## Introduction
Efficiently managing onboarding calls is crucial for Operations teams in startups to ensure new customers or employees are properly welcomed and engaged from day one. However, manually reminding people about scheduled onboarding calls can be error-prone and time-consuming. Automating call notifications helps reduce no-shows, improves team coordination, and ensures a consistent experience.
In this guide, we’ll walk through building a robust automation workflow using **n8n**, an open-source workflow automation tool, that notifies relevant stakeholders automatically about upcoming onboarding calls. This tutorial is designed for operations specialists and automation engineers in startups aiming to improve onboarding efficiency.
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## What Problem Does This Solve?
Manual notifications for onboarding calls often lead to missed emails, forgotten schedules, and miscommunications. This automation ensures:
– Automated, timely reminders for all participants (customers, account managers, support staff).
– Consistent notification format and delivery across channels like email and Slack.
– Reduced manual overhead and human errors.
– Scalable solution adaptable to growing customer bases.
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## Tools and Services Integrated
– **n8n:** Workflow automation platform where the entire workflow is created.
– **Google Calendar:** Source of scheduled onboarding calls.
– **Gmail:** Sending email reminders.
– **Slack:** Sending instant messaging reminders to internal teams.
– **Google Sheets (Optional):** Tracking onboarding call metadata or storing participant info.
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## Overview of the Workflow
1. **Trigger:** A scheduled polling of Google Calendar events filtered to onboarding calls.
2. **Filter:** Identify calls happening within a defined upcoming timeframe (e.g., next 24 hours).
3. **Data Extraction:** Extract relevant details—time, participants, meeting link.
4. **Notifications:** Send reminder emails to participants via Gmail.
5. **Internal Alerts:** Post a message to a Slack channel or direct messages to assigned staff.
6. **Logging:** Update Google Sheets or internal CRM as confirmation that notifications were sent.
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## Step-by-Step Tutorial
### Prerequisites
– Active n8n instance (self-hosted or cloud).
– Access to a Google account with Calendar and Gmail enabled.
– Slack workspace with necessary permissions.
– (Optional) Google Sheets spreadsheet for logging.
### Step 1: Set Up Trigger – Poll Upcoming Calendar Events
– In n8n, add a **Google Calendar Trigger** node or use a **Cron** node to run every hour/day.
– Configure credentials with OAuth to access your Google Calendar.
– Use the **Google Calendar node** with the “List Events” operation.
– Set the `timeMin` parameter to current time and `timeMax` to current time + 24 hours to get events scheduled for the next day.
– Use filter parameters to get only events with a specific label, calendar, or keyword (e.g., “Onboarding Call”).
#### Tips
– Make sure timezone settings match your organizational settings.
– Use event metadata or calendar color-coding to distinguish onboarding calls.
### Step 2: Filter Events for Onboarding Calls
– Add a **IF** node to filter events that include “onboarding” or another identifying keyword in the event title or description.
### Step 3: Extract Key Event Details
– Use a **Set** node to extract:
– Event summary/title
– Start time
– Zoom or meeting link (usually in description or location field).
– Attendees (emails)
– For attendee extraction, loop through event attendees if multiple emails are listed.
### Step 4: Send Email Reminders via Gmail
– Add a **Gmail node** for sending emails.
– Configure credentials with OAuth for Gmail access.
– Use dynamic content from previous nodes to personalize emails:
– Subject: “Reminder: Onboarding Call Scheduled for [Date & Time]”
– Recipients: attendees’ emails
– Body: Include meeting link, agenda, and any preparation materials.
#### Tips
– Use HTML formatting for better readability.
– Add unsubscribe or support contact info if appropriate.
### Step 5: Post Internal Slack Notification
– Add a **Slack node** to send messages.
– Set destination channel (e.g., #operations-onboarding) or direct message to account managers.
– Content example: “Onboarding call with [Customer Name] scheduled at [Time]. Reminder emails sent.”
### Step 6: Log Notifications to Google Sheets (Optional)
– Add a **Google Sheets node** to append a new row:
– Event ID
– Timestamp of notification
– Status (e.g., “Emails sent”)
– This provides a historical log for tracking.
### Step 7: Error Handling and Retries
– Configure error workflows in n8n:
– Use the Error Trigger node to detect failures.
– Send alert emails or Slack messages to Ops team when notification fails.
– Implement retries on Gmail or Slack nodes.
### Step 8: Testing and Deployment
– Run the workflow manually with test events.
– Verify emails and Slack messages arrive as expected.
– Schedule the cron trigger.
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## Common Errors and Troubleshooting
– **Authorization errors:** Re-authenticate Google and Slack credentials and ensure token scopes are set correctly.
– **Timezone mismatches:** Validate event times and adjust if necessary.
– **Empty attendee lists:** Confirm that calendar events contain attendee emails.
– **API rate limits:** For large volumes, stagger runs or handle rate-limiting errors gracefully.
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## Scaling and Adaptation
– **Multi-timezone support:** Add logic to detect participant time zones and adjust reminders accordingly.
– **Multiple notification channels:** Expand to SMS via Twilio or Microsoft Teams integration.
– **Advanced scheduling:** Allow custom reminder intervals (e.g., 1 day and 1 hour before call).
– **CRM Integration:** Connect with HubSpot or Salesforce to pull onboarding tasks into workflow.
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## Summary
Automating notifications for upcoming onboarding calls with n8n minimizes manual work, reduces no-shows, and streamlines coordination between teams and customers. By leveraging Google Calendar, Gmail, Slack, and optionally Google Sheets, operations teams can build a reliable and scalable automation that improves onboarding experiences.
With this step-by-step approach, your team can maintain clear communication, timely reminders, and better onboarding outcomes, freeing up valuable time to focus on growing the business.
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## Bonus Tip
Consider adding a feedback survey node at the end of the onboarding call (triggered by calendar event end time) to automatically send a satisfaction survey link to participants. This closes the loop and helps continuously improve your onboarding process.