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Onboarding Atlas · Company research

McKinsey

Skills diagnostics and project readiness

Company program account
HybridConsultingRole learningCustomer commitmentsExperienced hire

Public research summary, not an official company process

This page reports only what was observed in the cited public sources. It does not imply endorsement, and something absent from those sources may still exist inside the company.

Summary

What the sources describe

Checked 2026-09-25

In 2025 McKinsey described how it redesigned onboarding for new consultants, many arriving without traditional business training. It moved from one standard program to one tailored by a short diagnostic.

Before start
  • A short, low-pressure diagnostic before onboarding lets hires self-assess their financial modelling and problem-solving skills. S10
  • Results route each hire to a facilitated team-based “foundations” track or a self-paced “refresher” track. S10
First weeks
  • The mostly in-person program is built as a simulation: each day, teams work realistic business cases and present to simulated clients. S10
  • A simulation-based leadership assessment produces a personal “Day 1 Growth Plan” of strengths, development areas and next steps. S10
Program design
  • McKinsey says the assessments are positioned as feedback, not evaluation, and that their data is used to adjust the program. S10
  • It is developing similar growth plans for people moving into roles with a step change in responsibility. S10

Not found in these sources

Absence here does not mean McKinsey lacks it; the reviewed sources simply do not say.

  • Program length
  • Outcome data; the article reports none
  • How the approach applies outside consulting roles

WeekOne adaptation

What to borrow, and confirm locally

  • Use a short diagnostic to decide what a hire can skip, instead of teaching everyone everything.
  • Make practice on realistic cases the core of role training.
  • End onboarding with a written development plan the hire keeps.

These are our suggestions, not McKinsey’s practice. Do not copy company-specific dates, tools or rules without checking they fit your organisation.

Sources and provenance

Read the evidence in context

S10Checked 2026-09-25

From orientation to impact: Rethinking how we prepare new hires

McKinsey · Company program account · 2025-07-10

A pre-onboarding skills diagnostic routes hires to a foundations or refresher track; daily simulations; a personalized "Day 1 Growth Plan".

Limits: Describes the program design for consultants; reports no outcome data.

Open source

Not found in a document is not proof the organization has no such process. All task schedules, completion rules and blueprints here are original proposed adaptations. Never infer legal duties, actual policies, licensed tools or production permissions.

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