Onboarding Epg - Final PDF

SHRM Foundations Effective
Practice Guidelines Series
Onboarding New Employees:

Maximizing Success
By Talya N. Bauer, Ph.D
Sponsored by
Right Management
SHRM Foundations Effective Practice Guidelines Series

Maximizing
Success

Talya N. Bauer, Ph.D
Sponsored by
Right Management
Maximizing SuccesS
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information regarding the subject matter covered. Neither the publisher nor
the author is engaged in rendering legal or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a
competent, licensed professional should be sought. Any federal and state laws discussed in this book are subject to frequent revision and inter-
pretation by amendments or judicial revisions that may significantly affect employer or employee rights and obligations. Readers are encour-
aged to seek legal counsel regarding specific policies and practices in their organizations.
This book is published by the SHRM Foundation, an affiliate of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The interpretations,
conclusions and recommendations in this book are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the SHRM Foundation.
2010 SHRM Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.
This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the SHRM Foundation, 1800 Duke Street, Alexandria,
VA 22314.
The SHRM Foundation is the 501(c)3 nonprofit affiliate of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The SHRM Foundation
maximizes the impact of the HR profession on organizational decision-making and performance by promoting innovation, education, research and
the use of research-based knowledge. The Foundation is governed by a volunteer board of directors, comprising distinguished HR academic and
practice leaders. Contributions to the SHRM Foundation are tax deductible.
For more information, contact the SHRM Foundation at (703) 535-6020. Online at www.shrm.org/foundation.
10-0645
Table of
Contents
v Foreword
vii Acknowledgments
ix About the Author
1 Onboarding New Employees: Maximizing Success
1 A Range of Approaches
2 The Four Cs
4 Using New Tools to Keep Onboarding on Track
4 Short-Term Outcomes of Onboarding:

New Employee Adjustment
6 Long-Term Outcomes of Onboarding:
Attitudes and Behaviors
8 Onboarding and HRM
13 Feedback Tools
13 Onboarded Employees:
Executives vs. Hourly Workers
15 Implications for Small to
Medium Organizations
16 Onboarding Best Practices
17 Conclusion
19 References
25 Sources and Suggested Readings

Foreword
According to recent data, more than 25 percent of the U.S. population
experiences some type of career transition each year. Unfortunately, many
transitions are not successful.
Half of all hourly workers leave new jobs in the first four months, and half
of senior outside hires fail within 18 months. Clearly, there is room for
improvement.
An important way leaders can combat these challenges is to implement a

robust employee onboarding program. Onboarding helps new hires adjust
to the social and performance aspects of their jobs so they can quickly
become productive, contributing members of the organization. This report,
Onboarding New Employees: Maximizing Success, will provide the tools you
need to create an effective onboarding process in your company.
In 2004, the SHRM Foundation created this Effective Practice Guidelines

series for busy HR professionals like you. Its a challenge for practitioners
with limited time to keep up with the latest research results. By integrating
research findings on what works and expert opinion on how to conduct
effective HR practice into a single publication, we make theory and practice
accessible to you.
Recent reports in this series include The Search for Executive Talent,
Employment Downsizing and Its Alternatives, Recruiting and Attracting
Talent, and Human Resource Strategy. This report is the 12th in the series.
Subject matter experts write the reports, and the drafts are then reviewed
by both academics and practitioners to ensure that the material is research-
based, comprehensive and presented in an easy-to-use format. We also
include a Suggested Readings section as a convenient reference tool.
All reports are available online for free download at www.shrm.org
/foundation.
This series supports our vision for the SHRM Foundation to maximize
the impact of the HR profession on organizational decision-making and
performance by promoting innovation, education, research and the use of
research-based knowledge. Overall, the Foundation has a strategic focus
on initiatives designed to help organizations maximize leadership talent. We
are confident that the Effective Practice Guidelines series takes us one step
closer to making our vision a reality. Please let us know how we are doing!
Mary A. Gowan, Ph.D.

Chair, SHRM Foundation Research Evidence Committee
Dean and Professor of Management
Martha and Spencer Love School of Business
Elon University
v
Acknowledgments
The SHRM Foundation is grateful for the assistance of the following individuals
in producing this report:
content Editor
M. Susan Taylor, Ph.D.
Deans Professor of Human Resources
Co-Director, Center for Human Capital, Innovation and Technology
Robert H. Smith School of Business
University of Maryland
Reviewers
LaTonia Dean-Brown
Associate Director, Human Resources
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Gregory Karanastasis, PHR
Director, Talent Acquisition
The McGraw-Hill Companies
Martina S. McAndrew, SPHR
Director, Strategic Recruitment
Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP
Suzanne Ritchie
Onboarding & Early Engagement Consultant
TD Ameritrade Corporate Learning & Development
Project Manager
Beth M. McFarland, CAE
Manager, Special Projects
SHRM Foundation
Major funding for the Effective Practice Guidelines series is

provided by the HR Certification Institute and the Society for
Human Resource Management.
vii
About the Author:
Talya N. Bauer
Talya N. Bauer is the Cameron Professor of Management at
Portland State University in Oregon. Dr. Bauer is an award-winning
teacher and researcher. She conducts research about relationships
at work. More specifically, she studies the areas of new-hire
onboarding, recruitment, selection, overqualification, mentoring
and leadership, and has written numerous journal articles. Her
scholarship has appeared in the Academy of Management Journal,
Academy of Learning and Education Journal, Journal of Applied
Psychology, Journal of Management and Personnel Psychology. Dr.
Bauer has been a guest speaker at the SHRM annual conference
and has acted as a consultant for dozens of government, Fortune
1000 and start-up organizations. She is involved in professional
organizations and conferences, serving in elected positions,
including as a member of the Human Resource Management
Executive Committee of the Academy of Management and
Member at Large for the Society for Industrial and Organizational
Psychology. Dr. Bauer is currently the editor of the Journal of
Management and has served on the editorial boards of the Journal
of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology and the Journal of
Management. She has co-authored two textbooksOrganizational
Behavior and Principles of Managementand two management
graphic novels with Jeremy Short, Dave Ketchen and illustrator
Len SimonAtlas Black: Managing to Succeed and Atlas Black:
Management Guru. Her work has been discussed in media
outlets, including the New York Times, BusinessWeek, Wall Street
Journal, Oregonian, Portland Business Journal, NPRs All Things
Considered and KGW News.
ix
Research and conventional wisdom both suggest that
employees get about 90 days to prove themselves in a
new job. The faster new hires feel welcome and prepared
for their jobs, the faster they will be able to successfully
contribute to the firms mission.
Onboarding New Employees: Maximizing Success

