Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
Job Family: Sustainability
Your Guide for Week 2 through Week 4
Let's get started
Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
Introduction to Week 2 - Week 4
Welcome back to Commercial onboarding!
You’ve completed your first phase. Well done!
Now it’s time to continue building momentum as you move into the next stage of your Commercial onboarding journey. This phase is designed to help you build meaningful connections, clarify expectations, and grow your confidence as you begin navigating day-to-day work in Commercial.
Over the next few weeks you'll continue to:
Deepen your understandingBuild on what you've learned so far by exploring how Commercial works in practice, including your job family, key policies, and tools.
Strengthen your networkContinue connecting with your Line Manager, buddy, and colleagues across Commercial and other functions to support collaboration.
Grow your confidence Gain confidence through structured activities and guidance that help you apply what you’re learning in real situations.
Your Line Manager and buddy remain key partners in your journey - lean on them for guidance, context, and support as you continue to grow in your role.
This phase focuses on:
What you'll find in this guide:
- Supporting your transition into day-to-day work
- Helping you feel confident in your role and responsibilities
Ready to begin? Select the arrow button to start your journey!
Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
The Functional Commercial Onboarding Journey
NEXT
You’ve already completed your Welcome phase.
Now, you’re moving into the next stage, where the focus shifts from orientation to building confidence in your role and ways of working.This phase (Week 2–Week 4) is about:
BACK
- Getting more familiar with your role and responsibilities
- Understanding how Commercial works in practice
- Beginning to apply what you’ve learned so far
You’ll continue progressing through the journey at a steady pace, building knowledge and confidence as you go.
Note You can review your full onboarding journey HERE.
Your Onboarding Journey - How to progress through this phase
- Begin by reviewing this Learning Guide to understand what's ahead.
- Review the tasks that are found in the guide here.
- Take your time and work through the tasks at your pace, finishing all tasks within the time period given.
Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
Phase Two: What to Expect
NEXT
Purpose:
BACK
In this phase, you will gain the knowledge, connections, and tools to succeed in your role.
Equip you with knowledge about the Commercial function, its role at Mars, and our Mindsets.
Introduce you to key leaders, teams, and stakeholders to build your network. Familiarize you with essential policies, standards, and required training. Provide clarity on your job family, roles, and ways of working. Introduce you to the systems and tools that will support your daily work. Support your personal development through planning and reflection.
Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
Phase Two: What to Expect
NEXT
Guidance:
BACK
As you move through this phase, these principles will help you stay grounded, connected, and focused on what matters most.
- Live Our Values: Embrace Commercial principles and procurement ethics in everything you do.
- Stay Curious: Onboarding is about learning—progress matters more than perfection.
- Align Often: Keep open communication with your manager to stay on track.
- Engage Fully: Complete all mandatory training and explore the resources provided.
- Connect with Purpose: Build meaningful relationships with your team and stakeholders.
- Seek Clarity: Regularly confirm expectations, ways of working, and decision-making processes.
- Leverage Tools: Get comfortable with Commercial systems and intelligence sources to work efficiently.
Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
Tips to Support You in This Phase
NEXT
As you continue settling into your role, these practical tips are designed to help you make the most of your learning, conversations, and day-to-day work during this phase of onboarding.
BACK
Schedule your learning
Prepare for meetings
Practice networking
Block time weekly to complete trainings and review guides without rush.
Use the guide questions and prompts to make your conversations meaningful and productive.
Try LinkedIn AI role-playing to build confidence in stakeholder conversations.
Select the button to learn more.
Document your progress
Ask for support
Keep notes on your Personal Development Plan (PDP) draft and job expectations to track your growth.
Reach out to your manager or onboarding buddy whenever you need guidance or clarification.
Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
Prepare for Meaningful Connections
NEXT
Here is a simple framework to help you plan conversations, build relationships, and get value from early meetings. Review each step below, then move to the next page to explore suggested questions, prompts and tips you can use in your meetings.
BACK
Review the Contact Plan
- Identify who you'll meet and why (role, influence, decision-making authority).
