When onboarding profiles are configured, training assignments—whether courses or learning paths—are expected to be automatically delivered to users who meet specific criteria, such as academy join date, job role, or organizational structure.
In most cases, this process works as intended. However, there are certain scenarios where a user may initially receive a training assignment through onboarding, and later it may no longer be visible. Gaining a clear understanding of how onboarding interacts with user lifecycle events can help you effectively manage and anticipate these situations.
What You May Notice
You might observe the following:
- A user meets all onboarding criteria and receives a training assignment.
- The assignment is confirmed as successfully applied during onboarding.
- At a later point, the training assignment is no longer present in the user’s profile.
- Other users with the same criteria continue to receive and retain their assignments.
From a configuration standpoint, the onboarding setup appears correct, and the criteria are properly defined.
How This Behavior Occurs
This behavior is typically related to changes in the user’s account status after the onboarding process has taken place.
For example:
- A user is assigned training through onboarding when they first meet the criteria.
- At a later time, the user account is deactivated.
- While the user is deactivated, they no longer have access to their training assignments.
- When the user is reactivated, onboarding does not automatically reapply the assignment if the original conditions are no longer valid (such as being within a defined “new hire” timeframe).
In such scenarios, an assignment may be initially applied through onboarding, but if the user’s account status changes (such as deactivation and later reactivation), the training may need to be reassigned to restore access.
It’s helpful to keep in mind that onboarding is event-driven—it applies training at the moment specific conditions are met, rather than continuously re-evaluating users over time.
How to Handle This Scenario
If you encounter this situation, here are a few effective ways to proceed:
1. Assign Training Manually When Needed
If a user needs immediate access, you can assign the required training directly. This ensures continuity without waiting for automation.
2. Combine Onboarding with Assignment Rules
For a more scalable approach, you can:
- Create assignment rules using the same criteria as your onboarding profile.
- Use these rules to capture users who may not be reprocessed by onboarding, such as reactivated users.
This allows you to support multiple scenarios:
- New users receive training through onboarding.
- Reactivated users are captured by assignment rules.
Onboarding process runs first, and assignment rules can complement it without conflict.
3. Review User Status Changes
When validating training assignments, it’s useful to check for lifecycle updates such as:
- Activation and deactivation history
- Job or organizational changes
- Timing relative to onboarding criteria
These events can influence whether an assignment is applied or maintained.
Best Practices
To ensure consistent training coverage across your users:
- Use onboarding profiles for assignments to new hires who meet specific criteria.
- Use assignment rules to provide ongoing coverage beyond onboarding conditions.
- Periodically review users who match your criteria to confirm assignments are aligned with expectations.
- Consider how user lifecycle events (like deactivation and reactivation) may affect training continuity.
Key Takeaway
Training assignments triggered by onboarding are applied at specific moments based on defined criteria. When a user’s status changes afterward, their access to those assignments may change as well. By combining onboarding with assignment rules, you can create a flexible and reliable approach that ensures users consistently receive the appropriate training over time.