Automating User Onboarding with PnP PowerShell

User onboarding in Microsoft 365 and SharePoint Online involves multiple steps, such as:

Creating user accounts
Assigning licenses and permissions
Adding users to SharePoint groups
Creating OneDrive storage
Setting up default files and folders
Granting access to SharePoint sites
Sending welcome emails

With PnP PowerShell, you can automate these tasks, reducing manual effort and ensuring a consistent onboarding process.

Step 1: Install and Connect PnP PowerShell

Before running any commands, install PnP PowerShell if you haven’t already:

Install-Module -Name PnP.PowerShell -Scope CurrentUser -Force

Then, connect to Microsoft 365:

$AdminUrl = "https://yourtenant-admin.sharepoint.com"
Connect-PnPOnline -Url $AdminUrl -Interactive

Connected to SharePoint Online!

Step 2: Create a New Microsoft 365 User

To create a new user, use Microsoft Graph PowerShell (PnP PowerShell does not handle user creation directly).

$UserPrincipalName = "newuser@yourtenant.onmicrosoft.com"
$DisplayName = "New Employee"
$PasswordProfile = @{
    Password = "P@ssword1234"
    ForceChangePasswordNextSignIn = $true
}

New-MgUser -UserPrincipalName $UserPrincipalName `
           -DisplayName $DisplayName `
           -MailNickname "newuser" `
           -AccountEnabled $true `
           -PasswordProfile $PasswordProfile

User account created!

Step 3: Assign a Microsoft 365 License

To assign a license, first get the available SKU IDs:

Get-MgSubscribedSku | Select-Object SkuId, SkuPartNumber

Example output:

SkuId                                SkuPartNumber
-----                                --------------
6fd2c87f-b296-42f0-b197-1e91e994b900 ENTERPRISEPACK

Now, assign the license:

$License = @{
    "SkuId" = "6fd2c87f-b296-42f0-b197-1e91e994b900"
}

Set-MgUserLicense -UserId $UserPrincipalName -AddLicenses $License -RemoveLicenses @()

Microsoft 365 license assigned!

Step 4: Add User to SharePoint Groups

To add the user to a SharePoint site group, first get the Group ID:

$SiteUrl = "https://yourtenant.sharepoint.com/sites/YourSite"
Connect-PnPOnline -Url $SiteUrl -Interactive

Get-PnPGroup | Select Title, Id

Example output:

Title                  Id
--------------------   ----
Members               5
Owners                3
Visitors              7

Now, add the user to the Members group:

$GroupId = 5  # Replace with actual group ID
Add-PnPGroupMember -LoginName $UserPrincipalName -Group $GroupId

User added to SharePoint group!

Step 5: Create a OneDrive Storage for the User

Run the following command to provision OneDrive storage:

Request-SPOPersonalSite -UserEmails $UserPrincipalName

OneDrive created for the user!

Step 6: Create Default Folders and Files in OneDrive

After provisioning OneDrive, upload default files:

$OneDriveUrl = "https://yourtenant-my.sharepoint.com/personal/newuser_yourtenant_onmicrosoft_com/Documents"
Connect-PnPOnline -Url $OneDriveUrl -Interactive

# Create a default folder
New-PnPListItem -List "Documents" -Values @{"FileLeafRef"="Welcome Documents"}

# Upload a welcome PDF
Add-PnPFile -Path "C:\Templates\Welcome.pdf" -Folder "Documents/Welcome Documents"

Default files uploaded to OneDrive!

Step 7: Assign SharePoint Site Permissions

To grant direct site access, run:

Grant-PnPAzureADUserSitePermission -LoginName $UserPrincipalName -Site $SiteUrl -Roles "Read"

User granted read access to SharePoint!

Step 8: Send a Welcome Email

Now, send a welcome email using Power Automate or SMTP:

$SMTPServer = "smtp.office365.com"
$SMTPPort = "587"
$From = "admin@yourtenant.com"
$To = $UserPrincipalName
$Subject = "Welcome to the Company!"
$Body = @"
Hello $DisplayName,

Welcome to the company! Your account is set up.

Here are your details:
- Email: $UserPrincipalName
- SharePoint Site: $SiteUrl
- OneDrive: $OneDriveUrl

Let us know if you need help.

Best,  
IT Team
"@

Send-MailMessage -SmtpServer $SMTPServer -Port $SMTPPort -UseSsl `
    -Credential (Get-Credential) -From $From -To $To -Subject $Subject -Body $Body

Welcome email sent!

Step 9: Automate the Process Using a Script

To onboard multiple users at once, save the script as OnboardUsers.ps1 and run it in bulk:

$Users = Import-Csv "C:\UsersList.csv"  # CSV file containing UserPrincipalName and DisplayName

foreach ($User in $Users) {
    $UserPrincipalName = $User.UserPrincipalName
    $DisplayName = $User.DisplayName

    # Create User, Assign License, Add to SharePoint Groups, etc.
    Write-Host "Onboarding $DisplayName..."
}

Bulk onboarding automated!