Maximizing Success
After effective recruitment and selection, one of the most important ways
that organizations can improve the effectiveness of their talent management
systems is through the strategic use of onboarding. Onboarding is the
process of helping new hires adjust to social and performance aspects of
their new jobs quickly and smoothly. This should always be a priority for HR
departments, because in the United States, every year more than 25 percent
of the working population experiences career transitions.1 In Fortune 500
companies alone, about 500,000 managers take on new roles each year, and
overall, managers begin new jobs every two to four years. Unfortunately, in
the midst of all these transitions:
Half of all senior outside hires fail within 18 months in a new position.3
Half of all hourly workers leave new jobs within the first 120 days.4
This report will explain why onboarding is so important, where it fits into the
larger HR context, how HR managers can proactively manage onboarding
and, finally, how new employees can help facilitate their own onboarding
process.
A Range of Approaches
Research and conventional wisdom both suggest that employees get about
90 days to prove themselves in a new job. Every organization has its own
version of the complex process through which new hires learn attitudes,
knowledge, skills and behaviors required to function effectively. Academic
researchers who study onboarding also use the term organizational
socialization.5 No matter what the terminology, the bottom line is that the
faster new hires feel welcome and prepared for their jobs, the faster they will
be able to successfully contribute to the firms mission.
1
The formality and comprehensiveness often struggle to figure out precisely Some other variables HR managers
of onboarding programs varies what is expected and to understand the will want to look at when analyzing
widely across organizations, and norms of their new workplace. their firms onboarding procedures
those considered best in class are sequencing, numbers of new hires
One of the first things HR managers
for onboarding have more formal grouped together and how supportive
should consider is whether their firm
onboarding programs.6 For example, the company isan intangible that is
is served best by informal or formal
starting with a first-day welcome, global always difficult to measure.10
onboarding.
beauty company LOreal says, Our aim
is to develop successful, committed and I nformal onboarding refers to the
The Four Cs
mutually beneficial relationships with process by which an employee learns
each of our employees.7 The company about his or her new job without an Onboarding has four distinct levels, the
supports onboarding with a two-year, explicit organizational plan. Four Cs:11
six-part integration program called
F
ormal onboarding refers to a C
ompliance is the lowest level and
LOreal Fit. The program includes:
written set of coordinated policies includes teaching employees basic
T
raining and roundtable and procedures that assist an legal and policy-related rules and
discussions. employee in adjusting to his or her regulations.
new job in terms of both tasks and
Meetings with key insiders. Clarification refers to ensuring that
socialization.8
employees understand their new
On-the-job learning supported by
Research shows that organizations jobs and all related expectations.
line management.
that engage in formal onboarding by
Culture is a broad category that
Individual mentoring and HR implementing step-by-step programs for
includes providing employees with
support. new employees to teach them what their
a sense of organizational norms
roles are, what the norms of the company
Field and product experiences both formal and informal.
are and how they are to behave are
such as site visits and shadowing
more effective than those that do not.9 onnection refers to the vital
C
programs.
Again, as in the case of LOreal, formal interpersonal relationships and
Approaches to onboarding range from onboarding provides a fixed sequence of information networks that new
quite structured and systematicas in activities for new employeesa sequence employees must establish.
the case of LOrealto the sink or that is timed carefullyas well as help
The building blocks of successful
swim strategy, in which new employees from organizational role models.
onboarding are often called the Four Cs.
The degree to which each organization

leverages these four building blocks
determines its overall onboarding
strategy, with most firms falling into one
of three levels.
Increase Job Increase Innoculate
Satisfaction Performance Against Turnover
Jump start relationships Clarify delivery expectations Provide support through
Clarify objectives feedback, coaching
Level 1: Passive Onboarding
and follow-up Almost all organizations naturally
cover compliance as part of formal
onboarding. For firms that engage in
Onboarding helps new employees adjust to their jobs by establishing better
Passive Onboarding, or Level 1, some
relationships to increase satisfaction, clarifying expectations and objectives to role clarification may be given, but neither
improve performance, and providing support to help reduce unwanted turnover.
2
Connection
Culture
Clarification
Compliance
The building blocks of successful onboarding are often called the Four Cs.
Culture nor Connection is addressed. Level 2: High Potential

Some informal ways of guiding new Onboarding
employees in terms of Culture and When compliance and clarification
Connection may have developed over are well covered by a firms formal
time, but no oneincluding HR staff onboarding practices and some
is coordinating the task to maximize culture and connection mechanisms
onboarding success. If your firm is are in place, Level 2High Potential
engaged in Passive Onboarding, you are Onboardinghas been reached.
likely to view onboarding as a checklist In these organizationsabout 50
of unrelated tasks to be completed. percent of all firmsthe complete
Research shows that approximately process has not yet been established
30 percent of organizationslarge, in a systematic way across the
medium and smallwork at this level.12 organization.
Passive Onboarding can be functional,
but it is certainly unsystematic.
Onboarding
Compliance Clarification Culture Connection
Strategy Level
LITTLE/ LITTLE/
1 Passive YES SOME
NONE NONE
2 High Potential YES YES SOME SOME
3 Proactive YES YES YES YES
3
resource groups and a 30-60-90 day

checklist.
I BMs Assimilation Process
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, IBM executives recognized that the firm had some Kelloggs transition web site is a focal
success with new employees, but it was stuck at Level 2High Potential Onboarding. point of onboarding revitalization. On the
With increased hiring as a result of restructuring and more job mobility, the new- web site, employees can assess their own
hire population became crucial. The new IBM philosophy boiled down to a simple onboarding status by using the onboarding
conceptso much money, time and resources are spent on recruiting and hiring that it
is essential to hang onto new employees.
track record tool. This tool analyzes
potential strengths and weaknesses of past
Realizing that new hires have different needs than longer-tenured employees, IBM
created the Assimilation Process, which consists of three steps: affirming, beginning onboarding activities, so it becomes easier
and connecting. Clear timelines for each step became part of the new process. to pinpoint areas for improvement of a
Affirming occurs prior to a new employees start date and includes welcoming the formal onboarding plan.
new employee, preparing a workstation and assigning a coach.
To better understand your
Beginning occurs during the employees first 30 days. On the first day, strict rules organizations onboarding level, you
are in place to ensure that the new worker is met in person, introduced to the team,
has a functional area in which to work, completes paperwork and is introduced an may want to try an inventory like
intranet onboarding platform, known as Your IBM. During this crucial first month, the Onboarding Track Record see
managers make sure that any needed resources are available, clarify roles and page 5. This will identify strengths and
responsibilities, encourage the newcomer, and schedule check in times to be sure weaknesses, help you analyze your current
that the new employee is making progress with Your IBM.
situation, and establish where you would
Connecting occurs during the employees first year on the job and consists of three like to be in the future. Other helpful tools
phases. After two months, an ask coach checks in to make sure things are on track.
At this stage, networking is a priority, so the employee is encouraged to find interest are available later in this report.
communities within the company. Between four and six months into the newcomers
tenure, the focus becomes his or her accomplishments and understanding IBMs
way of getting things done. By the end of one year, IBM considers new employees Short-Term Outcomes
to be fully integrated. One of the most valuable elements of the Assimilation Process of Onboarding: New
is the individual assigned as a new employees coacha friend to answer questions,
reinforce concepts, share processes and tools, and help transmit the intangible Employee Adjustment
cultural values of the firm.
Researchers have identified four major
With the new process in place, IBM is now an example of a Level 3 onboarding
leversrelated to both job roles and
organization.
social environmentthat organizations
can use to help new employees maximize
Level 3: Proactive Onboarding Ill invest my money in people. In line their onboarding success.
All four building blocks are formally with this philosophy, in the 21st century The first lever for successful onboarding
addressed in Level 3, Proactive Kellogg still sees attracting, selecting, is self-efficacy, or self-confidence,
Onboarding. If your firm is engaging and retaining the best talent in job performance. To the degree
systematically organizing onboarding as critical to the companys business that a new employee feels confident
with a strategic human resource success.14 Feedback from internal surveys in doing the job well, he or she will
management approach, you are at indicated a need to improve Kelloggs be more motivated and eventually
Level 3. Only about 20 percent of onboarding process, so the company more successful than less confident
organizations achieve this level.13 put a transition framework in place. The counterparts.15 Organizations should
framework includes new ways to add target specific onboarding programs to
value, connect and build relationships, help boost employees confidence as
Using New Tools navigate unwritten rules to get things they navigate new organizational waters.
to Keep Onboarding done, and review performance and Self-efficacy has been shown to have an
on Track progress. Specifically, Kellogg uses impact on organizational commitment,
new employee onboarding training, satisfaction and turnover.16
W. K. Kellogg, founder of the 100-year- new manager assimilations, employee
old Kellogg Company, famously said,
4
ONBOARDING TOOL #1: ANALYZING YOUR TRACK RECORD A second task-related lever is role
clarityhow well a new employee
Step + Successes Opportunities to Improve
understands his or her role and
1. Understand how onboarding expectations.17 Performance will suffer
can take the organization to
the next level. if expectations are ambiguous. In fact,
a study of employees in the United
2. Clarify how the new States and United Kingdom found
employee will meet that businesses lose an estimated
organizations needs. $37 billion each year as a result of
3. Align stakeholders employees not understanding their
expectations of new jobs.18 Therefore, role clarity (or its
employee. flipside, role ambiguity) is a good
indication of how well-adjusted a
4. Create a powerful slate of
potential candidates.
new employee is, and measuring role
clarity can help organizations stop
5. Evaluate candidates against potential performance problems before
the recruiting brief. they get worse, leading to poor job
6. Make the offer and close the
attitudes.19 If new employees say they
sale in a way that reinforces understand the roles they occupy,
your leadership message. that obviously indicates higher role
clarity.20 Researchers have also studied
7. Co-create a personal
role conflict in new employees, with
onboarding plan with each
new employee. lower role conflict indicating more
positive onboarding outcomes.21
8. Manage the announcement Overall, measures of role clarity are
cascade to set the new
employee up for success.
among the most consistent predictors
of job satisfaction and organizational
9. Do what is required for the commitment during the onboarding
new employee to be ready, process.
eager and able to do real
work on Day 1. Social integration is the third lever for
successful onboarding.22 Meeting and
10. Manage first impressions
starting to work with organizational
both ways.
insiders is an important aspect of
11. Create conditions for new learning about any organization. In
employees to work well addition, new employees need to feel
early on with those who
were most helpful.
socially comfortable and accepted by
their peers and superiors. Research
12. Give your new employees has long found acceptance by peers
the resources and support
to be an indicator of adjustment.23
they need to deliver better
results faster. According to one estimate, 60 percent
of managers who fail to onboard
13. Follow through to ensure
successfully cite failure to establish
ongoing adjustment and
success. effective working relationships as a
primary reason.24
Other
Integration into ones work group
Used with permission from Bradt, G., & Vonnegut, M. (2009). Onboarding: How to get your is positively related to commitment
new employees up to speed in half the time. NY: John Wiley.
5
Self- Role Social Knowledge Successful

