S&P Global Fundamentals
The challenge
Following the acquisition of SNL Financial, employees were joining an increasingly complex global organization made up of multiple business divisions, products, and areas of expertise.
New employees needed more than a traditional welcome message. They needed a clear way to understand:
Who we are: the organization’s history, purpose, values, culture, and global presence
What we do: the role of each business division and how the businesses connect
Where I fit: career development, performance expectations, relationships, resources, and ways to become engaged
The challenge was creating a consistent onboarding experience across a complex organization while bringing together content and perspectives from five business divisions and multiple stakeholders.
Following the acquisition of SNL Financial, employees were joining an increasingly complex global organization made up of multiple business divisions, products, and areas of expertise.
New employees needed more than a traditional welcome message. They needed a clear way to understand:
Who we are: the organization’s history, purpose, values, culture, and global presence
What we do: the role of each business division and how the businesses connect
Where I fit: career development, performance expectations, relationships, resources, and ways to become engaged
The challenge was creating a consistent onboarding experience across a complex organization while bringing together content and perspectives from five business divisions and multiple stakeholders.
My Role
I joined the project shortly after the acquisition, when development was already underway.
My initial responsibility was to review content related to S&P Global Market Intelligence, the business formerly known as SNL Financial. As the project progressed, my role expanded significantly.
I became the point person for all five business divisions, serving as the liaison between the external development partner and the business.
My responsibilities grew to include:
Gathering and reviewing content across all five divisions
Coordinating stakeholders and content contributors
Managing expectations between the business and external vendor
Supporting executive participation, including CEO and Chief People Officer video messages
Coordinating reviews, revisions, timelines, and development activities
Ensuring content remained accurate, relevant, and aligned with the evolving organization
Eventually becoming the ongoing point person for course maintenance
I joined the project shortly after the acquisition, when development was already underway.
My initial responsibility was to review content related to S&P Global Market Intelligence, the business formerly known as SNL Financial. As the project progressed, my role expanded significantly.
I became the point person for all five business divisions, serving as the liaison between the external development partner and the business.
My responsibilities grew to include:
Gathering and reviewing content across all five divisions
Coordinating stakeholders and content contributors
Managing expectations between the business and external vendor
Supporting executive participation, including CEO and Chief People Officer video messages
Coordinating reviews, revisions, timelines, and development activities
Ensuring content remained accurate, relevant, and aligned with the evolving organization
Eventually becoming the ongoing point person for course maintenance
The Approach
Rather than treating onboarding as a collection of disconnected company-information modules, the experience was organized around three questions:
Our Organization
Who we are
History · Purpose · Values · Culture · How we work · Where we are
Our Business
What we do
Five business divisions · Products and services · Contributions · How the businesses connect
Your Experience
Where you belong
Career development · Performance expectations · Getting involved · Building connections · Navigating the organization
This structure gave new employees both the organizational context and the practical orientation they needed to begin their careers within the company.
Rather than treating onboarding as a collection of disconnected company-information modules, the experience was organized around three questions:
Our Organization
Who we are
History · Purpose · Values · Culture · How we work · Where we are
Our Business
What we do
Five business divisions · Products and services · Contributions · How the businesses connect
Your Experience
Where you belong
Career development · Performance expectations · Getting involved · Building connections · Navigating the organization
This structure gave new employees both the organizational context and the practical orientation they needed to begin their careers within the company.
Leadership & Execution
The project required coordination across five business divisions, an external development partner, content owners, subject matter experts, and senior leaders.
My role became increasingly central as the project moved from content gathering into development and launch. I helped bridge business expectations and vendor execution, kept stakeholders aligned, coordinated revisions, and helped move the project forward despite the inevitable delays and competing priorities of a large, multi-stakeholder initiative.
Over time, that responsibility evolved beyond the initial project.
I became the ongoing owner for maintaining the learning experience, helping ensure that the course remained accurate and relevant as the organization continued to evolve.
The project required coordination across five business divisions, an external development partner, content owners, subject matter experts, and senior leaders.
My role became increasingly central as the project moved from content gathering into development and launch. I helped bridge business expectations and vendor execution, kept stakeholders aligned, coordinated revisions, and helped move the project forward despite the inevitable delays and competing priorities of a large, multi-stakeholder initiative.
Over time, that responsibility evolved beyond the initial project.
I became the ongoing owner for maintaining the learning experience, helping ensure that the course remained accurate and relevant as the organization continued to evolve.
The Solution
The result was a 90-minute, mandatory global e-learning experience that provided a consistent entry point into the organization.
The experience combined:
Organizational knowledge
History · Purpose · Values · Culture
Business knowledge
Five divisions · Products · Services · Contributions
Employee experience
Career · Performance · Connections · Resources
The program provided new hires with a broader understanding of the organization while also giving them practical guidance for becoming productive and engaged employees.
The result was a 90-minute, mandatory global e-learning experience that provided a consistent entry point into the organization.
The experience combined:
Organizational knowledge
History · Purpose · Values · Culture
Business knowledge
Five divisions · Products · Services · Contributions
Employee experience
Career · Performance · Connections · Resources
The program provided new hires with a broader understanding of the organization while also giving them practical guidance for becoming productive and engaged employees.
Impact
The program became a global onboarding experience reaching approximately 400–500 employees each year across 31 countries.
More importantly, it established a consistent organizational learning experience for employees entering a complex, multi-business organization.
The program helped employees understand not only what S&P Global was, but how the organization worked and how they could find their place within it.
The program became a global onboarding experience reaching approximately 400–500 employees each year across 31 countries.
More importantly, it established a consistent organizational learning experience for employees entering a complex, multi-business organization.
The program helped employees understand not only what S&P Global was, but how the organization worked and how they could find their place within it.
Reflection
The most important part of onboarding isn’t simply introducing people to the company. It’s helping them understand where they belong within it.
This project reinforced the importance of designing learning experiences that connect organizational knowledge, business context, and the employee experience.
It also demonstrated something important about leadership: sometimes your role isn’t defined when you join a project. You earn greater responsibility by becoming the person who can connect people, clarify complexity, manage competing expectations, and keep the work moving forward.
I joined S&P Global Fundamentals as a content reviewer for one division.
I left the project as the point person for five divisions and the ongoing learning experience.
The most important part of onboarding isn’t simply introducing people to the company. It’s helping them understand where they belong within it.
This project reinforced the importance of designing learning experiences that connect organizational knowledge, business context, and the employee experience.
It also demonstrated something important about leadership: sometimes your role isn’t defined when you join a project. You earn greater responsibility by becoming the person who can connect people, clarify complexity, manage competing expectations, and keep the work moving forward.
I joined S&P Global Fundamentals as a content reviewer for one division.
I left the project as the point person for five divisions and the ongoing learning experience.