Building a Contract Automation Pipeline: DocQ's Architecture for Delaware North

The 8-Step Pipeline

Delaware North's contract automation isn't a single tool — it's an orchestrated pipeline of eight distinct stages, each handling a specific part of the recruitment contract lifecycle. Understanding how these stages work together reveals why the system achieves 80% faster contract handling and consistent compliance across thousands of contract variations.

Here's the complete pipeline:

1. iCIMS Trigger — Candidate reaches contract stage in ATS
2. Auto-Generate Contract — Dynamic document assembly from clause library
3. Clause Logic — Decision engine selects correct clause versions
4. DocQ Signatures — Branded, mobile-friendly candidate signing
5. Compliance Check — Validation and audit trail generation
6. Push to iCIMS — Signed contracts and status updates synced back
7. Background Checks — Automated Referoo integration
8. Work Rights — Automated CheckWorkRights validation

Let's examine each stage in detail.

Stage 1: iCIMS Integration Trigger

The pipeline begins when a candidate reaches the contract stage in iCIMS — Delaware North's applicant tracking system. This event triggers an automated data fetch via DocQ's no-code iPaaS connector.

The integration pulls a comprehensive parameter set from iCIMS:

• Candidate details — Name, contact information, identification data
• Role parameters — Job title, department, location, employment type
• Award classification — The specific industrial award that governs the role's conditions
• Remuneration inputs — Base rates, allowances, loadings, and other pay components
• Recruiter assignment — Which recruiter is responsible for reviewing this contract

These parameters are the foundation for everything that follows. Every subsequent stage — clause selection, remuneration calculation, reviewer routing — operates on this parameter set.

The integration is bi-directional. As the contract progresses through stages, DocQ pushes status updates back to iCIMS in real time. The candidate's status in the hiring process always reflects the current state of their contract — no manual toggling between systems.

Stage 2: Dynamic Document Assembly

With the parameter set loaded, DocQ assembles the contract automatically. This is where the complexity of Delaware North's requirements becomes apparent.

A single employment contract can contain dozens of clause sections. Each section may have multiple versions — different wording for different employment types, locations, award classifications, or work conditions. The correct combination for each candidate is unique.

DocQ's clause library stores every clause version as a discrete, managed content block. Each clause has metadata defining when it should be used — which parameter values trigger its inclusion. The library is maintained centrally, so when legal or HR updates a clause, every future contract automatically uses the updated version.

The assembly process is deterministic: given the same parameter set, DocQ will always produce the same contract. This eliminates the inconsistency that plagued manual assembly, where two recruiters might select different clause versions for identical candidate profiles.

Stage 3: Decision Engine and Clause Logic

The decision engine is the intelligence layer that transforms raw parameters into a specific contract configuration. For each clause section in the contract template, the engine evaluates the candidate's parameters against a set of configurable rules.

The rules handle scenarios like:

• Employment type branching — Full-time, part-time, casual, and fixed-term contracts each require different clause sets covering leave entitlements, notice periods, and termination conditions
• Award-specific clauses — Different industrial awards mandate different working condition clauses, penalty rate structures, and allowance types
• Location-based variations — State-specific regulatory requirements and workplace policies
• Role-level conditions — Management roles may include additional clauses for KPIs, bonuses, or restraint of trade

The decision engine also handles remuneration calculations. Using parameters fetched from iCIMS — base rates, award classifications, loading percentages — DocQ performs the calculations programmatically and inserts the results into the appropriate contract fields. These calculated values are also pushed back to iCIMS, ensuring the ATS and the contract always agree on compensation figures.

The key architectural decision here is that the rules are configuration, not code. HR and legal teams can modify clause logic, add new clause versions, and adjust calculation parameters without involving IT. This is what makes the system maintainable at scale — Delaware North can adapt to regulatory changes, award updates, or new employment types through configuration rather than development.

Stage 4: Recruiter Review and Routing

Before a contract reaches the candidate, it needs internal review. DocQ handles this routing automatically based on the recruiter assignment from iCIMS.

