Start+: Onboarding Made Smarter, Not Harder

The goal is always to work smarter and not harder, right? That’s why it’s so frustrating when a routine task eats up your time by burying you under a mountain of repetitive paperwork. As anyone who’s ever been hired for a production will tell you, the entertainment industry, like other industries, isn’t immune to this phenomenon.  

Plainly put, simplifying the onboarding process comes down to the digitization of start packets and documentation. Digitizing this start paperwork, including things like personal information (names, addresses, contacts), studio documentation, and I-9s, would not only benefit the studios and payroll companies, but also the crew people burdened with the tedium of sorting through old documents for every new job opportunity. The need for a completely digital and more secure start paperwork process couldn’t be clearer. 

Fortunately, Start+ is here to help solve for these concerns and more. 

Getting Started With Start+ 

Start+ is a digital platform that processes documentation and crew deals, shifting onboarding from paper forms to digital experiences that helps enable faster, more accurate and customizable start packets. By removing the paper from paperwork, Start+ allows users to access, send, and sort through documents from anywhere and at any time. And in addition to helping ensure that all onboarding documentation is accurately and legally signed, Start+ provides key features like automated approval workflow, interaction-based triggers for digital forms, and up-to-date scale rates, making sure that the start process is completed in compliance with internal, union, and legal audit requirements. 

Translation: Start+ lets you onboard in a more simplified way. 

The Benefits 

Start+ streamlines the onboarding process from top to bottom, helping you save time and paper. Users can filter and download documentation by specific criteria, export emergency contact lists and crew payroll, and add supporting documentation based on studio requirements. The mobile-friendly process helps ensure that all onboarding documentation is accurately signed. In addition, Start+ documents include legally compliant digital signatures, audit logs, and customizable and conditional automated approval workflows with triggers. 

For a full breakdown of Start+’s features and benefits, visit this page. 

How To Digitize Your Onboarding 

To get started, just reach out to our Sales team. Getting set up is so simple, you’ll wonder why you ever did it the old way. When you’re ready to go, you’ll have your crew up and running in just four simple steps: 

1. Go Live – All of your projects are conveniently set up in the Start+ system, providing a simple and comprehensive view of your workload. 
2. Begin To Create Offers – Launch Start+ from the MyCast&Crew portal to begin generating offers. Just choose the “Create Offer” tab and complete the required fields. When you’re done, click “Verify,” and then … whoosh! Your offer is sent to a crew member instantly. 
3. Crew Members Receive Offers – Once the crew member receives their packet digitally, they can complete their portion of the documentation and approve their deal from anywhere and on any device. 
4. Review – The I-9 or W-4 will be reviewed and fully approved, allowing the crew member to appear in payroll. 

Productions can be long and tricky, so starting your crew off on the right foot is an important way to lighten the load from the get-go. It’s simple. It’s paperless. It’s Start+. 

Note: Customers must have an internet connection. Customers must also be provisioned in Start+ and processing payroll through Cast & Crew. Start+ is available for use in Canada (except for Quebec) with small differences, including verbiage localizations, internal operational differences, and tax documents.