---
title: Launching a signature campaign
description: "Send the same document for signature to a whole population in five steps: document, population, signers, configuration and launch."
url: "http://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/hr-access-launching-a-signature-campaign/"
updated: "2026-11-11"
category: Core HR services / HR access
---

# Launching a signature campaign

A signature campaign sends the same document for signature to a whole population in a single operation: a remote working amendment to an entire department, a certificate to every employee of a subsidiary, the new IT charter to the whole company. Each recipient receives their own signature request, and the signed document is filed in their file. This article walks through the **New signature campaign** wizard step by step, up to launch. It is intended for HR teams and administrators.

## Before you start

- The Documents module must be installed and open to you. Campaigns open from **HR access › Bulk signatures**.
- Required permission: **Signature campaigns — send a document for signature to a whole population**, at Execute level to create a campaign. The supplied Administrator and HR Manager roles carry it.
- Some wizard settings also require the one-by-one sending permissions, at Execute level: **Signature — Select signatories** (other signers, people notified), **Signature — Configure (deadline/order/reminders)** (signing order) and **Signature — Change request language**. Without them, the corresponding element does not appear.
- For a document filled in for each person, the template must exist among your workspace’s document templates, or you need a Word file (.docx) containing variables.
- Scope: only employees to whom you could send a signature request one by one receive the document. The wizard’s preview checks this employee by employee.

## Opening the wizard

1. Open **HR access › Bulk signatures**. The **Signature campaigns** screen lists your campaigns with their **Status**, their creation date (**Created on**) and the number of documents **Signed** out of the number of recipients.
2. Click **New campaign**. The wizard has five steps. You can go back freely; you can only move forward once the previous steps are complete. Below the wizard, the document preview shows the chosen document.

![Signature campaigns screen: the New campaign button at the top right, then a table with Campaign, Status, Created on and Signed columns; three campaigns with the Sent status: Charte informatique 2027 (0 / 6), Règlement du personnel — accusé de lecture (1 / 5) and Avenant télétravail 2027 (4 / 8).](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/acces-rh-04.en_-scaled.png?resize=800%2C165&quality=80&ssl=1)
The campaign list and the New campaign button.

## Step 1 — Choose the document to sign

Three sources are available:

- **A template filled in for each**: choose a template in the **Template** list. Its variables (name, position, address…) are filled in from each employee’s file. This is the choice for an amendment or a certificate.
- **A Word document with placeholders**: upload your own .docx file in **Word document (.docx)**. Its variables, written `${...}`, are filled in the same way. The file is read as soon as you select it: the screen shows how many placeholders were found and lists them, or a message if it cannot be read.
- **The same PDF for everyone**: attach the file in **PDF to sign**. It is copied unchanged into everyone’s file. This is the choice for a charter or a regulation. Only a PDF is accepted here; for a Word file, use the previous card.

The **Category in the file** list sets where the document is filed in each employee’s file. It is optional for a template or a Word file (the template’s category then applies).

![Step 1 of the New signature campaign wizard: the five numbered steps at the top, step 1 Document to sign active; under the heading The document to sign, three cards with A template filled in for each selected; the Template list shows Accord de télétravail, then the empty Category in the file list with the hint “Optional: without a choice, the template’s category.” and the Next button.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/acces-rh-05.en_-scaled.png?resize=800%2C378&quality=80&ssl=1)
Step 1: a template filled in for each employee.

## Step 2 — Define the population

Under **Who receives the document**, choose one of two modes:

- **A group, by criteria**: under **INCLUDE**, pick values among **Departments**, **Offices**, **Teams**, **Sub-companies**, **Employment type**, **Groups**, **Employee group** and **Employee sub-group**. No criterion targets the whole company; several values of the same criterion add up, two different criteria combine. Under **EXCLUDE**, you can leave out people **Hired after** a given date and tick **Exclude employees on probation**.
- **Named employees**: pick people one by one in the **Employees** list.

![Step 2, A group, by criteria mode selected: the INCLUDE section with the hint “No criterion = the whole company” and eight lists set to All (Departments, Offices, Teams, Sub-companies, Employment type, Groups, Employee group, Employee sub-group), then the EXCLUDE section with the Hired after date field and the Exclude employees on probation checkbox.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/acces-rh-06.en_-scaled.png?resize=800%2C312&quality=80&ssl=1)
Step 2: the population by criteria.

### Reading the preview

Below the population, the preview shows how many employees will receive the document and how many are blocked. It recalculates on its own when you change the population; the **Refresh** button runs it on demand. For a large campaign based on a template, the calculation runs in the background and a bar shows its progress.

- **Will not receive the document** expands to list the blocked people and the reason: **No e-mail address**, **Variables without a value** (with the variables concerned) or **Template unreadable for this employee**.
- If your workspace has a signature quota, the preview shows how many signatures are already committed for the period and how many the campaign needs. If the quota is not enough, the campaign will be refused: it is never sent halfway.
- For an employee with several contracts, the preview states that the document is issued under their main contract.

### Filling in missing variables

For a template or a Word file, some variables may not be filled in in some employees’ files. They appear under **Common values**, with the number of people for whom they are empty.