Selection + + + + =
Efficacy Clarity Integration of Culture Onboarding
After selection and entry, new employees go through multiple adjustments.
and turnover.25 And high-quality adjustment and down the line months faster than employees in a
relationships with leaders and other are associated with commitment, traditional program.
team members undoubtedly are satisfaction and turnover.29
related to favorable onboarding The ultimate failure of onboarding
outcomes,26 including performance is the withdrawal of potentially good
Long-Term Outcomes employees. Losing an employee who
and job satisfaction.27 New employees
should expect help from HR staff, of Onboarding: is a poor fit or not performing well
but they also must facilitate their own Attitudes and may be a fine outcome, but losing
onboarding by actively building strong employees because they are confused,
Behaviors feel alienated or lack confidence
relationships. Useful tactics include:
Beyond the short-term issues related to indicates inadequate onboarding.33
M
aking time to engage in small employees initial adjustments, many Simply put, good onboarding leads to
talk with colleagues. long-term outcomes of onboarding good retention rates. At Corning Glass
affect a firms bottom line. When Works, new employees who attended
A
rranging informal social
surveyed, organizations perceive a structured orientation program were
interactions, such as lunches or
effective onboarding as improving 69 percent more likely to remain at the
coffee breaks.
retention rates (52 percent), time company up to three years.34
P
articipating in voluntary to productivity (60 percent) and
company functions. In summary, research on new employee
overall customer satisfaction (53
onboarding35 shows that when
T
rying to build a relationship with percent).30 For employees, long-term
onboarding is done correctly, it leads to:
a supervisor by taking on new outcomes of good onboarding include
responsibilities and successfully job satisfaction and organizational Higher job satisfaction.
completing assignments. commitment.31
Organizational commitment.
Knowledge of and fit within an New hires should help an organization
Lower turnover.
organizational culture is the fourth accomplish specific goals, and the
aspect of onboarding. Every company degree to which they do this can be Higher performance levels.
has a unique culture, so helping new helped or hindered by onboarding.32 So
Career effectiveness.
hires navigate that cultureand performance is also an important long-
their place within itis essential.28 term outcome of onboarding. A study Lowered stress.
Understanding an organizations of the onboarding process at Texas
politics, goals and values, and learning Instruments found that employees who
the firms unique language are all went through an improved onboarding
important indicators of employee program were fully productive two
6
Case Study: Effective Onboarding and Integration Cultural Integration

Following an Acquisition Any employee moving from a small company to a larger, highly
By Renee Parratore, MA-HRIR, manager, HR, and Darin Artman, matrixed organization will need time to assimilate. However, for
Ph.D., director, HR, Bristol-Myers Squibb this important group of employees, BMS wanted to accelerate
the process for both managers and employees. An analysis was
When Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), a mid-sized pharmaceutical completed to compare the Medarex biotech culture with the
company with nearly 30,000 employees, acquired Medarex, a BMS biopharmaceutical culture in order to identify the key areas
biotech company of fewer than 500 employees, in September of of significant change. Managers were then trained in mitigating
2009, our key objective was to onboard and integrate employees actions to support the integration.
into one organization effectively. Following a talent assessment
and placement process, approximately 100 Medarex employees Following the manager training, our focus shifted to the newly
would be transferring into BMS positions within a five-month onboarded employees. In the first of two Cross Cultural
period. The onboarding approach focused on two dimensions Awareness sessions, a diverse group of BMS leaders who had
operational integration and cultural integrationwhich built experience working in or with biotech companies shared their
on the existing processes for external new hires while enhancing personal stories of integrating into a larger organization during
processes that would make a positive impact on our newest biotech a panel discussion. In the second session, two senior BMS
employees. leaders discussed the BMS cultural journey, from its inception
when BMS was a traditional pharmaceutical companyto the
Operational Integration present and on to its desired future state. Both sessions provided
One factor in making a strong first impression on a new employee employees an opportunity to ask leaders questions, learn about the
is to provide functioning workspace and tools on Day 1. Teams BMS culture and provide candid feedback to their managers about
from Finance, Facilities, Information Technology, Compliance how their integration was progressing.
and Human Resources were tasked with preparing all behind-
the-scenes processes for the influx of 100 new employees over After focusing on both the operational and cultural components
the course of four months. Keeping in mind that many of our of the onboarding experience, we completed an evaluation for the
processes require actions from both the hiring manager and the new employees to provide feedback to our centralized team. The
new employee, we generated a Preparation Checklist, which evaluation concluded that 92 percent of our employees believed
described the key activities needed beginning 30 days prior to the they were productive and contributing members of their teams
selected start date. Training was provided to all hiring managers, after one month on the joba result that reinforced the value of
and pre-Day 1 communication to the employees outlined clear our onboarding efforts.
expectations of the integration process.
Biotech vs. BioPharma: Whats the difference? What can you do to smooth the transition during the
Onboarding/Integration period?
Culture Dimension Change Impact Hypotheses Potential Manager Onboarding Actions
Governance & Biotech employees may feel Educate onboarded employees on the matrix structure, highlighting organizations, governance,
Decision-Making overwhelmed when navigating within key success factors, etc.
the large matrix organization.
Leverage existing collaboration approaches used within the company, particularly in the Research
Biotech employees may be frustrated group, to facilitate knowledge sharing.
by seemingly slow decision-making
Educate new managers on their decision rights for go-forward roles.
processes.
Encourage employees to provide input into decision-making process, where appropriate, so they
feel that they are contributing as part of the process instead of just waiting for decisions.
Performance, Expectations on performance and Communicate performance expectations, including alignment to company goals and
Accountability & accountability may be different at a compensation and incentives.
Rewards Biotech than at a larger BioPharma.
People & Biotech employees can often walk Educate employees on the new matrix structure, highlighting organizations, governance, key
Communications down the hall and talk to all of success factors, etc. Provide them with a buddy to help in navigation.
their colleagues, while BioPharma
colleagues are geographically
dispersed across sites and
departments.
7
A research-based model of onboarding
Industry, Organization Size, Leadership, Climate and Culture
Orientation Forums
(e.g., New Employee Support Tools & Processes
Recruiting Process Orientation Guide) (e.g., Written
(e.g., RJP, Stakeholders Onboarding Plan, Key
Involvement) Stakeholders Check-In,
Integration Meetings)
Self- Role Social Knowledge Successful

