How to Make a Consultant in 10 Days: Sendero’s Associate Onboarding Program

THE WHAT

Another massively important part of our onboarding is the “what.” What types of projects do we work on at Sendero? What are the different roles an Associate may have to take on? What are the deliverables an Associate will complete? What are the hard and soft skills a consultant needs to master?

A large portion of the two initial weeks is spent on answering those exact questions in a hands-on setting. Every session has an explanatory part to introduce a concept, as well as an interactive portion. Between group discussions, role playing, activities, and case studies, we make sure that the theoretical and the practical are not too far removed from each other.

The first two weeks culminate in an all-day role playing session during which our new hires are put into up to seven different real-life scenarios with experienced Senderoans playing various client and vendor roles. Our New Hires are challenged as they would be at the client, but with the benefit of a low-risk environment and immediate feedback.

THE HOW

Perhaps the most important thing we cover with every new Senderoan are our Core Values, or our “how.” Our Core Values of Shared Success, Higher Reaching, Integrity, Respect, and Passion are more than just nice sounding platitudes, we have five separate sessions dedicated to every one of the Core Values spread over the two weeks.

Senderoans find themselves in so many different situations throughout their career and it’s impossible to cover each scenario in two weeks, but the Core Values and their supporting behavioral framework give our new Consultants a foundation to stand on for anything they may encounter during their careers.

At Sendero, we maintain that HOW we accomplish things is equally as important as WHAT we accomplish. The behaviors associated with our Core Values inform that mindset and are a key part of what sets Sendero apart.

THE PEOPLE

While the content of onboarding is certainly nothing to snuff at, some of the more informal parts of training have the longest lasting impact. Every new college hire starts at the same time as 15-20 other college hires from different schools and different parts of the country. Naturally, friendships start to form. While reflecting on her training experience, Meghan McCahill, one of our recent new Associates, said this:

“My favorite parts of onboarding were the in-between moments – the breaks we took where we talked about our lives, heard about each others’ interests, and bonded over fun icebreaker questions. My start group grew to be close friends in a matter of days. These moments of connection enriched us as a group and as individuals. Laughter, joy, relationship – at the end of the day, relationships with others are what makes being a human so special. Bringing that humanity to onboarding at a job is such a gift. Sendero is special because of its people and it didn’t take me long to see that I was thankful to be one of them.”

THE COMMUNITY

Another vital part of the onboarding experience is our volunteer event. Every single start group (whether virtual due to the pandemic or in-person) takes a full day during onboarding to give back to the community.

From reading books to students at the Vogel Alcove, transcribing historical documents for the Smithsonian Institute, supporting the operations of Family Houston and Save Rocky the Great Dane Rescue, packing meals for Hunger Busters, to working with the Genesis Women’s Shelter we prioritize giving back to our community.

WE’RE TALKIN’ ‘BOUT PRACTICE

After the first two weeks of training, our new Associates start a comprehensive 6-week mock project.

This mock project, designed to mimic a previous Sendero project, takes the new Associates through the entire lifecycle of a project from the Project Charter through to Handover documentation.

They report to an experienced Senderoan as their project manager and engage with two mock stakeholders. Rest assured that the Senderoans playing the stakeholders do NOT hold back with their expectations or feedback.

The professional growth each Associate experiences during those 6 weeks is incredible to see every time.

ONGOING EDUCATION

Eventually, every new Associate is staffed and putting their newly acquired skills to good use. However, that’s certainly not the end of their education at Sendero.

Year round, we offer several different formal training sessions covering topics like Healthy Conflict, Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Management, Business Etiquette, Asking Questions and Effective Listening, and much more.

Beyond that, our Social Learning Platform, Degreed, curates articles, videos, and podcasts based on the skills each individual is interested in learning at any given time. L&D also provides access to LinkedIn Learning – there’s not a single topic that a Senderoan won’t have resources for.

Ultimately, the L&D team is beyond fortunate to have the opportunity to work with such driven and curious people. While we put an incredible amount of effort into designing top notch learning experiences across all levels, it’s really the desire to learn that all of our new hires bring to each training session that makes them effective and memorable.

By Thampuratty Jayadevan and Danny Meyer

“My favorite parts of onboarding were the in-between moments – the breaks we took where we talked about our lives, heard about each others’ interests, and bonded over fun icebreaker questions. My start group grew to be close friends in a matter of days.” – Meghan McCahill