Quick Start Guides
Role-specific guides to help you get started with Sparko quickly. Features and destinations appear when your permissions and workspace plan allow them.
For Employees
Your First Week Checklist
- Complete your profile - Add your photo and verify information
- Set up MFA - Enable multi-factor authentication for security
- Review your PTO balance - Check available time off in Time & Leave
- Set your OKRs - Create or review your objectives (Performance > Goals)
- Meet the AI - Try asking the AI Assistant a question
Common Tasks
| Task | Where to Go | How |
|---|---|---|
| Request time off | Time & Leave > Request PTO | Click "Request Time Off", select dates |
| Update profile | Profile menu > My Profile | Edit and save |
| View my bank details / pay components | My Profile > Personal / Compensation | Add or edit; HR verifies bank |
| Give feedback | Performance > Feedback | Choose the recipient and write feedback |
Using AI for Help
The AI Assistant can help you with almost anything:
Try saying:
- "How much PTO do I have left?"
- "Help me write an OKR for this quarter"
- "What skills should I focus on to grow as a Python developer?"
- "Show me my performance review history"
For Managers
Your First Week Checklist
- Review your team - Check your direct reports in People > My Team
- Pending approvals - Handle any pending PTO or timesheet approvals
- Team OKRs - Review and align team objectives
- Schedule 1-on-1s - Set up recurring meetings with direct reports
- Performance check - Review any pending performance reviews
Managing Your Team
Team Dashboard (People > My Team)
- View all direct reports at a glance
- See upcoming time off
- Track team OKR progress
- Access quick actions for each team member
Approvals
- PTO requests appear in your dashboard
- Timesheet submissions (if enabled)
Performance Management
- Create OKRs and cascade to team
- Conduct performance reviews
- Give continuous feedback
- Recognize achievements
Common Manager Tasks
| Task | Location | Quick Steps |
|---|---|---|
| Approve PTO | Dashboard or Approvals | Review, approve/deny |
| Run 1-on-1 | Performance > 1-on-1s | Add agenda, take notes |
| Write review | Performance > Reviews | Select employee, complete form |
| Give feedback | Performance > Feedback | Choose type, write feedback |
| View workforce analytics | Analytics > People | Company-wide snapshot, where your permissions allow |
AI for Managers
Try asking:
- "Who on my team has the most PTO remaining?"
- "Help me prepare for my 1-on-1 with [name]"
- "What are the key themes from my team's recent feedback?"
- "Which team members are ready for promotion?"
For HR Professionals
Your First Week Checklist
- Company settings - Review company configuration in Admin
- Active recruiting - Check open job postings and pipeline
- Compliance items - Review any pending compliance tasks
- Analytics setup - Configure HR dashboards
- Onboarding queue - Check pending new hires
HR Operations
Recruiting (Recruiting Module)
- Create and manage job postings
- Review candidates in the pipeline
- Schedule interviews
- Generate and send offers
People Management (People Module)
- Employee directory and org chart
- Onboarding workflows
- Offboarding checklists
- Document management
Analytics & Reporting
- Headcount trends
- Turnover analysis
- Diversity metrics
- Compensation analysis
Common HR Tasks
| Task | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Post job | Recruiting > Jobs > Create | AI generates description |
| Screen candidates | Recruiting > Candidates | AI prioritizes automatically |
| Onboard new hire | People > Onboarding | Templates available |
| Run a payroll export | Compensation > Payroll Run | HR only; generate, review, finalize, download bank files |
| Generate report | Analytics > Builder | Save a report, then use More > Export report for CSV or PDF |
AI for HR
Try asking:
- "What's our current time-to-hire for engineering roles?"
- "Generate a job description for a Senior Product Manager"
- "Show me employees at risk of leaving"
- "What are the most common reasons for turnover?"
For Executives
Your Dashboard
The executive dashboard provides:
- Company-wide headcount and trends
- Turnover and retention metrics
- Hiring velocity and pipeline
- Compensation analysis
- OKR completion rates
Strategic Views
Organization Overview
- Full org chart with filtering
- Department breakdown
- Location distribution
- Management spans
Workforce Analytics
- Headcount trends over time
- Turnover by department/location
- Diversity metrics
- Tenure distribution
Performance Insights
- Company OKR progress
- Review completion rates
- High performer identification
- Development investment
Executive Quick Actions
| Need | Where | What You'll See |
|---|---|---|
| Org overview | People > Org Chart | Interactive hierarchy |
| Headcount | Analytics > People | Headcount, distribution and movement |
| Performance | Performance > Dashboard | Company-wide OKRs |
| Pay equity | Analytics > Pay Equity | Cohort pay gaps and outliers on Business and above |
AI for Executives
Try asking:
- "What's our engineering headcount trend this year?"
- "Which departments have the highest turnover?"
- "How are we tracking against company OKRs?"
- "What's our gender distribution at the leadership level?"
For Administrators
Initial Setup
Company Profile (Workspace settings > Company)
- Company name and logo
- Locale and currency
- Default timezone
Legal entity (guided setup step 2, or Workspace settings > Entities)
- Legal name, registration number and registered address
- Who signs for the company: you, another member, or someone outside the company
- Needed before you send documents or employment contracts for e-signature
Member Management (Workspace settings > Members)
- Invite users
- Assign roles
- Manage permissions
Module Configuration
- Enable/disable modules
- Configure workflows
- Set approval chains
Integrations
- Slack and Microsoft Teams notifications
- Public API keys and webhooks
- Linear and Notion for the assistant
Admin Tasks
| Task | Location | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Add member | Workspace settings > Members | Invite colleagues and manage access |
| Set role | Workspace settings > Roles and access | Define permissions |
| Configure module | People settings > General > Modules | Enable or disable People modules |
| View audit logs | Workspace settings > Audit and data | Security and compliance |
| Manage integrations | Workspace settings > Integrations | Connect external systems |
Security Administration
- Access Control: Role-based permissions
- Audit Logs: Track all system changes
- Data Export: GDPR compliance exports
- MFA Enforcement: Require for all users
AI for Admins
Try asking:
- "Show me recent failed login attempts"
- "Which users haven't logged in for 30 days?"
- "What permissions does the Manager role have?"
- "Generate an audit report for this month"
Need More Help?
- In-depth guides: See the Module Guides section
- AI Features: Learn about AI capabilities
- Admin configuration: See Admin Guide
- API access: See Developer API and Webhooks
Still need help? Reach us at [email protected].
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