Inside the Crew training playbook: crafting future leaders from day one

How do you turn recent grads into consultants who can make an immediate impact? The answer lies in tailored, hands-on training that prepares them for real-world success. Last week, we wrapped up Crew’s annual summer new associate training and welcomed 26 recent graduates to Turnberry’s Crew program. Now, these consultants are in the midst of launching into their first client assignments, delivering value, and uplifting teams in roles like project coordinator, junior Scrum Master, process analyst, software engineer, data analyst, and more.

In their first two weeks with Turnberry, through Crew’s foundational training program, these new associates explored a variety of topics that provided valuable context and laid the foundations for building careers as high performers. Over the course of training, consultants engaged in immersive self-discovery sessions; learned about project roles and methodologies; honed their professional communication and business etiquette skills; gained hands-on experience creating process maps, writing user stories, and gathering requirements; polished technical skills in Excel, SQL, Power BI, and more; and collaborated with one another on an intensive mock project.

During the mock project, they flexed their skills in project management, business analysis, and data analysis, while navigating team problem-solving, risk and issue management, and budget and scope constraints. Training culminated in each mock project team presenting their finished product to their mock client and peers, receiving team and individual feedback to launch them into the professional world with more context and confidence.

As we concluded this year’s training, we reflected on the 2,000+ consultants who have started their careers in this program and reached out to current and former Crew consultants from the last 13 years to hear how their Crew new associate training set them up for success. Read on to hear more about their takeaways:

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“For me, one of the greatest takeaways of new associate training was that it provided me context for ‘how work happens in Corporate America’ that was otherwise completely foreign to me. I did not come with a technology background, and before training, I didn’t know anything about methodologies or how different roles on teams come together to get a project completed. It was tremendously useful to have Crew provide the ‘cheat codes’ of how to be a high performer and that’s really how it felt – guidance to do this, don’t do that, phrase things like this, not like that. When I then started in my first Crew project at Target, I could immediately feel myself being more effective because I could heed the advice that I learned in training.”

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“New associate training helped give me a range of possibilities of things I could run into or encounter and gave me the tools for how to deal with these possible scenarios. From there, you get so much on-the-job learning at every client site and you start to build out your own personal toolkit that you will take with you from client site to client site throughout your career.”

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“My biggest takeaway was that I don’t think I would have been as prepared to jump into the professional world had I not started at Crew. I’m sure I still would have ended up okay and figured it out, but it made my transition easier. Also, everyone in our training class was also new to the professional world so it was a shared experience that we could talk about and go through together. None of my previous internships or work experiences were in a big corporate setting so the new associate training eased me into what that environment was going to be like. In our training, we talked about everything from how you show up, how you dress, how you communicate and schedule meetings, how to learn new things, and how to handle ambiguity and difficult situations. You take all those ‘basics’ for granted once you’ve been working for a while, but I remember how intimidating it felt to walk into a big company on day one and appreciate the time spent in our training to make us aware and give us some practice ahead of being placed at a client.”

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“New associate training set me up for success by helping me develop executive presence – how to participate but not overstep as a young-in-career contributor. The most helpful skill we flexed and practiced in new hire training was adding value in ambiguity – and that it’s okay if you don’t know, but leverage the value of tenacity to find out and follow through. It will and does set you apart!”

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“One of my favorite parts of new associate training was working with my peers during our mock project. One lesson that really stuck with me was the importance of failing forward. Everyone at Turnberry is incredibly supportive, making it easy to ask questions and take feedback. Turnberry’s values, which we learned throughout training, are deeply connected to this mindset, as well. Being enthusiastic and outcome-oriented encourages us to push forward despite hurdles, while humility and courage encourages us to acknowledge and learn from our mistakes. Turnberry’s inclusive environment then creates a space where we all feel safe to take risks and grow. I took these values, and this fail forward mindset to my first project, and it has been incredibly helpful in my success.”

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“My biggest takeaway from associate training was the high level of intelligence (business acumen, emotional, communication) of my new peers. The training mock project was such a stark difference to a group project during undergraduate studies and it opened my view on what it is like to surround yourself with high achievers at Crew. It got me excited to pursue projects with a highly skilled and bright team around me. I believe being successful as a recent grad on a client project is all about jumping in and learning as you go. Crew new associate training taught me to be confident in my abilities, humble about my expectations, experiences, and knowledge, and the importance of bringing a willingness to learn and improve wherever I went.”

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“What I would say about the past two weeks is that I instantly got to feel like a part of the team without being overwhelmed or overloaded with information. I’ve got so many connections moving forward that I know will help me build my career and hope I will be able to assist in return.”

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“One of my biggest takeaways from new associate training was when [chairman] Jim Kelly was speaking about his advice for us as incoming Crew consultants and for the future of our careers. Jim spoke about how, when you put the work in, and stay humble, the necessary people and the individuals making decisions will know and see it. This really resonated with me and became even more impactful when Jim connected this concept to the fact that it negates the need for arrogance. Further, it linked well with another point from [CEO] Allen Debes’s presentation, where he highlighted the need to be confident but never arrogant. As someone who often takes great pride in their work, these pieces of advice are ones I will keep with me as I venture into my career even on the days I have my biggest wins.”

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“After two weeks of well-structured, organized, insightful, and immensely helpful Crew training, I’ve transformed from timid beginnings to assured professionalism. I now possess confidence, skill, humility, and readiness for client work, supported by a valuable network ready to assist whenever I need help.”

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Testimonials from past participants show that Crew’s training goes beyond standard onboarding. It provides new associates with valuable insights and hands-on experience, setting them up for success in ways few programs can match.

By emphasizing business communication, project management, and the necessary soft skills to adapt to their client needs, our junior consultants acquire advanced skills that redefine what it means to be “junior” in the field. This approach is all part of Crew’s playbook to stand out in the market and launch future leaders into the working world.

This year’s class, equipped with exceptional training, is poised to make a significant impact and join the ranks of successful Crew alumni. With Crew’s solid foundation, they’re ready to drive success from the start. Welcome to the team, and here’s to a future of executing excellence!