How to Use Notion Workspace Templates Gallery for Onboarding

When you need to bring new team members up to speed quickly, the Notion workspace templates gallery provides ready-made structures that eliminate setup work. These templates include project trackers, company handbooks, and meeting notes that you can customize for your onboarding process. The gallery offers templates for every department, from engineering to marketing, so you can pick what fits your workflow. This article explains how to browse, select, and adapt templates from the gallery to create a consistent onboarding experience for your team.

What the Notion Workspace Templates Gallery Offers for Onboarding

The Notion workspace templates gallery is a collection of pre-designed pages and databases created by Notion and the community. These templates cover common business needs such as project management, knowledge bases, and HR onboarding. For onboarding specifically, you will find templates like Company Wiki, Employee Onboarding Checklist, and Team Meeting Notes. Each template includes sample data and structure so you can see how it works before you use it.

There are no prerequisites to use the gallery. You only need a Notion account and an active workspace. Templates are available on all Notion plans, including Free, Plus, Business, and Enterprise. The gallery updates regularly with new templates, and you can filter by category such as Design, Engineering, or Operations.

Templates That Directly Support Onboarding

Several templates in the gallery are built for onboarding. The Employee Onboarding Checklist template gives you a database with stages like Pre-arrival, First Week, and First Month. The Company Wiki template provides a structured page for policies, benefits, and team directories. The Project Tracker template helps you assign onboarding tasks to managers and mentors.

Steps to Browse, Add, and Customize a Template for Onboarding

1. Open the Templates Gallery
   In your Notion workspace, click the left sidebar. At the bottom of the sidebar, click the Templates button. If you do not see it, go to Settings & Members > Workspace > Templates and toggle the gallery visibility on.
2. Filter by Category
   In the gallery window, click the Category dropdown and select Onboarding & HR. This narrows down the list to templates like Employee Onboarding Checklist and Company Wiki. You can also search by typing a keyword such as “onboarding” in the search bar at the top.
3. Preview a Template
   Click any template card to open a preview. The preview shows the page structure, sample content, and included databases. Scroll through the preview to confirm it matches your onboarding needs.
4. Add the Template to Your Workspace
   In the preview window, click the blue Use This Template button. Notion creates a duplicate of the template in your workspace. The template appears as a new page in your sidebar, usually under Private or Shared, depending on your workspace settings.
5. Rename and Move the Template
   Right-click the new page name in the sidebar and select Rename. Type a name like “Onboarding 2025.” Then drag the page to a shared folder or teamspace so all new hires can access it.
6. Customize the Content
   Replace the sample data with your company’s specific information. For the Employee Onboarding Checklist, edit the database properties like Stage, Assignee, and Due Date. Delete rows you do not need and add new ones. For the Company Wiki template, update the text in each section with your policies and links.
7. Share the Template with New Hires
   Click the Share button at the top right of the page. Under Share with People, add the new hire’s email. Set their permission level to Can Edit if they need to update their tasks, or Can Comment if they only need to read. Click Invite.

If the Template Does Not Fit Your Exact Onboarding Workflow

Template Has Too Many Unused Sections

Some templates include sections for departments you do not have. For example, the Company Wiki may include an Engineering section when you only need HR and Sales. Delete the unused sections by clicking the three-dot menu next to each heading and selecting Delete. This does not affect any other pages in your workspace.

Template Uses a Database Structure You Do Not Want

If the template’s database has properties you do not need, open the database, click the three-dot menu next to a property name, and select Delete Property. You can also add new properties by clicking the + icon at the rightmost column. For example, add a “Mentor” property to assign a person to each onboarding step.

Template Is Not Visible to New Team Members

If a new hire cannot see the template page, check the page’s Share settings. Ensure the page is inside a shared teamspace, not in your Private section. Move the page by dragging it into the correct teamspace folder in the sidebar. Also confirm the new hire has been added to that teamspace.

Notion Templates vs Building From Scratch for Onboarding

Item	Using a Template from the Gallery	Building an Onboarding Page From Scratch
Time to set up	5 to 10 minutes	1 to 3 hours depending on complexity
Structure	Pre-built with databases, views, and sample content	You must create every database and page manually
Customizability	High — you can edit or delete any element	Complete — you control every property and layout
Best for	Teams that want a quick, consistent onboarding process	Teams with highly specific workflows not covered by templates

Using a template from the gallery is faster and reduces errors because the structure is already tested. Building from scratch gives you full control but requires more time and knowledge of Notion databases. For most onboarding needs, starting with a template and customizing it is the more efficient approach.

Conclusion

You can now open the Notion templates gallery, filter by the Onboarding & HR category, and add a template to your workspace in under two minutes. After adding the template, rename it and move it to a shared teamspace so every new hire sees the same onboarding structure. For advanced customization, use the database property menu to add a “Mentor” or “Start Date” field that automatically tracks progress.