- Prioritize meetings based on impact on your role.
Do Your Homework
- Understand their function and recent priorities (check org charts, intranet, or team updates).
- Prepare a short intro about yourself and your role.
Define Your Objectives
- Clarify what you need from each meeting:
- Understanding roles and responsibilities
- Decision-making processes
- Collaboration expectations
- Building rapport
Plan Your Questions
- Use open-ended prompts to encourage dialogue.
Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
Suggested Questions & Prompts
NEXT
Use these suggested questions and prompts to guide early conversations and build strong working relationships. Select a card to explore ideas you can adapt for your own meetings.
BACK
- Listen actively - don’t just ask questions, show interest in their challenges.
- Avoid assumptions - clarify instead of guessing.
- Take notes - capture key points for future reference.
- Follow up - send a short thank-you and summarize agreed actions.
- Be mindful of time - stick to the agreed duration.
- “What decisions do you own, and where should I involve you?”
- “Are there any governance processes I should be aware of?”
- “Who else should I consult before making category decisions?”
- “Can you share your key priorities and how they connect to mine?”
- “What does success look like for your team?”
- “Where do our roles overlap or depend on each other?”
- “Who else should I connect with early on?”
- “Are there any upcoming projects where I can add value?”
- “What’s your preferred way of communicating—email, Teams, calls?”
- “How do you like to receive updates?”
- “Any tips for working effectively with your team?”
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Title
About Building Relationships
Title
About Decision-Making
Title
About Roles & Responsibilities
Title
About Ways of Working
Title
Watch Outs & Tips
Write a brief description here
Write a brief description here
Write a brief description here
Write a brief description here
Write a brief description here
Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
Navigating Decision-Making at Mars
NEXT
At Mars, decision-making is highly consultative, and formal RACI or RAPID documents are often missing or, if they exist, they may be simplistic and not fully reflect reality. This means it’s critical to actively clarify roles and involvement early on. Identify who needs to be consulted vs. who makes the final decision.
BACK
Ask: “Who should I involve for input?” and “Who has the authority to approve or decide?”
Map key stakeholders and understand their influence on decisions.
Don’t assume—verify expectations with your manager or project lead.
Watch out: Misalignment on decision rights can cause delays and rework. Proactively confirm before moving forward.
Decision-Making Role Clarification Checklist
Use this checklist to clarify roles, align stakeholders, and avoid decision delays before moving forward.
Select the button to learn more.
Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
What to Focus on During This Phase
NEXT
Get to Know Commercial
Understand Your Role and Team Context
BACK
02
01
Learn more >
Learn more >
04
Build Your Network & Clarify Ways of Working
Complete Mandatory Standards & Policy Training
03
Learn more >
Learn more >
05
06
Familiarize Yourself with Systems & Tools
Plan Your Development
Learn more >
Learn more >
Reminder You can find a downloadable copy of this task list HERE.
Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
Continue Your Commercial Journey
BACK
Support at Your Fingertips
As you continue to apply what you've learned throughout your onboarding journey, keep these key steps in mind.
The Commercial Guide Advisor is here whenever you need quick access to Commercial knowledge and insights.
Explore how Commercial works in practice.
Speed to Insight
Personalized Context
24/7 Advisor
Build awareness of the teams, capabilities, and ways of working that come together to deliver Commercial impact.
Our Commercial Guide Advisor allows us to shift from "Search and Find" to "Ask and Solve."
Reflect: How does your role show up?
Think about where your role sits within the broader Commercial picture, and how you’ll collaborate with others.
Watch a short video to see how the Commercial Guide Advisor can support you!
Your journey continues...
This guide is a starting point. As you move through your onboarding, you’ll continue to build understanding, connections, and confidence.
Watch Video
Familiarize Yourself with Systems & Tools
- Explore the systems that will support your day-to-day work.
- Get acquainted with the intelligence sources that will support your work.
- Reflection: Check with Line Manager if there are additional tools & systems specific to your Segment that you need to be aware of.
