Onboarding Overview

This guide is built for Admins and compliance leads managing your company’s onboarding with Secureframe. While our Getting Started article walks through the in-platform checklist, this article provides a more strategic, big-picture overview of the onboarding process — including team responsibilities, timelines, and what success looks like.

You’ll find everything from setup tips to final milestones, so you can confidently move toward audit readiness.

Your onboarding journey generally happens in three key phases:

Phase 1: Account Setup & Access

Accept your invite and sign in
Complete your company profile
Invite other Admins and key stakeholders
Begin exploring your dashboard and onboarding checklist

Phase 2: Integrations, Frameworks & Program Setup

Connect cloud, HR, device, and identity integrations
Prioritize your compliance framework (e.g., SOC 2, ISO 27001)
Assign test and control ownership
Add policies, training, and background checks
Start collecting automated evidence

Phase 3: Operationalizing & Audit Readiness

Complete framework scoping and risk assessments
Track test health and address failed items
Connect an auditor and begin evidence sharing
(Optional) Set up Trust Center and Knowledge Base

Admin Dashboard and Role Overview

Your Admin dashboard helps you track onboarding progress and monitor completion across key tasks. It displays test health, integration status, personnel activity, and any action items assigned to your team.

Secureframe supports multiple Admins, which can:

Invite users and assign roles
Connect integrations
Assign test or control ownership
Publish policies and initiate training
Manage scope and readiness tasks

Key Milestones to Reach “Onboarded”

Your organization is typically considered fully onboarded when the following are complete:

Milestone	Description
Personnel invited & categorized	Users are added, in/out of scope identified, ownership assigned
Policies published	Policies are created, reviewed, and published
Training assigned	Security awareness training has been issued to in-scope personnel
Background checks started	Background check provider is selected and checks initiated
Integrations connected	At least 1–2 systems (e.g., AWS, Okta, Gusto) are syncing data
Vendors and risks added	Vendor list and risk register have been populated
Control/test ownership assigned	Responsible parties are set and test progress is visible
Auditor engaged	Auditor has been selected or scheduled, evidence review has begun

Team Involvement and Best Practices

Successful onboarding typically requires input from multiple internal stakeholders. Below are common roles and their responsibilities:

Role	Contribution
Admin / Project Lead	Oversees overall onboarding process
IT / Security Team	Manages integrations, technical control tests
HR / People Ops	Adds personnel, handles training and background checks
Executive Approver	Reviews policies, final scope decisions, or escalations

Integration Strategy

Secureframe supports 300+ integrations across cloud platforms, identity providers, HR systems, device management tools, and endpoint protection software. These integrations are used for evidence collection and to streamline your compliance program.

Examples of integrations include:

Cloud: AWS, Azure, GCP
HR: Gusto, BambooHR, Rippling
Identity: Okta, Google Workspace, Azure AD
Device/Endpoint: Jamf, Kandji, CrowdStrike
Vulnerability Management: Snyk, Qualys

You can connect integrations from the Integrations tab in your Secureframe dashboard.

Policy Setup and Personnel Engagement

Once personnel are invited to the platform, Admins can categorize users (e.g., contractor vs. full-time), mark them in or out of scope, assign policies and training, and track completion.

You can:

Assign personnel to Training & Policy related tasks
Publish policies to individual users or groups
Initiate background checks through supported vendors
Track progress from the Personnel or Dashboard tabs

Frameworks, Tests, and Evidence

Secureframe maps each compliance framework into controls, tests, and evidence requirements. Tests are automatically passed or failed based on integration data and document uploads.

Admins can:

Assign test and control ownership
View control health (healthy, at risk, failing)
Override test statuses with justification if needed
Add or review control maturity

Optional Features

In addition to onboarding and audit readiness, Secureframe provides optional tools to streamline security operations:

Trust Center

Branded security page for external sharing
Upload certifications, policies, and documents
Configure a custom domain and publish

Knowledge Base

Upload and maintain answers to common security questionnaires
Auto-fill future questionnaires with consistent, approved answers

Security Questionnaires

Upload customer/vendor questionnaires
Secureframe maps and fills in responses using your Knowledge Base
Export and send a completed version

Timeline Expectations

The onboarding timeline varies by organization size and available resources. Below is a general estimate:

Stage	Typical Duration
Initial Setup	1–3 days
Integrations & Ownership Assignment	1–2 weeks
Policy & Personnel Setup	1–3 weeks
Risk/Vendor Input & Control Review	2–4 weeks
Audit Readiness Review	Total onboarding in 30–60 days (Record: Less than 7 days)

Many customers complete onboarding in 30 days with a dedicated Admin. Timelines may extend based on integration delays, policy review cycles, or control remediation needs.