What's New in Grove Q1 2026
This quarter, we've focused on expanding Grove beyond leave management with our new Staff Onboarding module - making Grove your complete HR platform for the employee lifecycle.
New: Staff Onboarding Module
The Challenge
Onboarding new starters involves:
- Multiple checklists and tasks
- Documents to collect and store
- Different people responsible for different tasks
- Easy to miss critical items
Our Solution
Grove's new Onboarding module brings structure and automation to new hire journeys.
Key Features
1. Onboarding Templates
- Create reusable templates for different roles/departments
- Define tasks with descriptions, due dates, and assignees
- Clone and modify templates easily
2. Task Types
- ✅ Standard completion tasks
- 📄 Document upload tasks
- 👥 Buddy assignment tasks
3. Progress Tracking
- Visual progress bars
- Task status: pending, in progress, completed, skipped
- Manager dashboard for all onboardings
4. Document Management
- Employees upload documents directly to tasks
- Secure storage (PDF, DOC, images up to 10MB)
- Download and review from admin panel
New: Auto-Assignment Rules
Set It and Forget It
Configure templates to automatically assign to new employees:
- Enable auto-assign on any template
- Filter by department: Engineering onboarding → Engineering hires only
- Zero manual work: New employee added → Onboarding created
Example Setup
| Template | Auto-Assign | Department Filter |
|---|---|---|
| General Induction | ✅ On | All |
| Engineering Setup | ✅ On | Engineering |
| Sales Training | ✅ On | Sales |
| Executive Welcome | ❌ Off | Manual only |
Enhanced Leave Management
New Features
Bradford Factor Dashboard
- Real-time scores for all employees
- Threshold alerts and notifications
- Historical trend charts
Improved Calendar
- Drag-to-book refinements
- Better mobile experience
- Team availability at a glance
Admin Capabilities
- Edit pending and approved leave
- Bulk holiday operations
- Enhanced reporting exports
Coming in Q2 2026
Preview of what's on our roadmap:
Onboarding Enhancements
- Welcome email sequences
- IT/HR task notifications
- Onboarding analytics dashboard
New Modules
- Performance review cycles (Phase 3)
- Objectives and OKRs
- 1:1 meeting tracking
Integrations
- Slack notifications
- Microsoft Teams sync
- Google Calendar two-way sync
Getting Started
Existing Customers
The onboarding module is available now in your Grove dashboard:
- Navigate to Admin → Onboarding
- Create your first template
- Add tasks with due dates
- Assign to a new employee
New to Grove?
Get started with Grove to explore all features, including the new onboarding module.
Feedback Welcome
We'd love to hear your thoughts on the new features:
- What's working well?
- What would you improve?
- What should we build next?
Reach out to us at feedback@grove.hr or through the in-app chat.
Tags:
The Grove Team
Grove HR
The Grove Team writes about HR best practices, compliance, and workplace culture for Grove. Helping UK businesses cultivate thriving teams.