Selection + + + + =
efficacy Clarity Integration of Culture Onboarding
Feedback Tools
Coaching & Support
(e.g., 360 Feedback,
Training (e.g., Hiring Manager, HR
Performance Appraisals,
(e.g., Hard Skills, Soft Generalist, Mentor)
Feedback Seeking)
Skills, Onboarding Skills)
Time for Successful OnboardingOngoing pre-hire to 12 months post-entry
Onboarding onboarding of new employees. The the process. Recall the three levels of
and HRM model summarizes both new employee onboarding discussed above: Level
adjustment and outcomes of successful 1Passive, Level 2High Potential and
Until recently, academics have studied onboarding. The recruitment and Level 3Proactive. Most onboarding
the onboarding process under the selection process is actually the first practices fit into one of these levels.
larger category of socialization, step to effective onboarding. Clearly
and onboarding has been considered Successful onboarding is the result
identifying valued behaviors and hiring
a minor part of human resource of several HRM functions working
candidates who demonstrate them will
management (HRM). Today, however, together in a coordinated fashion.
increase the likelihood of a smooth
both academic researchers and those Although here each function is
onboarding process.
responsible for onboarding within their discussed separately, the key to
organizations understand that the best successful onboarding is for HRM
What happens during functions to work together seamlessly
programs are those that are based on
onboarding? to support new employees. The process
solid research and also make sense in
practice. Above is a diagram of research During onboarding, firms engage in a starts even before a new employee
about factors that play a role in successful variety of activities that may facilitate arrives: the first HRM function,
8
and the first interaction of a new regarding both the specific job to
employee with the firm, is recruiting. be done and the organizational
culture. RJPs have advantages and
Recruiting disadvantages. As an experiment, one
In Passive Oboarding, organizations firm randomly assigned prospective
recruiting processes are unrelated employees to either an RJP group or
to new employee onboarding plans. a non-RJP group. As expected, the
Rather than viewing recruitment as a RJP group was more likely to reject a
time to begin the onboarding process, job offer, but they had 50 percent less
it is seen as a separate function. In fact, turnover than the non-RJP group.39
Realistic previews help to prevent
the entire goal of recruitment should
new employees from suffering unmet
be to get candidates to the next step
expectations. Past research has found
selectionand then to help them fit
that new employees receiving large
into the organizational environment
amounts of accurate information about
and get to know organizational
a company and their new job tend to
insiders and stakeholders.36 The
adjust better than those who dont
recruitment process provides
acquire this information.40 RJPs can
information, but it also helps new
be provided during recruitment and
employees form realistic expectations
hiring or through more on-the-job
and engage coping mechanisms.37 In
experiences such as internships.
this way, the quality of recruitment
practices relates to higher
organizational commitment.38 Orientations
Some 93 percent of organizations
now use some type of new-employee
Realistic Job Previews
orientationeither in person or
Organizations can provide employees
online.41 Formal orientation programs
with realistic job previews (RJPs)
Case Study: Intensive Onboarding at Zappos
One organization that engages in intensive onboarding during orientations is

Zappos.com (acquired in 2009 by Amazon.com, Inc.). Zappos managed to
move from 23rd place on Fortune magazines 100 Best Companies to Work
For list in 2009 to 15th place in 2010.
New employees at Zappos learn about the organizations values and procedures
in an intensive five-week training course, during which new hires are offered
$2,000 to quit if they feel they are not a good fit for the organization. To date,
only about one percent of trainees have taken this offer. This might be why even
though Zappos has more than 1,300 employees, the company has been able to
maintain a relatively flat organizational structure and prides itself on its extreme
transparency.
from Bauer, T., & Erdogan, B. (2010).
Organizational Behavior. Nyack, NY: Flat World Knowledge.
9
help new employees understand many intervals to help new employees

important aspects of their jobs and get the information they need
organizations, including the companys in a timely manner. Many
culture and values, its goals and history, stakeholders should be involved
and its power structure.42 Orientation in these onboarding meetings,
programs also serve a social role, helping and the schedule should identify
newcomers feel welcome by introducing who is involved at what point
them to their co-workers and other in time. With regular touching
individuals within the organization. base meetings, potential
Orientations, which may last a few problems can be solved before
hours to a few months, can provide new they expand into large problems.
employees with valuable information O
nboarding online. Some
and the chance to process a lot of organizations use technology
paperwork and procedures quickly, to deliver initial orientation
using tools that include discussions, programs, but one study shows
lectures, videotapes and written material. that benefits may not be quite
During short orientations, companies as positive in computer-based
often use computer-based information orientations. Researchers
systems and intranets to help support compared employees taking
new employees. This approach lends part in a regular, face-to-
consistency to orientations in different face orientation to those in a
locations and at different times. computer-based orientation and
found less understanding of the
Support Tools and Processes job and the company for those
Both during and after the orientation, in the computer-based version.44
readily available support tools, such as Technology also can be used to
those discussed below, are invaluable follow the onboarding process,
for onboarding success. automate basic forms, track
progress against development
written onboarding plan. A
A and career plans, and help
formal document, or roadmap, stakeholders monitor new
that outlines the specific timeline, employees to see when they
goals, responsibilities and support may need additional support.
available to new hires will help About 68 percent of Level 3
them succeed because it spells organizations have onboarding
out what they should do and systems that are partially or fully
what assistance they can expect. online.45
The most effective onboarding
plans are usually written,
Coaching and Support
communicated to all members of
As mentioned above, stakeholder
the company, consistently applied
involvement is extremely valuable
and tracked over time.43
for successful new employee
S takeholder meetings. Proactive/ onboarding because stakeholders can
Level 3 organizations often create help newcomers manage and meet
check-in meetings at specific expectations.46 Stakeholders include
10
Onboarding Tool #2: Conversation Guide

