Inviting and onboarding new staff
Send invitations, assign roles, and walk new staff through their first session.
Inviting staff in Lectern is a two-step flow: an invitation email is sent, the recipient sets their password (or signs in via SSO), and their permissions take effect immediately. Invitations expire after 7 days but can be re-sent.
Inviting a single staff member
Open the invitations page
From the sidebar: Admin → Staff → Invitations. The shortcut Cmd+K → Invite staff works too.
Fill in the basics
Email address, full name, and the role they’ll have. Roles are school_admin, bursar, teacher, or a custom role you’ve defined in permissions.
Send
Click Send invitation. The new staff member receives an email with a setup link valid for 7 days.
Bulk-inviting (CSV)
For a new year or campus opening, paste a list rather than inviting one-by-one. From the same page, click Bulk invite and upload a CSV with email, name, and role columns.
If you’ve enabled SSO
With Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 SSO enabled, invitations skip the password step entirely - the new staff member clicks the link, signs in with their school account, and they’re in. See Configuring SSO.
Setting permissions
Built-in roles cover most cases. If you need finer control (e.g. a bursar who can’t see learner medical info), define a custom role in Admin → Staff → Permissions.
Permissions take effect on the next sign-in or token refresh - usually within a minute. Active sessions are not forced out.
Day-one onboarding tips
- Pre-assign classes before invitations go out - new teachers land directly on their classroom view.
- Walk them through taking attendance and recording markson day one. Two short flows; they’ll have the rest by week’s end.
- Share the help center URL in your welcome email. Most staff will return here repeatedly in the first month.
Re-sending or revoking invitations
Outstanding invitations show on the Invitations tab with their expiry date. Click Re-send to renew the link, or Revoketo invalidate it. Revoked links can’t be activated.
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