Entry Friction Diagnostic
Find where expensive expertise becomes stranded.
A ten-business-day organisational diagnostic of the processes, relationships and decision conditions shaping international entry.
Practice hypothesisSystemHigh frictionDecision rights · access · ownership
SupportUnevenManager · buddy · escalation
SelfSupportedSensemaking · agency · reflection
Evidence source and confidence are shown for every finding.
What must be fixed before the next cohort, pilot or operating-model investment
10 business days from mobilisation to executive decision
QAR 55,000–90,000
Final scope reflects cohort size, locations, data access and interview volume.
Diagnostic frame
Three layers. Thirteen research-informed areas. No single readiness score.
The diagnostic combines organisational evidence and lived experience. Narrative profiles and heatmaps are developmental until reliability and validity work supports stronger scoring.
System · 7
- Organisational culture
- Pre-arrival
- Working conditions
- Leadership
- Recruitment processes
- Other HR processes
- Onboarding
Support · 2
- Cultural collision
- Informal networks
Self · 4
- Self-management
- Personal coping strategies
- Previous exposure
- Emotional regulation
Matched response
Open the factor-to-intervention architecture.
The map shows what to inspect, what evidence to collect, who owns the issue and which response is proportionate.
Method
A rapid evidence cycle built around an executive decision.
- 01
Frame
Confirm trigger, cohort, business exposure, decision required and evidence boundaries.
- 02
Inspect
Review recruitment, pre-arrival, orientation, probation, role and escalation documents plus available operational data.
- 03
Listen
Conduct 8–12 structured interviews with executives, HR, receiving managers, buddies and newcomers.
- 04
Walk the journey
Trace one representative hire from acceptance to day 90 and identify process, relational and authority gateways.
- 05
Decide
Present immediate fixes, structural fixes, evidence gaps and a bounded pilot recommendation.
Executive outputs
Everything needed to choose and govern the next move.
Inspect a complete illustrative output set before commissioning. Every specimen is clearly marked and contains no client data.
View the illustrative outputs →Entry-friction heatmap
System, Support and Self findings with evidence source and confidence.
Adaptation-burden map
Where interpretation, translation and emotional work currently sits.
Recruitment-to-day-90 journey
Handoffs, gateways, failure modes, owners and service standards.
Value-at-risk scenario
Client-input recruitment, vacancy and delay assumptions—clearly labelled as scenarios.
Action portfolio
Immediate fixes, structural redesign and named decision owners.
Pilot blueprint
Cohort, measures, governance, privacy and Pathway 90 configuration.
Illustrative output
What an executive heatmap looks like.
This example shows the level of specificity in the readout. It is illustrative, not client evidence or a benchmark.
Sample findingEvidence confidenceExposureDecision owner
Decision rights are unclear after role inductionMedium · interviews and role documentsHighClinical director + HR
Buddy contact is available but unstructuredHigh · journey walk and participant evidenceUnevenWorkforce operations
Newcomer reflection is supported confidentiallyMedium · programme recordsSupportedOD / coaching lead
Executive decision
Do not add more orientation content. Clarify decision gateways, introduce a manager cadence and assign one owner for recurring access failures.
What Stratum needs from you
Light mobilisation. Serious access.
- A named executive sponsor and one operational coordinator
- Relevant recruitment, onboarding, probation and escalation evidence
- Available process and outcome data, with known limitations
- Access to 8–12 executives, managers, HR colleagues, buddies and newcomers
- A decision forum at the end of day ten
Evidence control
This is an evidence-informed developmental diagnostic.
- It does not predict individual success.
- It is not used for recruitment, appraisal or employment decisions.
- It does not produce a public benchmark or psychometric score.
- Stronger claims are gated by formal validation.
Next step
See the entry system before redesigning it.
A focused diagnostic creates the evidence and ownership required for a credible first-90-day intervention.