Some useful questions to ask during onboarding conversations
Learning
Give me your read on the general situation at the firm.
What strengths/capabilities are required?
Which strengths/capabilities exist now?
Can you offer some examples?
Expectations
What do you see as high priorities?
Lower priorities?
Current untouchable topics?
What resources are available to invest against these priorities?
Implementation
Tell me about the control points, both metrics and process, such as meetings, reports, etc.
Tell me about some of the decisions we make.
Who makes them, and who else is involved?
How?
What is the best way to communicate with you, including mode, manner, frequency and how
to deal with disagreements?
Used with permission from Bradt, G., & Vonnegut, M. (2009). Onboarding: How to get your
new employees up to speed in half the time. NY: John Wiley.
those involved in hiring, training, HR, programs, opportunities for informal

and normal coaching and support. interaction with colleagues and adequate
They can influence new hires by not information certainly will help the new
only sharing information but also employees adapt more easily to the new
serving as role models to be emulated. work environment.
Mentors are a similar resource to Both internal and external coaching

help new employees learn the ropes. can be critical in the success or
A mentor can teach new employees failure of new employees. External
about the organization, offer advice, coaches can be especially important
help with job instruction, and provide for executive onboarding, where the
support in social and political terms. stakes are high. An objective coach
New employees may go to mentors can help new executives by offering
with questions that they are hesitant to a safe sounding board for ideas and
ask their managers for fear of seeming approaches. External coaches can also
incompetent.47 One study found that help new executives prepare for their
new employees with mentors became onboarding process before they enter,
more knowledgeable about their new as well as assist with any challenges they
organizations than new employees who encounter in their new organization.
did not have mentors.48 Researchers
have also found that new employees
Training
are more likely to have learned and
A new employee needs the confidence,
internalized the key values of their
clarity and skills to do the job he or
organizations culture if they had
she has been hired to do. Potential
spent time with a mentor.49 Mentoring
training for new employees includes
11
Case Study: Keeping Onboarding Up-to-Date at Microsoft
In 2009, Microsoft employed 90,000 individuals worldwide in 108 countries. In 2004, the software giant hired more
than 7,000 new employees, and in 2006, the company hired nearly 16,000. Even with a challenging economy, the
company expects to start 8,000 employees in 2010. With such a large influx of newcomers each year, Microsoft saw an
opportunity to leverage onboarding of employees around the world.
The corporate onboarding mission is to enhance the new employee experience through high quality, scalable onboarding
programs and frameworks that support Microsofts business goals, advance the aspire to culture, encourage
community, and build organizational capability to onboard others.
To achieve this mission, a team of HR professionals within Microsoft works to keep the onboarding program up-to-
date and relevant. After a major revision of the company process, the team came up with a framework that includes
core philosophies:
Managers play a critical role in onboarding new employees.
P
eer mentors provide safe havens for new employees to ask questions, gain knowledge and explore the
culture.
Onboarding is everyones jobnot just HRs.
Team members play a critical role in providing support, knowledge and a welcoming climate.
WORLDWIDE FOCUS
6 & 12
Everday
Legal Month
Pre Start NEO Work NEO 2.0
Overview Touch
Made Easy
Points
Peer Mentor
Location
Onboarding Roadmap
Organization
Web support for new employees

Profession
New employee helpdesk
+Custom additions for senior levels
Overview of Microsofts Onboarding Program.55
12
hard skills, soft skills and onboarding E

mployee-initiated information executives and new employees lower in
skills, and each skill set is important. and feedback seeking. Employees the organizational hierarchy, practices
If a new employee has low levels of can help or hinder their own must be tailored to the type of
self-efficacy at the start, training is even onboarding. Information-seeking employee being onboarded.
more necessary to boost subsequent and feedback are proactive new-
ability to cope and job performance.50 employee behaviors that may
Executive onboarding
Training can show newcomers how to help them adjust as they ask
proactively help their own adjustment questions about different aspects Onboarding is more developed for
and therefore encourage successful of their jobs, company procedures higher-level employees than for hourly
onboarding. and prioritiesall to make sense workers. Organizations understand
of the new workplace.51 Workers that getting executives and managers
may seek information using more up to speed quickly is important
Feedback Tools passive methodsmonitoring because these leadership positions are
New employees often make missteps the environment, viewing the highly visible and influence the bottom
and may find it challenging to company web site, reading the line more clearly.56 Estimates vary
understand and interpret positive employee handbook or other depending on the organization, but
or negative reactions they receive written literature. But very little the cost of a single failed executive-
from co-workers. This means insight about company culture and level manager can be as high as $2.7
they will often need feedback and unwritten rules will emerge from million.57 Unfortunately, 32 percent of
guidance. Research consistently passive methods. As time passes, global executives say the onboarding
shows the benefits of feedback for employees should start asking more they experienced was poor.58
new employee adjustment. During questions of supervisors about
Executive onboarding differs from
onboarding, feedback is a two-way expectations and evaluation, but
they may be reluctant to do so traditional onboarding in several
process. New employees seek and ways.59
if they believe such questioning
receive information, and companies
will reveal their own weaknesses.52 E
xecutives have more
vary in how well they use feedback
Yet asking questions will often stakeholders with whom to
tools during the onboarding process.
communicate to others that the interact.
A couple of common approaches to
new employee is interested in
employee feedback are: T
hey are normally brought in
learning the norms and performing
P
erformance appraisals and well.53 The need for new employees to help with specific strategic
360-degree feedback. Within to ask the most basic questions is initiatives that may require
the HRM system, performance lessening as more organizations changing the status quo rather
appraisals can give new employees institute formal onboarding than fitting into it.
developmental feedback. programs that include help desks, T
hey often are confronted with
Normally, however, organizations online information centers and unique and challenging situations
conduct appraisals only once or regularly scheduled meetings with that require unique solutions.
twice a year. When integrating stakeholders.
appraisals into the onboarding Executive onboarding has a long
process, quarterly meetings history in organizations such as Dell,
can be helpful. The benefit of
Onboarded Toyota, General Electric and PepsiCo.60
360-degree feedback is that it Employees: Executives The higher a persons level in the
helps new employees understand vs. Hourly Workers organization, the more tailored and
how others view them. Feedback flexible the program will need to be.
Although the best practices presented
from all sides can help resolve any
in this report certainly apply to both
disagreements early on.
13
Case Study: Executive Onboarding at Bank of America
Bank of America is an organization with an effective executive onboarding program. Between 2001 and 2006, the bank
hired 189 external executives, and more than 200 internal candidates went through a formal executive onboarding
process. The company has three major goals for its executive onboarding program:
1. M inimize the high costs of executive derailment.

2. Accelerate executive performance results.
3. Facilitate a smooth integration experience for new executives.
The derailment rate for Bank of Americas executives is 12 percent, compared to an industry average of 40 percent for
large organizations. How does the Bank of America accomplish this?
Best practices developed at Bank of America include:
Viewing onboarding as unfolding over time.

Encompassing multiple interventions.
Gaining support from multiple organizational resources.
Involving key stakeholders.
Emphasizing quality interactions.
Source: Bauer, T.N., & Elder, E. (2006). Onboarding newcomers into organizations. Presentation at the Society for Human Resource Management Annual
Conference, Washington, D.C.; Conger, J.A., & Fishel, B. (2007). Accelerating leadership performance at the top: Lessons from the Bank of Americas
executive on-boarding process. Human Resource Management Review, 17, 442-454.
Onboarding Tool #3: Bank of Americas Onboarding: What, Why and When
Onboarding tool Why Is It Used? When Is It Used?

