AI-Powered Onboarding: How I Worked with AI to Streamline the Process

Onboarding for a new role is rarely seamless, even when you’re experienced, organized, and fully committed. In the role of college Registrar, for example, you are faced with new systems, compliance workflows, transfer credit policies, documentation audits, and disability accommodation protocols, all while preparing for accreditation and supporting faculty across departments.

So, when organizing the onboarding for this Registrar role, I did what most professionals should do in this new age of AI: I recorded the training sessions with Wave.co, a transcription and meeting summary tool, to automatically capture my onboarding meetings and walkthroughs. I then used ChatGPT to synthesize those transcripts into a Registrar Handbook with workflows, checklists, and even email templates. If I couldn’t remember how to process a Change of Status form for example or a Registration Form for new applicants, I simply asked AI.

As always, remember to anonymize all conversations to avoid sharing any sensitive or personal information!

What started as a workaround became a transformative onboarding strategy.

What This Looks Like in Practice

I talk through a task in a meeting or Zoom session
Wave transcribes it in real time (remember, anonymize any sensitive information)
I load the Meeting Summary and Transcript to GPT as a Word Doc (recommended by AI)
The AI writes a step-by-step workflow I can reuse
The next time I forget? I just ask.

Now, when someone new joins our team, I can hand them:

A personalized AI assistant trained on real conversations
A registrar’s handbook built from live operations
A set of transcripts that don’t just document knowledge — they encode it

Why This Works for Any Industry

Whether you’re in education, tech, healthcare, or manufacturing, one truth is universal:

Learning to apply AI to your job is the job now.

Forget PDF manuals. Forget six-hour PowerPoints. The modern onboarding process should mirror the way we work — dynamic, searchable, conversational.

AI is no longer just a tool for the IT department. It’s your assistant. Your trainer. Your institutional memory. And it’s available 24/7.

Onboarding doesn’t need to rely on memory, repetition, or inaccessible documentation anymore. With the right tools, transcription tech like Wave, and conversational AI like ChatGPT, we can capture expertise as it happens and deliver it when it’s needed most.

If you’re onboarding staff, training faculty, or just trying to remember how to do something from three months ago, this method works.

And the best part? Once it’s built, it keeps learning with you.

I’d love to hear from others using AI and transcription tools in their onboarding, training, or operations. Drop a comment or message me, let’s build better systems together.

Remember, AI won’t take your job. Someone who knows how to use AI will. Upskilling your team today, ensures success tomorrow. Custom in-person and virtual trainings are available. If you’re looking for something more top-level to jump start your team’s interst in AI, we offer one-hour Lunch-and-Learns. If you’re planning your next company offsite, our half-day workshops are as fun as they are informational. And, of course, we offer AI consulting and support with custom prompt libraries, or AISO/GEO strategies. Whatever your needs, we are your partner in AI success.