Ready to hit the ground running

It’s my favorite time of year at Turnberry – Crew New Associate Training – the two weeks each summer when our newest Crew hires, ambitious recent grads selected from a competitive pool of thousands of applicants, officially join our team, learn the foundations of consulting, and launch into their first projects across Turnberry’s clients. Their curiosity and enthusiasm buzzes through the office as they network with new colleagues, raise their hands for project work, adapt quickly to emerging technology, approach challenges with optimism, and share their own fresh perspectives and ideas. Their excitement is palpable and uplifts our entire organization – demonstrating how the right person (even with minimal experience) can infuse positivity and work ethic into a team to make a lasting impact.

So, you might be wondering – how will they make an impact? And how do we prepare them to do it? Following training, these new Crew grads will dive headfirst into a variety of client projects, such as supporting ERP implementations at global manufacturers, driving enterprise-wide AI-enablement initiatives at financial services organizations, and documenting, analyzing, and improving sales processes within national retailers. Each of our new associate hires joins Crew with a unique academic and professional background and a core set of soft skills – having demonstrated a high degree of humility and aptitude for learning in our interview process. 

Our training builds on that foundation, focusing on the critical skills and competencies these consultants will need to show up professionally on client projects, whether they’ve studied data science or communications. Their first two weeks include instructor-led sessions and hands-on activities covering project methodologies, requirements gathering, leveraging AI, process mapping, prompt-engineering, SQL, Copilot, PowerBI, and more – equipping them with common language, tools, and best practices to expedite their ramp up as they enter corporate environments. In addition, and arguably even more importantly, consultants receive training in key leadership skills, including professional communication, how to give and receive feedback, developing self-awareness and navigating conflict, how to be proactive and resourceful – setting them up to build reputations as high performers who add value quickly.

These first two weeks are challenging, meaningful, jam-packed, and exciting for these high-potential new consultants. Many Crew alumni, myself included, fondly look back at New Associate Training as the launching pad to all they accomplished in the years that followed – providing a “cheat code” for how to navigate the corporate world with intention, build genuine relationships, and demonstrate impact while remaining humble. These two weeks are just the beginning for our Crew consultants – as they launch into projects, their next phase of learning kicks off and they continue to attend trainings, study for and earn certifications, meet regularly with their Crew Manager for coaching and feedback, and connect with senior mentors across Turnberry to identify future interests and set professional goals.

As we prepare to welcome this year’s class, I can’t help but remember how I felt in their shoes as I walked into the Turnberry office on my first day with Crew 11 years ago. I was nervous, excited, eager to make a difference, and ready to learn and grow. I brought curiosity and a positive attitude and Crew gave me the rest: the corporate tech and lingo I needed to hit the ground running, the confidence to raise my hand and share ideas when I saw opportunities at my client, and the coaching and mentorship to go from “high-aptitude new grad” to “future leader”. Over the next two weeks, we’ll witness that same transformation for our newest Crew associates. They arrive as talented individuals and leave training as Crew consultants, equipped with tools, language, and a mindset that will serve them well beyond their first project. I look forward to witnessing that process every single year and can’t wait to see all that this year’s class accomplishes!