Orientation Program Includes information on the business, history, culture Held on the first day on the job
and values of Bank of America
Written Onboarding Plan Helps new executives organize and prioritize the Provided in the first week after entry
onboarding process
Leadership Tools Help new executives understand the leadership Provided in the first week after entry
frameworks at Bank of America
Key Stakeholder Meetings Allow for important flows of information and for Must be done in the first two months
expectation setting
New Leader-Team Integration Helps accelerate the development of relationships Occurs between two and three
between the new executive and his or her team members months after entry
New Peer Integration Helps accelerate the development of relationships Occurs between two and three
between the new executive and the rest of the months after entry
executive team
Key Stakeholder Check-in Meetings Help diagnose potential problems, receive Occur between three and four
developmental feedback and create solutions months after entry
Executive Networking Forums Help new executives connect and network with other Held quarterly
executives
360-Degree Feedback Helps new executives gauge how they are performing Occurs after six months after entry
on key metrics as measured by those around them
14
Hourly worker onboarding Onboarding. Paperwork

Almost all research studies to date and rules were covered, but Onboarding Tool #4: A Checklist
have examined the onboarding of little else was systematically for Individuals
salaried workers (executives and addressed. While limited, other
onboarding practices included How Can a New Employee Maximize
knowledge workers) rather than hourly Onboarding Success?
workers. Recently, however, using job shadowing, mentors and
understanding who to go to for Gather information.
a qualitative approach, researchers Manage first impressions.
specific information.
conducted structured interviews with Invest in relationship
hourly workers and their managers Based on these limited findings, it development.
to get a better understanding of what is clear that there is a potential to Seek feedback.
onboarding looks like at the other greatly enhance the onboarding of Show success early on.
end of the corporate ladder.62 What hourly workers if the business case can
they found was a different picture. be made that doing so will result in
Given how unique this approach is, higher performance, lower turnover
the following sections delineate the and more positive work attitudes.
findings to offer HR professionals who
work with hourly employees the latest Although this report has
information. focused primarily on the role of
organizations, it is important to
How do hourly workers differ? remember that employee onboarding
is a two-way street. The employees
T
ime. New hourly employees
themselves bear some responsibility
reported that they were fully
on board after an average of for making onboarding work and
three-and-a-half weeks, but should be encouraged to think about
supervisors reported that new their own roles in the process.
hourly employees were not fully
functional until three months after Implications for
they were hired. Three months is
Small to Medium
more in line with past research and
theories; less than one month is Organizations
not. Many of the examples given in this
S takeholders. For hourly report refer to the best practices of
employees, direct supervisors large organizations with vast resources
and co-workers were involved in to invest in their onboarding plans.
onboardingwith little contact For small to medium organizations,
from regional managers or those many best practices can translate
higher up in the organizations. and be effective. In fact, looking at
Getting adequate time and the onboarding best practices in this
attention from supervisors was report, the only recommendations
a common challenge for new that may be expensive to implement
hourly employees. for smaller companies are those
that involve technology and
C
ontent of onboarding. Most getting the onboarding process
of the content of onboarding fully online. Bringing a program
for new hourly employees was online is not necessarily important
related to Level 1Passive
15
if fewer employees are undergoing most important day on the job for
onboarding at any given time. So, a new employee is the first day. The
fortunately, small and medium CEO of one major organization
organizations can accrue the recognizes this and takes newcomers
benefits of best practices developed to lunch within their first month.
within large organizations simply This is part of the company culture,
by investing some attention to and employees proudly share this
developing their own strategic plans. observation. Because research shows
that the trajectory of a new hires
success is set as early as the first two
Onboarding
weeks, it is important to make the
Best Practices first day a special one. Many hourly
Both the big thingslike using a workers do not come back if the
formal orientation program and first day is disappointing. To get
written planand the little things beyond the first day, review the list
like greeting a new employee of organizational best practices for
warmly, taking her or him to onboarding below.
lunch, and providing a functioning
workstation on Day 1matter in
your onboarding program. The
Best Practices for Onboarding
Implement the basics prior to the first day on the job.

Make the first day on the job special.
Use formal orientation programs.
Develop a written onboarding plan.
Make onboarding participatory.
Be sure your program is consistently implemented.
Ensure that the program is monitored over time.
Use technology to facilitate the process.
Use milestones, such as 30, 60, 90 and 120 days on the joband up to one year
post-organizational entryto check in on employee progress.
Engage stakeholders in planning.
Include key stakeholder meetings as part of the program.
Be crystal clear with new employees in terms of:
Objectives.
Timelines.
Roles.
Responsibilities
16
Conclusion
Successful onboarding is a key part of any talent management strategy. With

the high cost of recruiting, business leaders must understand that effectively
integrating new hires into the organization is an important step to ensure
their success. Understanding who owns the onboarding process as a whole
and who controls various steps in the process is vital to onboarding success
and sustainability over time. Simply writing down a formal plan will not help
new employees succeed. The key is to engage important stakeholders and new
employees in interactions that help them understand one another and how they
interact over time. Used in conjunction with HRM best practices, effective
onboarding will result in a faster learning curve for new hires, improved
communication, and a more productive and engaged workforce.
17
Both internal and external coaching can be critical in the
success or failure of new employees. External coaches
can be especially important for executive onboarding,
where the stakes are high.
REFERENCES
Rollag, K., Parise, S., & Cross, R. (2005). Getting new hires up to speed
1
quickly. MIT Sloan Management Review, 46, 35-41.
Watkins, M. (2003). The first 90 days. Boston, MA: Harvard Business

2
School Press.
Smart, B. (1999). Topgrading: How leading companies win by hiring,

3
coaching, and keeping the best people. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Krauss, A. D. (2010). Onboarding the hourly workforce. Poster presented

4
at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP),

Atlanta, GA.
For reviews see Bauer, T. N., & Erdogan, B. (in press). Organizational
5
socialization. In S. Zedeck, H. Aguinis, W. Cascio, M. Gelfand, K. Leung,

S. Parker, & J. Zhou (Eds.). APA Handbook of I/O Psychology, Volume III.
Washington, DC: APA Press; Bauer, T. N., Morrison, E. W., & Callister,
R. R. (1998). Organizational socialization: A review and directions for
future research. In G. R. Ferris (Ed.), Research in Personnel and Human
Resources Management, Volume 16, 149-214. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press;
Saks, A.M., & Ashforth, B.E. (1997). Organizational socialization: Making
sense of past and present as a prologue for the future. Journal of Vocational
Behavior, 51, 234-279; Saks, A. M., Uggerslev, K. L., & Fassina, N. E.
(2007). Socialization tactics and newcomer adjustment: A meta-analytic
review and test of a model. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 70, 413-446.
Martin, K., & Lombardi, M. (2009). Fully on-board: Getting the most from
6
your talent in the first year. Boston, MA: Aberdeen Group.
Your career at LOreal: www.loreal.com/_en/_ww/html/careers

7
/Your-career-at-L-Oreal/Your-integration/Assisting-your-integration
.aspx?&profile=&profileExcl=&. Retrieved on June 10, 2010.
Zahrly, J., & Tosi, H. (1989). The differential effect of organizational

