A&M - Onboarding uncomplicated
#preboarding #onboarding #eli #engagementHow do you take one of the world’s most complex onboarding processes – spanning 32 divisions, 35 locations and 23 countries – and make it feel simple, seamless and human? That was the challenge facing Alvarez & Marsal. Their goal: to deliver a consistently outstanding onboarding experience for every new hire across EMEA. The solution? Onboarding Uncomplicated – a brilliantly engineered digital experience that turned chaos into clarity, helped every new joiner hit the ground running and delivered cost savings into the £millions.
For a consultancy that thrives on solving complexity for clients, Alvarez & Marsal’s own onboarding experience was anything but simple. Each of its 32 divisions had their own way of doing things. Some had nine people involved in onboarding; others had 26. The result was a confusing, time-consuming process that left new hires disconnected before day one and struggling to find their feet after it.
The mission was clear: create one consistent onboarding experience that still respected local nuances, connected new hires with everything they needed to succeed, and reduced admin chaos behind the scenes.
Working with A&M’s People team, we mapped every process, person and pain point across 23 countries. Together, we defined a single, flexible framework that adapted automatically to division, grade, and location — ensuring every new hire received a personalised yet consistent welcome.
Technology was the game-changer. Delivered through welcome.alvarezandmarsal.com, a bespoke onboarding portal built with Eli onboarding technology, it brought every touchpoint together in one place. The platform guided new hires from offer to day one, introduced them to their team, handled every system and checklist, and connected seamlessly with Workday for real-time data sync. Meanwhile, HR, IT, Office Managers and Business Admins could coordinate effortlessly – no more spreadsheets, no more silos.
The results speak for themselves. Since launch, the platform has achieved a 95% engagement and an average of 8 sessions per user lasting over 11 minutes each. It’s no wonder then that 95% of new hires felt Eli equipped them for day one. Probation pass rates improved by 17.3% and onboarding admin was slashed by 16 people-days per month, saving over £12,000 monthly. Even more impressively, early attrition dropped from 21% to 13%, equating to a cost avoidance of £1.83 million.
In the words of Einstein, “The definition of genius is taking the complex and making it simple.” We’d like to think A&M have achieved exactly that — onboarding, uncomplicated.