Close
Responsible AI Usage
Since our internal AI agent (NEO) is not yet configured for this use case, we are using LinkedIn Learning’s AI Role Play. When doing so, it is critical to protect confidentiality and comply with privacy regulations. Do not include supplier names or any other personally identifiable information in your prompts.
Keep all inputs generic and anonymized. If you are unsure whether certain information is confidential, err on the side of caution and exclude it. Always follow company data protection policies when interacting with external system:
Responsible AI Policy
Build Your Network & Clarify Ways of Working
Following the Contact Plan provided by your Line Manager, plan meetings, clarify roles and decision-making, and start refining your job expectations.
- Attend introductory meetings with key stakeholders (internal teams).
- Tip: LinkedIn AI role playing – “practice the conversation.”
- Establish meaningful connections with your team and key stakeholders and gain a clear understanding of your business context and collaborators.
- Find out how they operate, what tools they use, when you will collaborate with them and what they will need from you and what you will need from them.
Close
Get to Know Commercial
- Engage with required training to understand the Commercial function, its framework, and leadership. Explore the Commercial organization HERE.
- Explore the Commercial Glossary
- Reflection:
-
Identify where your role fits best among the Commercial Pillars.
- Think about which job families you might interact with the most.
- Discuss the natural tensions that might arise due to differing motivations/incentives/priorities of different roles.
- Reviewing the Overall Mars Inc. Commercial Organization, identify any relevant team that will be useful for your onboarding
Close
Complete Mandatory Policies & Standards Training
- Watch the Commercial Guide Intro video from Paul Gardner, Corporate VP for Commercial, where he explains the purpose of the Commercial Guide.
- Explore the Commercial Guide Policies and review all the red-line policies relevant to your job family.
- Complete mandatory training linked to protecting the business and regulatory compliance, and promptly complete the mandatory Commercial Guide attestation.
- Reflection: Check with Line Manager if there are additional policies specific to your Segment that you need to comply with.
Close
Commercial Guide Advisor
Your friend to high performance. Combining AI Speed with Human Judgment.
Understand Your Role and Team Context
- Learn about your job family & typical responsibilities.
- Reflection: The Job Family one-pager is just a starting point. Ask your Line Manager for more details on your job family and those you will connect with the most.
- Get an overview of your Commercial Team and ways of working: the Commercial Leadership team (CLT), Commercial strategy & priorities, Commercial sub-teams & what they do, who are your key stakeholders with their roles & responsibilities, list of important meetings & forums to be aware of/attend.
- Reflection: Reflect how your role fits within the context of your overall Commercial team.
- Add relevant meeting series to your calendar.
- Observe processes in action:
- Begin attending relevant meetings, such as sustainability governance forums, program reviews, regenerative agriculture discussions, human rights working groups, or Segment sustainability updates.
- Optional - Shadow a teammate.
- Get a light touch introduction to your Segment business: OGSM, key stats, plant & office locations, key Segment-specific processes (e.g. S&OP+...).
- Reflection: Reflect how the business info is useful for your role.
- Start to learn about your team’s operating rhythm — key priorities across Net Zero, Healthy Planet and Thriving People, our coalitions and partnerships, and how we collaborate with Segments, suppliers and external organisations.
Close
Plan Your Development
- Begin drafting your Personal Development Plan (PDP) to set clear goals for your growth.
- Reflection: Discuss with your Line Manager about a task or behavior that’s core to your role and that you might be finding challenging.
Close
Who is the ultimate decision-maker?
- Who has the authority to approve or make the final call?
Who needs to be consulted before a decision is made?
- Who provides critical input or expertise?
Who should be informed after the decision?
-
Who needs visibility but is not part of the decision process?
Are there any governance or approval steps I need to follow?
- Is there a formal process or committee involved?
What level of involvement do stakeholders expect?
- Do they want to review, validate, or just be updated?
Are there any influencers who can impact the decision indirectly?
- Who might not decide but can sway outcomes?
