Can I change the milestones, or add our own?

Yes. The settings block lists each milestone as a name, the date it counts from and a day count. The defaults are probation end at 90 days from the start date, a check-in at 180, and an annual review at 365 days from the last review date, or from the start date when there is none. Add a row for a 30-day check-in, or move probation to 180 days, then add a matching sent-date column to the sheet.

What stops a manager getting the same reminder every morning?

The sent-date column. Once a reminder goes out, today's date is written to that milestone's column on the row, and the filter skips any row with a date there. Clear the cell to send it again.

Our roster is in Excel, not Google Sheets. Will it work?

Not as shipped; the read and write steps are Google Sheets nodes. An Excel file in OneDrive or SharePoint can be swapped in with the Microsoft Excel node, a small change we can quote if you would rather not make it yourself.

Do I need a paid n8n plan, and does it run on Make or Zapier?

n8n Cloud's Starter plan or a self-hosted instance runs it, and a Make blueprint is in the package. Zapier can build the same loop with its Schedule, Looping and Filter steps on a paid plan, but we do not ship a Zapier version of this one.

GSGMade to order

Hiring, onboarding & HR

Google Sheets employee roster → Gmail probation and review reminders

Managers hear a week before each probation end and review date, from the roster sheet.

Each morning the workflow reads your employee roster in Google Sheets and works out whose probation end, six-month check-in or annual review falls in the next seven days. The manager gets one email per employee from your own mailbox, with the date, the milestone and a link to the review form. Each send date goes back onto the roster. Built for companies that track staff in a spreadsheet rather than an HRIS.

How it works

GS
Trigger
Daily 08:00 read of the employee roster sheet (Schedule Trigger, then the Google Sheets node reads every active row)
Google Sheets
if
Step 1
Work out which milestones fall due
Takes each active employee's start date and last review date, applies the milestone rules from the settings (probation end, six-month check-in, annual review) and keeps those due within seven days with no sent date recorded.
G
Step 2
Email the manager
Sends one message per employee to the manager's address on the row, copying HR, with the employee's name, the milestone, the due date and the link to your review form or template.
GS
Step 3
Record the reminder
Writes today's date into the milestone's sent column on the employee's row, so the same reminder is never sent twice.
G
Step 4
Send HR the morning summary
When at least one reminder went out, sends HR a single email listing every employee, milestone and manager reminded that morning; on quiet days nothing is sent.

What changes once it runs

Every manager gets a reminder seven days before a probation end, a six-month check-in or an annual review, without HR checking dates by hand.
The roster shows when each reminder was sent, so nobody has to ask whether the manager was told.
HR receives one summary each morning something is due, and no email on the days nothing is.
Milestone rules live in one settings block, so a longer probation or a quarterly check-in is a one-line change.

What you get

The n8n workflow export with the daily schedule, the milestone rules and the sent-date write-back
Make blueprint of the same flow
Google Sheets roster template with the columns the workflow reads and the three sent-date columns it writes
Reminder and summary emails as editable templates, with every roster field they can use
Setup guide covering the Google OAuth connection, the sheet ID and the milestone settings
Recorded walkthrough of a morning run against a sample roster

Before you start

A Google Sheet employee roster with columns for name, manager email, start date, status and one sent-date column per milestone; the template is included
Gmail or Google Workspace mailbox to send from, connected to n8n by OAuth
One link to your review form or template, whether a Google Form, a Doc or a page in your HR tool
An n8n instance, Cloud or self-hosted; nothing calls in, so no public URL is needed

Built for

Questions before you buy

Can I change the milestones, or add our own?: Yes. The settings block lists each milestone as a name, the date it counts from and a day count. The defaults are probation end at 90 days from the start date, a check-in at 180, and an annual review at 365 days from the last review date, or from the start date when there is none. Add a row for a 30-day check-in, or move probation to 180 days, then add a matching sent-date column to the sheet.
What stops a manager getting the same reminder every morning?: The sent-date column. Once a reminder goes out, today's date is written to that milestone's column on the row, and the filter skips any row with a date there. Clear the cell to send it again.
Our roster is in Excel, not Google Sheets. Will it work?: Not as shipped; the read and write steps are Google Sheets nodes. An Excel file in OneDrive or SharePoint can be swapped in with the Microsoft Excel node, a small change we can quote if you would rather not make it yourself.
Do I need a paid n8n plan, and does it run on Make or Zapier?: n8n Cloud's Starter plan or a self-hosted instance runs it, and a Make blueprint is in the package. Zapier can build the same loop with its Schedule, Looping and Filter steps on a paid plan, but we do not ship a Zapier version of this one.

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