District Snapshot

District Background

Location

Indianapolis, IN

FTE

~1,800

Products & Solutions

Frontline Central

Before Frontline Central	After Frontline Central
Before Frontline Central Paper-based onboarding with no electronic files made orientation feel like “process over people,” weakening the district’s first impression with new hires.	After Frontline Central Orientation time dropped from 2–3 hours to ~30 minutes because candidates complete paperwork in advance and arrive with benefits information already reviewed.
Before Frontline Central Orientation sessions were dominated by long forms and “awkward dead air,” turning what should have been a welcome into an extended paperwork session.	After Frontline Central Time recovered from paperwork was reallocated to higher-value onboarding, letting HR focus on connection and helping new hires understand the district rather than “just pushing paperwork.”
Before Frontline Central Manual document handling created workflow friction through paper shuffling, chasing signatures, and scattered contract processing—especially for teacher contracts.	After Frontline Central Contracts, including teacher contracts, became contained and trackable, reducing back-and-forth, signature monitoring, and chasing missing paperwork.

Background 

The Metropolitan School District of Warren Township (MSD Warren Township) serves ~11,000 students and employs ~1,800 staff across 9 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 1 high school, plus adult education, an early childhood center, and a career center. With hiring accelerating from spring through summer each year, the district needed HR processes that could scale without losing the human connection that shapes a new employee’s first impression.

The problem: paperwork-heavy onboarding took time away from people

When LeKeda Keith, HR Administrator, joined MSD Warren Township, onboarding was still heavily paper-based. Orientation often became an extended paperwork session which created awkward downtime and pushed the “why choose Warren Township” story into the background. 

The real problem wasn’t just the time it took, but rather the message it sent. Starting a new job should feel welcoming, not like getting processed through a stack of forms. When the first experience is paperwork-heavy and slow, it undercuts the district’s culture and makes HR feel transactional instead of personal. In a market where candidates expect a digital experience, paper-based onboarding doesn’t feel ‘traditional’—it feels outdated, adding unnecessary hurdles at the exact moment you want to impress and reassure great people. 

The solution that made onboarding feel personal again

Warren Township expanded its use of Frontline Central with a clear goal: to get the administrative drag out of the way so HR could spend time where it actually matters:  connection, clarity, and readiness. 

With Frontline, LaKeda described the current onboarding process feeling “less like a transaction and more like the beginning of a relationship with a new hire.”  And that shift matters. Instead of the “dead air” that she felt while new hires sat and filled out paperwork, she can now use that time to get to the know the person and allow them to get grounded: who to call, what to expect, a tour of the building, introduction to staff, and just the reassuring sense that someone actually sees you. LeKeda noted that orientation time was cut from 2-3 hours to 30 minutes since paperwork was completed beforehand and benefits already reviewed. 

Workflow Focus

Digitizing the Workflows That Create the Most Follow-Up

The district focused on digitizing the workflows that cause the most friction and follow-up, helping HR create a smoother path from offer letter to day-one readiness.

Onboarding Packets

New hires complete onboarding packets before arriving, helping orientation feel more prepared and less paperwork-heavy.

Electronic Contracts

Contracts, including teacher contracts, are handled electronically to reduce manual follow-up, signature chasing, and scattered paperwork.

Connected Hiring to Day-One Readiness

A streamlined experience connects Frontline Recruiting & Hiring with Frontline Central so the move from offer letter to day-one readiness is seamless.

Additional wins for MSD Warren Township

LeKeda pointed to the biggest wins as the onboarding packets and contracts. By consolidating both in a single electronic location, the district cut down on paper shuffling and also gave employees the ability to access their documents through their profile whenever they needed them.  

And because Warren Township also uses Frontline Recruiting & Hiring, the information collected during hiring can populate the employee profile in Frontline Central and kick off digital onboarding automatically reducing duplicate data entry and ensuring HR, payroll, and IT are working from the same up-to-date record with fewer emails, faster approvals, and automatic notifications. LeKeda remarked that, “No director in any department should spend that long on paperwork. Getting that time back lets them focus on the people and the projects that matter.” 

Teacher contracts saw an especially noticeable improvement: instead of bouncing between buildings and inboxes, the process became far more contained and trackable, reducing the back-and-forth of sending documents out, monitoring signatures, and chasing down missing paperwork. 

Looking Ahead

For MSD Warren Township, Frontline Central helped turn onboarding from paperwork-heavy to people-centered—cutting orientation from hours to minutes, reducing manual tracking, and improving cross-department coordination. 

The district plans to keep expanding what it streamlines inside Frontline Central, continuing the shift LeKeda cares about most: less chasing paper, more supporting people.