What is the preferred way to engage these stakeholders?
- Formal meetings, quick check-ins, written updates?
What are the timelines for input and decision-making?
- When do I need to involve them to avoid delays?
Week 2 - Sustainability
Dorothy Morton
Created on February 19, 2026
Start designing with a free template
Discover more than 1500 professional designs like these:
View
Customer Service Course
View
Dynamic Visual Course
View
Dynamic Learning Course
View
Akihabara Course
Explore all templates
Transcript
Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
Job Family: Sustainability
Your Guide for Week 2 through Week 4
Let's get started
Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
Introduction to Week 2 - Week 4
Welcome back to Commercial onboarding!
You’ve completed your first phase. Well done! Now it’s time to continue building momentum as you move into the next stage of your Commercial onboarding journey. This phase is designed to help you build meaningful connections, clarify expectations, and grow your confidence as you begin navigating day-to-day work in Commercial.
Over the next few weeks you'll continue to:
Deepen your understandingBuild on what you've learned so far by exploring how Commercial works in practice, including your job family, key policies, and tools.
Strengthen your networkContinue connecting with your Line Manager, buddy, and colleagues across Commercial and other functions to support collaboration.
Grow your confidence Gain confidence through structured activities and guidance that help you apply what you’re learning in real situations.
Your Line Manager and buddy remain key partners in your journey - lean on them for guidance, context, and support as you continue to grow in your role.
This phase focuses on:
What you'll find in this guide:
Ready to begin? Select the arrow button to start your journey!
Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
The Functional Commercial Onboarding Journey
NEXT
You’ve already completed your Welcome phase. Now, you’re moving into the next stage, where the focus shifts from orientation to building confidence in your role and ways of working.This phase (Week 2–Week 4) is about:
BACK
- Getting more familiar with your role and responsibilities
- Understanding how Commercial works in practice
- Beginning to apply what you’ve learned so far
You’ll continue progressing through the journey at a steady pace, building knowledge and confidence as you go.Note You can review your full onboarding journey HERE.
Your Onboarding Journey - How to progress through this phase
Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
Phase Two: What to Expect
NEXT
Purpose:
BACK
In this phase, you will gain the knowledge, connections, and tools to succeed in your role.
Equip you with knowledge about the Commercial function, its role at Mars, and our Mindsets. Introduce you to key leaders, teams, and stakeholders to build your network. Familiarize you with essential policies, standards, and required training. Provide clarity on your job family, roles, and ways of working. Introduce you to the systems and tools that will support your daily work. Support your personal development through planning and reflection.
Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
Phase Two: What to Expect
NEXT
Guidance:
BACK
As you move through this phase, these principles will help you stay grounded, connected, and focused on what matters most.
Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
Tips to Support You in This Phase
NEXT
As you continue settling into your role, these practical tips are designed to help you make the most of your learning, conversations, and day-to-day work during this phase of onboarding.
BACK
Schedule your learning
Prepare for meetings
Practice networking
Block time weekly to complete trainings and review guides without rush.
Use the guide questions and prompts to make your conversations meaningful and productive.
Try LinkedIn AI role-playing to build confidence in stakeholder conversations.
Select the button to learn more.
Document your progress
Ask for support
Keep notes on your Personal Development Plan (PDP) draft and job expectations to track your growth.
Reach out to your manager or onboarding buddy whenever you need guidance or clarification.
Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
Prepare for Meaningful Connections
NEXT
Here is a simple framework to help you plan conversations, build relationships, and get value from early meetings. Review each step below, then move to the next page to explore suggested questions, prompts and tips you can use in your meetings.
BACK
Review the Contact Plan
Do Your Homework
Define Your Objectives
Plan Your Questions
Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
Suggested Questions & Prompts
NEXT
Use these suggested questions and prompts to guide early conversations and build strong working relationships. Select a card to explore ideas you can adapt for your own meetings.
BACK
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Use this side of the card to provide more information about a topic. Focus on one concept. Make learning and communication more efficient.
