You spent months finding them. Most organizations then hand the new leader a laptop, a login, and a calendar full of meet-and-greets — and let the wiring sort itself out. That gamble is expensive: research behind Topgrading, the hiring methodology I'm trained in, puts the true cost of a mis-hire at 5 to 27 times the person's salary. There are margins in talent, just like anything else — and they're the most underestimated margins in business.

Here's the frame I carry from my years inside the world's largest yacht retailer: talent is your most important inventory. Companies insure the boats, condition the showrooms, and track every unit on the water — then leave their most expensive, most appreciating asset unexamined. Welcome Aboard™ examines it: a full Caliper Profile and debrief for your new hire in their first weeks, plus a translation session with their manager — how this person is motivated, how they communicate, where they'll thrive, and where they'll need support before anyone learns it the hard way.

And a word about the name. I kept Welcome Aboard not because it's the sign behind me on Zoom, or a nod to my nautical and yachting clients — but because of what those two words are supposed to mean. On the water, "welcome aboard" isn't a greeting; it's a promise. You're crew now. We see you. Your role matters. Most companies say the words in week one and never keep the promise. This is how you keep it.

Ways to Come Aboard

Welcome Aboard™ scales to what you actually need — from a single candidate read to the full meal deal.

The Candidate Read — One candidate. One profile. One conversation.
Deciding between finalists, or holding one last question about the frontrunner? The candidate completes the Caliper Profile, and I sit down with you and your hiring team — one session — to walk through what the data shows: drives, pressure response, fit signals, and the questions worth asking before the offer goes out. The profile is one input, never the whole decision — it makes your judgment sharper, not smaller. And if you hire them, the profile's already in hand: the read becomes the welcome.

The Onboarding Debrief — The new hire, seen clearly from day one.
The core of Welcome Aboard: a full Caliper Profile and debrief for your new leader in their first weeks, plus a translation session with their manager — how they're motivated, how they communicate, where they'll thrive, where they'll need support. The first ninety days, done on purpose.

The Full Meal Deal — From the shortlist to the ninety-day mark.
Candidate reads on your finalists, the onboarding debrief for the hire, manager translation, and coaching check-ins through the first ninety days — the whole arrival, handled. For companies making multiple hires or building a repeatable onboarding system, this becomes a standing capability, not a one-off.

Every company boards differently. Contact Chris for a Welcome Aboard offering tailor-made to your company — roster of hires, level of roles, and how deep you want to go.

Start a conversation with Chris now...

This is a fit if…

• You've just made a significant hire — a leader, a key producer, someone expensive to get wrong
• You're deciding between finalists and want one more layer of signal before the offer goes out
• You've been burned by a great résumé that didn't translate to your culture
• You want the new hire's manager reading them accurately in week two instead of month eight
• You're promoting from within, and the person who earned the seat needs a different toolkit to sit in it

What you walk away with

• A validated picture of the candidate or new leader's wiring — before the offer, or before habits harden
• A manager who knows how to coach, communicate with, and deploy this person from day one
• The expensive misread caught early — explained before it becomes a story people tell
• A new hire who feels seen in week one — the promise kept