1. Enter a common value: it applies to everyone whose file does not provide it. A variable left empty blocks the employee concerned.
2. For a value specific to each person (new salary, effective date, position), use **Values per employee**: click **Download the CSV template** (one row per employee, one column per variable), fill it in, then click **Import the filled CSV**. Rows set aside during the import are listed with their reason: **Format**, **Outside the population** or **Unknown column**. **Remove the imported values** cancels the import.

Order of priority: the value from the employee’s file comes first, then the one from the CSV file, then the common value. Values are copied into the document as they are: Illizeo calculates no amount.

![Campaign preview: “41 employees will receive the document · 1 blocked”, the Refresh button and the collapsed Will not receive the document (1) line; below, the Common values section listing ten variables with the number of people for whom each is empty, including Remote work start date filled with 01.01.2027, Place of work with Lausanne head office and Remote working days with Monday and Friday; at the bottom, the Values per employee section with the Download the CSV template and Import the filled CSV buttons.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/acces-rh-07.en_-scaled.png?resize=800%2C378&quality=80&ssl=1)
Common values fill in what the employee’s file does not provide.

## Step 3 — Choose the signers and the approval

1. If your role allows it, answer **Must the signatures follow a set order?** with **Yes** or **No**.
2. The **Each recipient signs their document** box is ticked by default. Untick it if the document is only to be signed by other people; at least one other signer is then required.
3. In **Other signers, for every document**, add the people who sign each document after the recipient (for example the HR director). Reorder them by dragging them or with the **Move up** and **Move down** arrows.
4. In the **Approval** box, optionally choose who approves the campaign. It follows the “Signature campaigns” circuit in Settings › Workflows: the first approver to decide settles it for everyone. Without a choice, the author’s line manager approves it. You cannot be your own approver.
5. In **Notify the following employees when a document is signed**, add the people to notify at each signature.

![Step 3 Select the signers: the question about signing order with Yes selected, the Each recipient signs their document box ticked, the Other signers, for every document list, the Approval box explaining the Signature campaigns circuit with a field to choose approvers, and the Notify the following employees when a document is signed list.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/acces-rh-08.en_-scaled.png?resize=800%2C376&quality=80&ssl=1)
Step 3: signers, approval and people notified.

## Step 4 — Configure the request

1. In **Select the service provider**, choose DocuSign or Adobe Sign if they are enabled for your workspace, or **Only Validation**: the request then goes through Illizeo’s internal validation, without an electronic signature provider. Internal validation does not count towards the signature quota.
2. If your role allows it, choose the **Language of requests and reminders**: by default, **Each employee’s language**; you can also impose French, English, German or Italian on the whole campaign.

![Step 4 Configure the request: the Select the service provider list set to Only Validation, with the note “Internal validation does not count towards the signature quota.”, then the Language of requests and reminders list set to Each employee’s language.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/acces-rh-09.en_-scaled.png?resize=800%2C201&quality=80&ssl=1)
Step 4: the provider and the language of the requests.

## Step 5 — Name and launch the campaign

1. Enter the **Campaign name**. It is the subject of each signature request, and the name of the document filed.
2. Review the final preview: number of recipients, blocked people, quota.
3. Click **Launch the campaign**. The button stays greyed out while no employee can receive the document.

If the approval circuit is active, the campaign is submitted to it and nothing is sent before its decision; the message “Campaign submitted to its approval circuit.” appears. Otherwise, it is sent as soon as it is created (“Campaign launched: the requests are being sent.”). Either way, the campaign’s tracking page opens: see [Tracking a signature campaign](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/hr-access-tracking-a-signature-campaign/).

![Step 5 Follow-up request: the Campaign name field filled with Remote working agreement 2027 and its hint, the preview “41 employees will receive the document · 1 blocked” with the collapsed Will not receive the document (1) line, the sentence about the approval circuit, then the Previous and Launch the campaign buttons.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/acces-rh-10.en_-scaled.png?resize=800%2C243&quality=80&ssl=1)
Step 5: the campaign name and the final preview.

## Good to know

- The population is frozen at launch: only the people the preview can send to become recipients. For a campaign by criteria, people who have since entered the criteria can be added later from the tracking page.
- A single approval covers the whole campaign: approved, every document is sent; declined, nothing is sent.
- Just before sending, each file is read again: a document is never printed with an empty variable.
- The “Signature campaigns” circuit is configured like any other approval circuit. See [Creating and editing a workflow](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/workflows-create-and-edit/).

## Frequently asked questions

### Why is an employee blocked with “No e-mail address”?

Their profile has no e-mail address, so the signature request cannot be sent to them. Complete their profile, then click **Refresh**.

### Can I save a draft campaign?

No. The wizard is completed in one go; if you leave the page before launching, nothing is saved.

### The New campaign button does not appear.

Your role carries the campaign permission at Access level only: you can track your campaigns but not create them. Execute level is required.

### Can I send a Word file as it is, without variables?

No: an uploaded Word file must contain at least one variable. For a document that is identical for everyone, convert it to PDF and choose **The same PDF for everyone**.

### *Similaire*