Title
About Building Relationships
Title
About Decision-Making
Title
About Roles & Responsibilities
Title
About Ways of Working
Title
Watch Outs & Tips
Write a brief description here
Write a brief description here
Write a brief description here
Write a brief description here
Write a brief description here
Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
Navigating Decision-Making at Mars
NEXT
At Mars, decision-making is highly consultative, and formal RACI or RAPID documents are often missing or, if they exist, they may be simplistic and not fully reflect reality. This means it’s critical to actively clarify roles and involvement early on. Identify who needs to be consulted vs. who makes the final decision.
BACK
Ask: “Who should I involve for input?” and “Who has the authority to approve or decide?”
Map key stakeholders and understand their influence on decisions.
Don’t assume—verify expectations with your manager or project lead.
Watch out: Misalignment on decision rights can cause delays and rework. Proactively confirm before moving forward.
Decision-Making Role Clarification Checklist
Use this checklist to clarify roles, align stakeholders, and avoid decision delays before moving forward.
Select the button to learn more.
Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
What to Focus on During This Phase
NEXT
Get to Know Commercial
Understand Your Role and Team Context
BACK
02
01
Learn more >
Learn more >
04
Build Your Network & Clarify Ways of Working
Complete Mandatory Standards & Policy Training
03
Learn more >
Learn more >
05
06
Familiarize Yourself with Systems & Tools
Plan Your Development
Learn more >
Learn more >
Reminder You can find a downloadable copy of this task list HERE.
Welcome to Commercial: New Joiner Onboarding Guide
Continue Your Commercial Journey
BACK
Support at Your Fingertips
As you continue to apply what you've learned throughout your onboarding journey, keep these key steps in mind.
The Commercial Guide Advisor is here whenever you need quick access to Commercial knowledge and insights.
Explore how Commercial works in practice.
Speed to Insight
Personalized Context
24/7 Advisor
Build awareness of the teams, capabilities, and ways of working that come together to deliver Commercial impact.
Our Commercial Guide Advisor allows us to shift from "Search and Find" to "Ask and Solve."
Reflect: How does your role show up?
Think about where your role sits within the broader Commercial picture, and how you’ll collaborate with others.
Watch a short video to see how the Commercial Guide Advisor can support you!
Your journey continues...
This guide is a starting point. As you move through your onboarding, you’ll continue to build understanding, connections, and confidence.
Watch Video
Familiarize Yourself with Systems & Tools
Close
Responsible AI Usage
Since our internal AI agent (NEO) is not yet configured for this use case, we are using LinkedIn Learning’s AI Role Play. When doing so, it is critical to protect confidentiality and comply with privacy regulations. Do not include supplier names or any other personally identifiable information in your prompts. Keep all inputs generic and anonymized. If you are unsure whether certain information is confidential, err on the side of caution and exclude it. Always follow company data protection policies when interacting with external system:
Responsible AI Policy
Build Your Network & Clarify Ways of Working
Following the Contact Plan provided by your Line Manager, plan meetings, clarify roles and decision-making, and start refining your job expectations.
Close
Get to Know Commercial
Close
Complete Mandatory Policies & Standards Training
Close
Commercial Guide Advisor
Your friend to high performance. Combining AI Speed with Human Judgment.
Understand Your Role and Team Context
Close
Plan Your Development
- Begin drafting your Personal Development Plan (PDP) to set clear goals for your growth.
Close
Who is the ultimate decision-maker?
- Who has the authority to approve or make the final call?
Who needs to be consulted before a decision is made?- Who provides critical input or expertise?
Who should be informed after the decision?-
Who needs visibility but is not part of the decision process?
Are there any governance or approval steps I need to follow?- Is there a formal process or committee involved?
What level of involvement do stakeholders expect?- Do they want to review, validate, or just be updated?
Are there any influencers who can impact the decision indirectly?- Who might not decide but can sway outcomes?
What is the preferred way to engage these stakeholders?- Formal meetings, quick check-ins, written updates?
What are the timelines for input and decision-making?