Before Rippling, onboarding at Go-Forth was a manual relay race. A Google Sheet triggered broadcast emails to 10+ people across departments. Someone would forget to check a box. Access wouldn't get provisioned. Day one would arrive with the new hire locked out of critical systems.

It took all the hands out of it. What used to be a 10–15 person scramble across spreadsheets and apps is now largely automated in Rippling — from account creation to app access — so onboarding actually happens on time without us herding cats.

Josh Baker

Process Improvement Director at Go-Forth

Now, Rippling's automated workflows handle the entire process. Google accounts are generated two days before a new hire’s start date. App provisioning kicks in a day before. Manager notifications, calendar invites, and credentials all flow automatically based on role and location. 

The master spreadsheet? Gone. The broadcast emails? Mostly FYIs now.

"Two days before someone starts, Rippling spins up Google and the right apps," Josh explained. "Managers get the credentials, day-one invites land automatically, and the employee logs in through one place.”

The numbers tell the story: Onboarding is now 80% automated, requiring only two people instead of 15. During their busiest hiring season, Go-Forth had record onboarding volume with zero payroll issues and minimal IT noise, allowing their teams to work more efficiently.

Managing a mobile workforce means managing mobile devices — and Go-Forth was losing that battle. iPhones tied to personal Apple IDs would get bricked. Devices would disappear into the field with no tracking. The limited MDM setup through JumpCloud offered minimal guardrails and zero visibility into their actual inventory.

Rippling's deep Apple Business Manager integration changed everything. Pre-staged devices now pull automatically into their system, creating a live inventory that shows exactly what's deployed, what's available, and what needs attention. During cleanup, they discovered 268 assigned devices and 94 unassigned ones they didn't even know existed.

Seeing pre-staged devices pull straight from Apple Business Manager into Rippling was a game-changer. We finally have a live inventory and can enforce policies — no more 'mystery iPhones' bricked by personal Apple IDs.

Josh Baker

Process Improvement Director at Go-Forth

The real game-changer? Configuration "recipes" that let Josh apply complex policies with simple checkboxes. 

Block iCloud sync to prevent data exfiltration? Check. Enforce security settings across the fleet? Check. Roll out new policies without memorizing JSON configurations? Check.

"The configuration 'recipes' are huge," Josh said. "I don't want to upload JSON or memorize arcane settings — I want checkboxes that target the right people. We roll out policies quickly and consistently without needing an IT specialist at every step."

Before Rippling, Josh and his team were drowning in access requests and device issues. Twenty to thirty hours every week went to triaging "I can't access X" tickets, tracking down who owned what system, and manually fixing problems that should have been prevented in the first place.

I used to spend 20 to 30 hours a week triaging access and device issues—now it's maybe five. Auto-enrollment, MDM guardrails, and better workflows turned constant firefighting into an occasional check-in.

Josh Baker

Process Improvement Director at Go-Forth

The transformation goes beyond time savings. Onboarding processes, offboarding processes, and employee transitions like title changes, location moves and department shifts now follow structured approval flows through manager and CFO sign-offs. Data stays clean. Systems update automatically. Nothing slips through the cracks.

"Transitions that used to slip through the cracks are tracked and effectively-dated, so data stays clean and systems update when they should,” Josh explained. 

Rippling's unified provisioning extends to their critical field service platforms through API workflows and custom apps. FieldRoutes CRM, Unity/Fleet Complete, and Podium all sync automatically with the employee record. Daily scheduled file transfers keep their data warehouse refreshed for reconciliations and audits.

With the day-to-day finally under control, Josh and his team have shifted from reactive to proactive. Instead of fighting fires, they're planning for scale, designing workflows and approval chains that will support Go-Forth's growth to $100M and beyond.

We've moved from reactive to proactive. Instead of 'I didn't get access today,' we're planning for what gets us to $100M revenue — how to scale workflows, data flows, and approvals — because the day-to-day is finally under control.

Josh Baker

Process Improvement Director at Go-Forth

Key areas where Go-Forth continues to expand with Rippling:

Security at scale: Passwords are no longer stuck in spreadsheets, creating more convenient and secure access. Centralized visibility spans mobile and desktop. Every policy has guardrails that actually work.

Operational excellence: During peak season, the lack of complaints became Josh's favorite KPI. "The system is working. During our busiest hiring season, we had record onboarding volume, no payroll issues, and minimal noise. Honestly, the lack of complaints has become my KPI — it means the automation is doing its job."

Growing reputation: The transformation hasn't gone unnoticed. "Everybody thinks I'm an IT genius," Josh laughed, "but the truth is Rippling makes it simple. I'm a process guy, and with recipes, custom objects, and workflows, I can design outcomes without writing code or babysitting integrations."

Advanced spend controls: Their Rippling Spend policies offer more nuanced controls than their previous Bill.com and Divi setup. "We can allow freedom within a framework," Josh noted. "Flag patterns over time, set conditional limits, and keep people moving without losing oversight."

Looking ahead, Go-Forth has the infrastructure to match their ambitions. Manual processes that once consumed weeks now run automatically. Device chaos has become organized control. And Josh? He's finally free to work on strategic initiatives instead of access tickets.

"It feels like we finally have a real, repeatable process," he reflected. And for a company managing complexity across 26 locations, that's exactly what scaling looks like.