Is vendor/consulting onboarding administrative or evaluative? I’ve witnessed a subtle shift in onboarding portals away from purely informational fields to a stronger focus on qualifications. While you may have “proven yourself” enough to be invited to onboarding, I think it’s more important now than ever to make the most of the opportunity the onboarding process brings. Be accurate, be responsive, and be clear. Use this as a preview of service delivery – answer the question “How Easy will this firm be to work with?”.

Vendor portals, compliance requirements, insurance verification, contract alignment… these are the same components we are all used to, but I feel the expectation around these items is shifting. Clients are less tolerant of friction in this phase. Delays, incomplete submissions, or unclear communication don’t get written off as “admin issues”, instead they call into question how the project will feel.

At the same time sophisticated clients are pulling critical conversations forward. Risk allocation, communication structure, and decision-making pathways are being defined earlier. If you remember my post on up-front contracts this shouldn’t be a surprise that I take all of this as good news.

I’d challenge any professional to treat onboarding as your first real deliverable. If there’s room for it in the client’s onboarding process, demonstrate how your team thinks, how you communicate, and how you manage complexity and timelines. Don’t sacrifice clarity and speed have to be balanced. Both are important to stand out.

Here’s another recommendation that I could, candidly, do better on myself…Have onboarding materials fully ready before you need them. At a minimum, that typically includes:

• W-9 and entity information
• Certificate of Insurance (with common endorsement language ready)
• Basic safety metrics (EMR, incident rates, OSHA logs if applicable)
• Banking/payment setup details
• Cybersecurity / data handling summary
• Key contact list with defined roles and experience

None of this is complex. But not having it ready creates drag—and clients feel that immediately.
I’d like to think a seamless onboarding can start to build the story that my firm shouldn’t just be approved… we should be trusted.