8
induction process on early work role adjustment. Journal of Organizational

Behavior, 10, 59-74; Louis, M.R. (1980). Surprise and sense making:
What newcomers experience in entering unfamiliar organizational settings.
Administrative Science Quarterly, 25, 226-251; Louis, M.R., Posner, B.Z.,
& Powell, G.N. (1983). The availability and helpfulness of socialization
practices. Personnel Psychology, 36, 857-866.
Bauer, T. N., Bodner, T., Erdogan, B., Truxillo, D. M., & Tucker, J. S.
9
(2007). Newcomer adjustment during organizational socialization: A

meta-analytic review of antecedents, outcomes and methods. Journal of
Applied Psychology, 92, 707-721; Cable, D. M. & Parsons, C. K. (2001).
19
Socialization tactics and person- C.R. (2003). Unwrapping the Bauer et al., 2007; Bauer, T. N.,
organization fit. Personnel Psychology, organizational entry process: Bodner, T., Erdogan, B., Truxillo,
54, 1-23; Kim, T., Cable, D. M., & Disentangling multiple antecedents D. M., & Tucker, J. S. (2007).
Kim, S. (2005). Socialization tactics, and their pathways to adjustment. Newcomer adjustment during
employee proactivity, and person- Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, organizational socialization: A
organization fit. Journal of Applied 779-794. meta-analytic review of antecedents,
Psychology, 90, 232-241; Saks, A. outcomes and methods. Journal
Bauer, T. N., Bodner, T., Erdogan,
16
M., Uggerslev, K. L., & Fassina, of Applied Psychology, 92, 707-
B., Truxillo, D. M., & Tucker, J.
N. E. (2007). Socialization tactics 721; Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D., &
S. (2007). Newcomer adjustment
and newcomer adjustment: A meta- Wanberg, C. R. (2003). Unwrapping
during organizational socialization: A
analytic review and test of a model. the organizational entry process:
meta-analytic review of antecedents,
Journal of Vocational Behavior, 70, Disentangling multiple antecedents
outcomes and methods. Journal of
413-446. and their pathways to adjustment.
Applied Psychology, 92, 707-721.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 88,
1 0
Van Maanen, J., & Schein, E.
Feldman, D.C. (1981). The multiple
17 779-794.
H. (1979). Toward a theory of
socialization of organization
organizational socialization. Research Morrison, E.M. (2002). Newcomers
22
members. Academy of Management
in Organizational Behavior, 1, 209- relationships: The role of social
Review, 6, 309-318.
264. network ties during socialization.
Cognisco. (2010). $37 billion:
18 Academy of Management Journal, 45,
11
Copyright Talya N. Bauer (2010).
Counting the cost of employee 1149-1160.
1 2
Aberdeen (2008). All aboard: misunderstanding. A white paper
Bauer, T. N., & Green, S. G. (1998).
23
Effective onboarding techniques and commissioned by Cognisco.
Testing the combined effects of
strategies. Retrieved April 26, 2010,
Vandenberghe, C., Panaccio,
19 newcomer information seeking and
from www.aberdeen.com/Aberdeen
A., Bentein, K., Mignonac, K., manager behavior on socialization.
-Library/6328/RA-onboarding
& Rouseel, P. (2010). Assessing Journal of Applied Psychology, 83,
-employee-engagement.aspx.
longitudinal change of and dynamic 72-83.
13
Ibid. relationships among role stressors,
Fisher, C. D. (1985). Social
24
job attitudes, turnover intentions,
14
Sternburgh, A. (2007). Effective support and adjustment to work:
and well-being in neophyte
transitions & on-boarding at A longitudinal study. Journal of
newcomers. Poster presented at
Kellogg Company. In K. S. Management, 11, 39-53.
the Society for Industrial and
Zimberg & C. Paddock (Practice
Organizational Psychology (SIOP), Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D., &
25
Forum Co-chairs), Advances in
Atlanta, GA. Wanberg, C. R. (2003). Unwrapping
newcomer socialization: Ensuring
the organizational entry process:
new employee success through Bauer, T. N., & Erdogan, B. (in
20
Disentangling multiple antecedents
onboarding. Society for Industrial press). Organizational socialization.
and their pathways to adjustment.
and Organizational Psychology In S. Zedeck, H. Aguinis, W. Cascio,
Annual Conference, New York, NY. M. Gelfand, K. Leung, S. Parker,
779-794.
& J. Zhou (Eds.). APA Handbook
15
Saks, A.M. (1995). Longitudinal
of I/O Psychology, Volume III. Major, D. A., Kozlowski, S. W.
26
field investigation of the
Washington, DC: APA Press. J., Chao, G. T., & Gardner, P. D.
moderating and mediating effects
(1995). A longitudinal investigation
of self-efficacy on the relationship Adkins, C. L. (1995). Previous
21
of newcomer expectations, early
between training and newcomer work experience and organizational
socialization outcomes, and
adjustment. Journal of Applied socialization: A longitudinal
the moderating effects of role
Psychology, 80, 211-225; Kammeyer- examination. Academy of
development factors. Journal of
Mueller, J.D., & Wanberg, Management Journal, 38, 839-862;
20
Applied Psychology, 80, 418-431. Psychology, 53, 113-149. Allen, D. (2006). Do organizational
33
socialization tactics influence

