New Employee Integration Case Study: Designing TD Bank’s High-Touch Onboarding Strategy
Building trust and transparency
before Day One.
Case Study Snapshot
Corporate partnerships aren’t measured just by the contract; they’re also measured by how the talent is integrated. Ingenuity partnered with TD Bank to solve a critical new employee integration challenge during its evolving co-brand credit card partnership with Nordstrom.
When employees navigate a transition involving a new company, new systems, and a formal re-application process, traditional onboarding won’t suffice. We designed “Passport to TD”—a high-touch onboarding strategy for complex transitions that focused on building trust before Day One, ensuring a human-centered journey for a workforce that never stopped delivering for their customers.
The result was a more intentional employee transition onboarding experience that helped employees feel informed, educated, and supported throughout the process.
About the Client
A leading financial institution experiencing a high-stakes transition
TD Bank, the exclusive issuer of Nordstrom’s U.S. Visa credit card program, was preparing to bring select functions into TD as part of its evolving co-brand partnership. The shift was designed to enhance digital capabilities and support continued growth in the credit card program, with TD Bank aiming to offer employment to many of the Nordstrom employees affected by the transition. This wasn’t a standard hire; it was a sensitive cultural bridge for employees across multiple geographies.
- The audience: Nordstrom employees in customer-facing roles transitioning into TD Bank.
- The need: Help Nordstrom employees understand TD’s culture, recognize the shared values, and feel confident about their future career growth.
- The mandate: Make every stage of the transition feel seamless, credible, and human.
Our Take
“Onboarding isn’t just the beginning of employment; it’s establishing trust. Integrating new employees is most powerful when candidates understand both the process and the promise of a new organization. In any transition, people need visibility and reassurance to help make their future feel real.”
The Challenge
Managing the hurdles of an employee transition onboarding
This transition was operationally complex for everyone involved. Employees weren’t just changing email addresses; they were being asked to move through a formal application process while maintaining the high service standards Nordstrom is famous for.
The core obstacles included:
- Cultural alignment: Highlighting the similarities between Nordstrom and TD’s values and culture so employees could more easily see themselves growing at TD
- Operational friction: Navigating new systems, structures, and expectations simultaneously.
- The visibility gap: A need for transparency around why the change was happening and what the end-to-end journey looked like.
- The perception risk: If the experience felt transactional, TD risked losing the very engagement that made these teams valuable.
The danger was not just confusion. It was perception. TD and Nordstrom are both known for strong employee and customer experiences, so the transition needed to reflect that same care. If the experience felt unclear or transactional, employees might not fully engage with the opportunity.
Our Approach
Making the future employee experience tangible
Through early discovery, we realized that information alone wouldn’t drive adoption. Nordstrom employees needed to feel what it was like to be a part of TD before they officially joined.
Our strategy, Passport to TD, was built to guide Nordstrom employees through a deliberate sequence of moments designed to build confidence. We anchored the work in shared values, helping employees see that their commitment to service excellence was exactly what TD valued most. By arming leaders with consistent tools, we ensured that every conversation felt intentional, human, and—above all—honest.
“It has overall been a smooth hiring journey, with employees feeling informed, educated, and supported… largely due to all of the communication we provided leading up to their hire date.”
Program Manager, TD
What We Delivered
A connected onboarding experience built around employee needs
Instead of a one-size-fits-all manual, we built a suite of milestone materials, with each asset designed to reduce uncertainty or build trust.
- Journey visibility: A structured onboarding presentation that mapped out timelines and expectations to kill uncertainty early.
- Leadership engagement: Multi-speaker presentations from TD leaders that introduced their respective business units in clear, accessible terms.
- Content toolkit: A library of onboarding videos, benefits materials, and testimonial-style content featuring employees who had already successfully made the transition.
The Activation
Building confidence through a leadership alignment summit
TD and Nordstrom leaders came together for a two-day, in-person alignment opportunity designed to help Nordstrom leaders better understand the transition, ask questions, and support their teams with greater confidence.
Ingenuity captured leadership conversations and day-in-the-life video content, while supporting business line overviews and interactive work sessions. The summit gave Nordstrom leaders a firsthand look at the technology, culture, teams, and employee experience their people would be joining at TD, while helping both leadership teams align on what was changing, what employees could expect, and how to help them see a clear path forward.
Ingenuity Design helped TD Bank turn a complex employee transition into a clear, more connected new employee integration, that built trust before Day One.
The Result
A more connected path to future growth
Ingenuity helped TD Bank transform a high-stakes transition into a structured, human-centered onboarding journey. By moving beyond a typical onboarding, we helped stabilize the workforce and build a foundation of trust that will last well beyond the hire date.
Improved clarity
Employees gained a clear view of the transition and the business’s future state.
Leadership credibility
Leaders were equipped to speak with one voice, increasing employee confidence in the transition.
Stabilized engagement
The workforce felt supported and informed, allowing them to remain focused on the customer.
Scalability & efficiency
The program established a proven onboarding model for future integrations.
Ready to build trust before Day One?
See how our onboarding services help organizations welcome new faces, navigate big changes, and build cultures where people feel completely at home from the start. Explore our HR & People Programs.
