarding link tailored to their placement type. Nursing students see one set of requirements (immunisation records, AHPRA registration, infection control acknowledgment). Teaching students see another (WWCC, mandatory reporting declaration, school-specific policies). Students upload their documents and provide expiry dates where relevant. The placement coordinator sees a single dashboard showing who's compliant, who's pending, and who needs a nudge.

When a WWCC is about to expire mid-semester, the system catches it before it becomes a problem. When a host organisation asks for proof that every student placed with them met the requirements? One export, done.

5. A Festival Onboarding Volunteers

Who they're onboarding: Volunteer crew for a music festival, food festival, community event, or charity fundraiser

The old way: The volunteer coordinator sends a Google Form to 200 people. It collects names and t-shirt sizes but not much else. There's no way to attach a Working with Children Check if volunteers will be working near minors. There's no declaration acknowledging the code of conduct or the alcohol and drug policy. There's no induction covering emergency procedures, chain of command, or what to do if something goes wrong. On the day, half the volunteers don't know where to park and the other half don't know who their team leader is.

With WorkZerk: Each volunteer receives a link after sign-up. They work through the induction at home before the event: acknowledge the code of conduct, upload their WWCC (if required for their role), watch a short safety briefing video, confirm their availability and preferred shift times, and sign a liability waiver. On event day, walk-up volunteers who missed the pre-event onboarding can scan a QR code at the registration tent and complete the process on the spot, on their own phone.

The event organiser knows exactly who's completed their induction and who hasn't. No more chasing. No more hoping people read the email.

6. A Gym Onboarding New Members

Who they're onboarding: New gym members, casual visitors, or participants in group fitness programs

The old way: The new member fills in a paper form at the front desk. It's got a waiver on the back that nobody reads but everyone signs. Their photo ID gets glanced at but not recorded. If they have a pre-existing injury or medical condition, it's scrawled in a box that's too small for the information. The form goes into a filing cabinet. When the member injures themselves six months later and claims they were never told about the risks, the gym owner hopes the waiver is still somewhere in that cabinet.

With WorkZerk: New members complete onboarding before their first visit. They read and sign the liability waiver and assumption of risk declaration (with a timestamp and digital signature that's actually defensible). They declare any medical conditions or injuries. They acknowledge the gym's rules and code of conduct. They upload a photo of their ID if the gym requires it. For specialist programs like personal training or rehabilitation classes, additional steps can be added covering specific health screening or clearance requirements.

Everything's stored, timestamped, and retrievable. If a dispute arises, the gym has clear evidence that the member was informed and consented.

7. A Corporate Office Onboarding Visitors

Who they're onboarding: External consultants, auditors, clients attending meetings, or tradespeople doing maintenance work

The old way: A sign-in book at reception. Maybe a printed NDA that the visitor skims and signs. The receptionist hands over a lanyard and points vaguely toward the lifts. There's no record of whether the visitor acknowledged the emergency evacuation procedures. There's no confirmation they agreed to the confidentiality requirements. If they're a contractor doing work in the building, there's no verification of their insurance or relevant credentials.

With WorkZerk: Visitors receive a link before their visit (or scan a QR code in the lobby when they arrive). Depending on the visit type, they might simply acknowledge the building's emergency procedures and sign an NDA. A maintenance contractor visiting the same building might have a longer workflow: upload their insurance certificate, complete the building-specific safety induction, sign a declaration about working in occupied spaces.

The building manager has a live view of who's been onboarded for each visit type. Different templates for different visitor categories. Same platform.

What Makes This Different From a Form Builder?

You might be reading this and thinking: couldn't you do most of this with Google Forms or Typeform?

Technically, you could collect information with a form builder. But that's where it ends. Form builders don't give you approval workflows where an admin reviews and approves (or rejects) each submission. They don't track document expiry dates and alert you when credentials are about to lapse. They don't let you build step-by-step induction sequences mixing instructional content with compliance actions. They don't store records for seven years with an audit trail. They don't offer passwordless, app-free access via tokenised links. They don't let you re-onboard someone when their circumstances change or their documents expire.

Omni-onboarding isn't about collecting data. It's about managing compliance, verification, and accountability across every type of person your organisation interacts with. That's a fundamentally different job.

Why Now?

Three things have converged to make omni-onboarding not just possible, but necessary.

First, compliance expectations have intensified across every industry in Australia. Construction has Safe Work Australia requirements. Healthcare has AHPRA and NDIS audit standards. Education has state-based working with children legislation. Even seemingly low-regulation industries like fitness and events face increasing pressure around duty of care and liability management. The days of "she'll be right" and a clipboard are numbered.

Second, people expect digital-first experiences. The days of printing, signing, scanning, and emailing PDF forms are (mercifully) ending. People expect to complete things on their phone. They expect it to be quick. And they definitely don't expect to download an app or create an account just to submit a couple of documents for a one-off interaction.

Third, organisations are finally recognising that "onboarding" isn't an HR function. It's an operational function. Every department, every team, every site that brings in external people has an onboarding need. The IT department onboards vendors. The facilities team onboards maintenance contractors. The events team onboards volunteers. The clinic onboards patients. Giving each of them a separate system (or no system at all) doesn't scale.

Omni-onboarding brings all of this under one roof.

Built in Australia, for Australian Requirements

WorkZerk is built, owned, and supported from Australia. That matters for a few important reasons.

All data is stored on Australian servers, which is a requirement for many organisations handling sensitive documents like identity verification, medical records, and compliance certifications. Australian data sovereignty isn't just a checkbox. For government contracts, healthcare providers, and education institutions, it's often a non-negotiable condition.

The platform is designed around Australian compliance patterns: Working with Children Checks, White Cards, ABN verification, SWMS documentation, Australian Privacy Principles (including the ability to delete sensitive documents post-verification as required under the Privacy Act 1988), and seven-year record retention for audit purposes.

Admin accounts are protected with mandatory multi-factor authentication, because when you're storing copies of people's driver's licences and insurance certificates, security can't be optional.

The Bottom Line

"Onboarding" was never just about employees. It was always about getting people ready: informed, verified, compliant, and accountable. The word just got kidnapped by HR software and held hostage for two decades.

Omni-onboarding is about giving it back.

Whether you're a sole trader bringing on your first client, a school managing hundreds of placement students, a construction firm juggling subcontractors across multiple sites, or a community organisation coordinating volunteers for a weekend event, the need is the same. You need people to provide information, upload documents, acknowledge requirements, and sign declarations. You need to verify what they've submitted. You need to track when things expire. And you need to prove it all happened if anyone ever asks.

WorkZerk handles all of that, for anyone you need to onboard, without asking them to jump through hoops to do it.

No apps. No passwords. No accounts. Just a link, and they're away.

That's omni-onboarding. And honestly, it's about time.

WorkZerk is an Australian omni-onboarding platform for contractors, clients, students, patients, visitors, volunteers, members, and anyone else your organisation needs to onboard.