Client spotlight
Improving Onboarding at Primary Engineer
Graham Stow Consulting worked with Primary Engineer to review its onboarding experience, develop a practical improvement strategy and evaluate the impact of the changes. The work strengthened role clarity, buddy support and the experience of new starters, with the overall onboarding rating increasing from 7.91/10 to 9.75/10.
At a glance
Primary Engineer already offered a warm welcome and had strong people-centred foundations. However, its onboarding experience was not always delivered consistently, and the review identified opportunities to strengthen role clarity, buddy support, manager guidance and the journey beyond the initial induction period.
The project combined employee feedback, leadership and HR perspectives, focus-group insight and a detailed review of existing documents and processes. The findings were translated into an onboarding strategy and practical resources, including a Role Clarity Pack, Manager Induction Guide, Workplace Buddy Guide and New Starter Checklist.
The follow-up evaluation showed a marked improvement in the experience of new starters. The overall onboarding rating increased from 7.91/10 to 9.75/10, all responding new starters gave 10/10 for feeling welcomed, and all responding buddies gave 10/10 across every measure of the buddy approach. HR also reported a more structured and consistent experience, with people settling into their teams and roles sooner.
“The experience has been invaluable for us. It has helped our new starters hit the ground running and given us a longer-term plan for continuing to improve.”
Why Primary Engineer reviewed its onboarding
Primary Engineer’s original onboarding review found a positive foundation. New starters valued the welcome they received, the organisation’s purpose and the communication before their first day.
The overall onboarding experience was rated 7.91/10, with an Onboarding NPS of +22.7. These results showed that more people were positive than negative about their experience, but they also highlighted an opportunity to turn a generally good process into a clearer and more consistent experience.
The review identified four main areas for development:
clearer expectations and measures of success
more structured buddy support
better guidance for managers
greater consistency beyond the first few weeks
Before and after working together
From evidence to practical change
The work did not stop with the diagnostic report. The evidence was used to develop a longer-term onboarding strategy focused on three foundations: Clarity, Confidence and Connection.
Primary Engineer then turned the recommendations into practical resources that could be used by the people delivering and experiencing onboarding.
Clarity, Confidence and Connection
The 3 C's after our work together
Clarity
The Role Clarity Pack and more structured induction planning helped make expectations, responsibilities and sources of support more visible. New starters rated understanding their role at 9.5/10 and knowing where to find support at 9.75/10.
Confidence
New starters rated their confidence in the role and ability to contribute effectively at 9.5/10. Comments highlighted the value of shadowing colleagues, practical learning and one-to-one support during the first few weeks.
Connection
All responding new starters gave 10/10 for feeling welcomed. Introductions across teams, early meetings and a more purposeful buddy approach helped people understand the organisation and build relationships beyond their immediate role.
Meeting people across the organisation helped me understand how the different teams fit together.
The original review had shown that people who received a buddy generally rated their onboarding more positively, but the approach was not consistently structured.
Primary Engineer introduced clearer buddy guidance while keeping the relationship informal and human. Buddies were given enough clarity to understand how they could help without turning the role into another checklist.
All three responding buddies gave 10/10 across every measured aspect of the approach, including:
understanding their responsibilities
feeling equipped to help
supporting the new starter to settle
building confidence and connection
making a positive contribution to the onboarding experience
Having a buddy who knows what to do and where to signpost has been incredibly helpful, and it has helped friendships form across departments.
HR rated the improvement in onboarding structure and consistency at 9/10 and the improvement in support for new starters, managers and buddies at 10/10.
The evaluation also suggested that new starters were settling into their teams and roles more quickly and were ready to contribute earlier than expected.
This does not mean onboarding improvement is ever finished. It does show what can happen when an organisation looks beyond the process on paper, listens to the people involved and turns evidence into practical change.
Follow-up evaluation findings are based on responses from new starters over the last 12 months, three newly established buddies, HR and managers. The results are presented alongside qualitative feedback and the wider project evidence.
You can find out more about Primary Engineer and the work they do at: https://www.primaryengineer.com/
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