The routing logic works as follows:

1. DocQ reads the recruiter identifier from the iCIMS parameter set
2. The system matches this identifier against existing DocQ users
3. If found, the contract is delivered to that recruiter's review queue
4. If not found (new recruiter, temporary staff), the contract routes to a predefined fallback reviewer

This automatic routing eliminates the manual step of determining who should review each contract and then sharing the document with them. Reviewers see only the contracts assigned to them, with all relevant context — candidate details, calculated remuneration, selected clauses — visible in the review interface.

The review step preserves version history. The pre-review and post-review versions of the contract are both stored, creating an audit trail of any modifications made during review.

Stage 5: DocQ Signatures

Approved contracts are delivered to candidates via DocQ Signatures — a branded, mobile-friendly signing experience that replaces the external, untracked tools Delaware North previously used.

The signing experience is designed for candidate trust:

• Branded interface — The signing page carries Delaware North's branding, reinforcing the professional impression during a critical moment in the candidate journey
• Mobile-optimised — Candidates can review and sign on any device, which matters for a workforce that skews toward mobile-first usage
• Legally valid — DocQ's electronic signatures meet the legal requirements for employment contracts in Australia
• Progress tracking — The system tracks delivery, opening, and signing events, providing visibility into candidate engagement without manual follow-up

Once the candidate signs, the event triggers the next stages in the pipeline automatically. No recruiter needs to check whether the candidate has signed — the system handles progression on its own.

Stage 6: ATS Synchronisation

After signing, the completed contract flows back to iCIMS through the same iPaaS connector that initiated the process. This synchronisation includes:

• Status update — The candidate's hiring stage in iCIMS is updated to reflect the signed contract
• Document attachment — A copy of the signed contract is attached directly to the candidate's iCIMS profile
• Candidate notification — A copy of the signed contract is automatically emailed to the candidate for their records
• Calculated values — Remuneration figures calculated by DocQ are synced back to the appropriate iCIMS fields

This bi-directional sync is what makes the automation feel seamless to users on both sides. Recruiters working in iCIMS see accurate, real-time status. Candidates receive their documents promptly. No one needs to manually bridge the gap between systems.

Stage 7: Background Check Integration

The pipeline extends beyond contracts into adjacent hiring workflows. DocQ's iPaaS connectors integrate iCIMS with Referoo for automated background checks.

When a candidate reaches the appropriate stage, the integration automatically:

• Triggers the background check request in Referoo
• Passes the necessary candidate information securely
• Receives completion status and results back into the workflow

This eliminates another manual handoff — recruiters no longer need to separately initiate background checks, track their progress, or manually record results.

Stage 8: Work Rights Validation

Similarly, DocQ connects iCIMS with CheckWorkRights for automated work-rights validation. In Australia's regulatory environment, verifying a candidate's right to work is a compliance requirement that carries real legal exposure if handled incorrectly.

The automated integration ensures:

• Work-rights checks are initiated at the correct stage — never skipped or delayed
• Validation results are recorded in the candidate's profile for audit purposes
• The hiring workflow pauses if validation fails, preventing non-compliant offers

The Architecture Advantage

What makes this pipeline effective for an organisation of Delaware North's scale isn't any single stage — it's the orchestration. Each stage is designed to be independently configurable, which means the team can adjust clause logic, calculation parameters, routing rules, and integration mappings without touching the underlying platform code.

The no-code configuration model was essential for Delaware North's deployment. The same platform handles casual hospitality staff contracts and senior management agreements — not because the contracts are similar, but because the decision engine and clause library are flexible enough to accommodate any variation through rules, not code.

The enterprise security layer underpins everything. ISO 27001 certification, enforced SSO for all recruiter access, and Australian data hosting ensure that candidate data and employment contracts meet the regulatory and security requirements of a global hospitality company.

For organisations evaluating contract automation, the technical lesson from Delaware North's deployment is clear: the value isn't in any single feature — clause library, decision engine, or eSignatures. It's in the end-to-end orchestration that eliminates every manual handoff between candidate approval and signed contract, while maintaining the flexibility to handle hundreds of contract variations through configuration alone.