Ashford, S. J. & Black, J. S. (1996).
27
Chao, G. T., OLeary-Kelly, A. M.,
29
newcomer embeddedness and
Proactivity during organizational Wolf, S., Klein, H. J., & Gardner,
turnover? Journal of Management,
entry: The role of desire for control. P. D. (1994). Organizational
32, 237-256.
Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, socialization: Its content and
199-214; Bauer, T. N., Erdogan, consequences. Journal of Applied Ganzel, R. (1998). Putting out the
34
B., Liden, R. C., & Wayne, S. J. Psychology, 79, 730-743; Klein, H. welcome mat. Training, 25-27.
(2006). A longitudinal study of the J. & Weaver, N. A. (2000). The
Ashford, S. J., & Black, J. S. (1996).
35
moderating role of extraversion: effectiveness of an organizational-
Proactivity during organizational
Leader-member exchange, level orientation training program
entry: The role of desire for control.
performance, and turnover during in the socialization of new hires.
new executive development. Journal Personnel Psychology, 53, 47-66.
199-214; Bauer, T. N., Bodner,
of Applied Psychology, 91, 298-310;
Aberdeen Group. (2006).
30
T., Erdogan, B., Truxillo, D. M.,
Kim, T., Cable, D. M., & Kim,
Onboarding benchmark report. & Tucker, J. S. (2007). Newcomer
S. (2005). Socialization tactics,
Retrieved on April 26, 2010, from adjustment during organizational
employee proactivity, and person-
www.aberdeen.com/Aberdeen socialization: A meta-analytic
organization fit. Journal of Applied
-Library/3393/RA_Onboarding review of antecedents, outcomes
Psychology, 90, 232-241; Wanberg,
_MT_3393.aspx and methods. Journal of Applied
C. R., & Kammeyer-Mueller, J. D.
Psychology, 92, 707-721; Bauer, T.
(2000). Predictors and outcomes 31
Maier, G., & Brunstein, J.C.
N., & Green, S. G. (1998). Testing
of proactivity in the socialization (2001). The role of personal work
the combined effects of newcomer
process. Journal of Applied goals in newcomers job satisfaction
information seeking and manager
Psychology, 85, 373-385. and organizational commitment:
behavior on socialization. Journal of
A longitudinal analysis. Journal of
Cooper-Thomas, H. D., van
28
Applied Psychology, 83, 72-83; Fisher,
Applied Psychology, 86, 1034-1042;
Vianen, A., & Anderson, N. (2004). C. D. (1985). Social support and
Meyer, J.P., & Allen, N.J. (1988).
Changes in person-organization adjustment to work: A longitudinal
Links between work experiences
fit: The impact of socialization study. Journal of Management,
and organizational commitment
tactics on perceived and actual 11, 39-53; Liang, S., & Hsieh, A.
during the first year of employment:
P-O fit. European Journal of Work (2008). The role of organizational
A longitudinal analysis. Journal of
and Organizational Psychology, 13, socialization in burnout: A
Occupational Psychology, 61, 195-
52-78; Kim, T., Cable, D. M., & Taiwanese example. Social Behavior
209.
Kim, S. (2005). Socialization tactics, and Personality, 36, 197-216;
employee proactivity, and person- Chen, G., & Klimoski, R.J. (2003).
32 Wanberg, C. R., & Kammeyer-
organization fit. Journal of Applied The impact of expectations on Mueller, J. D. (2000). Predictors
Psychology, 90, 232-241; Kirchmeyer, newcomer performance in teams as and outcomes of proactivity in the
C. (1995). Demographic similarity mediated by work characteristics, socialization process. Journal of
to the work group: A longitudinal social exchanges, and empowerment. Applied Psychology, 85, 373-385.
study of managers at the early career Academy of Management Journal,
Rynes, S. L. (1991). Recruitment,
36
stage. Journal of Organizational 46, 591-607; Reio, T.G., & Callhan,
job choice, and post-hire
Behavior, 16, 67-83; van Vianen, J.L. (2004). Affect, curiosity, and
consequences: A call for new research
A.E.M. (2000). Person-organization socialization-related learning: A
directions. In M. D. Dunnette &
fit: The match between newcomers path analysis of antecedents to job
L. M. Hough (Eds.), Handbook
and recruiters preferences for performance. Journal of Business and
of Industrial and Organizational
organizational cultures. Personnel Psychology, 19, 3-22.
Psychology, 2 (2nd ed.), 399-
21
444. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting organization. Invited presentation effects of newcomer information
Psychologists. at the 58th Annual Society for seeking and manager behavior on
Human Resource Management socialization. Journal of Applied
37
Breaugh, J. A. (2009). Recruiting
(SHRM) Conference & Exposition. Psychology, 83, 72-83; Bauer, T.
and attracting talent: A guide
Washington, D. C. N., & Green, S. G. (1994). The
to understanding and managing
effect of newcomer involvement
the recruitment process. SHRM Wesson, M.J., & Gogus, C.I. (2005).
44
in work-related activities: A
Foundation Effective Practice Shaking hands with a computer:
longitudinal study of socialization.
Guidelines Series. Alexandria, VA: An examination of two methods of
SHRM Foundation. newcomer orientation. Journal of
211-223; Chatman, J. A. (1991).
Applied Psychology, 90, 1018-1026.
38
Caldwell, D. F., Chatman, J. A., & Matching people and organizations:
OReilly, C. A. (1990). Building Aberdeen. (2008). All aboard:
45 Selection and socialization in public
organizational commitment: Effective onboarding techniques and accounting firms. Administrative
A multifirm study. Journal of strategies. Retrieved April 26, 2010, Science Quarterly, 36, 459-484;
Occupational Psychology, 63, 245- from www.aberdeen.com/Aberdeen Green, S. G., & Bauer, T. N.
261. -Library/6328/RA-onboarding (1995). Supervisory mentoring by
-employee-engagement.aspx. advisers: Relationships with Ph.D.
39
Suszko, M.J., & Breagh, J. A. student potential, productivity, and
(1986). The effects of realistic job Chatman, J. A. (1991). Matching
46
commitment. Personnel Psychology,
previews on applicant self-selection people and organizations: Selection 48, 537-561.
and turnover, satisfaction, and coping and socialization in public
ability. Journal of Management, 12, accounting firms. Administrative Saks, A. M. (1995). Longitudinal
50
513-523. Science Quarterly, 36, 459-484; field investigation of the moderating

Ostroff, C., & Kozlowski, S. W. and mediating effects of self-efficacy
40
Klein, H. J., Fan, J., & Preacher, on the relationship between training
J. (1993). The role of mentoring
K. J. (2006). The effects of early and newcomer adjustment. Journal
in the information gathering
socialization experiences on of Applied Psychology, 80, 211-225.
processes of newcomers during early
content mastery and outcomes: A
organizational socialization. Journal
mediational approach. Journal of Bauer, T. N., Bodner, T., Erdogan,
51
of Vocational Behavior, 42, 170-183.
Vocational Behavior, 68, 96-115. B., Truxillo, D. M., & Tucker, J.
Allen, T. D., Eby, L. T., & Lentz,
47 S. (2007). Newcomer adjustment
41
Anderson, N. R., Cunningham- during organizational socialization: A
E. (2006). Mentorship behaviors
Snell, N. A., & Haigh, J. (1996). meta-analyticreview of antecedents,
and mentorship quality associated
Induction training as socialization: outcomes and methods. Journal
with formal mentoring programs:
Current practice and attitudes to of Applied Psychology, 92, 707-721;
Closing the gap between research
evaluation in British organizations. Morrison, E. W. (1993). Newcomer
and practice. Journal of Applied
International Journal of Selection information seeking: Exploring
Psychology, 91, 567-578
and Assessment, 4, 169-183. types, modes, sources, and outcomes.
Ostroff, C., & Kozlowski, S. W.
48
Academy of Management Journal, 36,
42
Klein, H. J., & Weaver, N. A.
J. (1993). The role of mentoring 557-589;Morrison, E. W. (1993).
(2000). The effectiveness of an
in the information gathering Longitudinal study of the effects of
organizational-level orientation
processes of newcomers during early information seeking on newcomer
training program in the socialization
organizational socialization. Journal socialization. Journal of Applied
of new hires. Personnel Psychology, 53,
of Vocational Behavior, 42, 170-183. Psychology, 78, 173-183.
47-66.
Bauer, T. N., & Green, S. G.
49
Chan, D., & Schmitt, N. (2000).
52
43
auer, T. N., & Elder, E. (2006).
B
(1998). Testing the combined Interindividual differences in
Onboarding newcomers into an
22
intraindividual changes in proactivity externally hired executives:

during organizational entry: A Avoiding derailment accelerating
latent growth modeling approach to contribution. Poster presented
understanding newcomer adaptation. at the Society for Industrial and
Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, Organizational Psychology (SIOP),
190-210. Atlanta, GA.
Gruman, J. A., Saks, A. M., &

53
Conger, J. A., & Benjamin, B.
60
Zweig, D. L. (2006). Organizational (1999). Building leaders: How

socialization tactics and newcomer successful companies develop the next
proactive behaviors: An integrative generation. San Francisco: Jossey-
study. Journal of Vocational Behavior, Bass; Fulmer, R. M., & Conger, J.A.
69, 90-104. (2004). Growing your companys
leaders: How organizations use
Personal communication with Paul
54
succession management to sustain
Gomez, Microsoft (April 23, 2010).
competitive advantage. New York:
Zimberg, K. S. (2007). On-boarding
55 AMACOM.
at Microsoft: A framework for new
Based on information included in
61
employee success. In K. S. Zimberg
Conger, J.A., & Fishel, B. (2007).
& C. Paddock (Practice Forum
Accelerating leadership performance
Co-chairs), Advances in newcomer
at the top: Lessons from the
socialization: Ensuring new employee
Bank of Americas executive on-
success through onboarding. Society
boarding process. Human Resource
for Industrial and Organizational
Management Review, 17, 442-454.
Psychology Annual Conference, New
York, NY. Krauss, A. (2010). A qualitative
62
study investigating the onboarding

Bauer, T. N., & Elder, E. (2006).
56
of the hourly workforce. Poster
Onboarding newcomers into
presented at the Society for
organizations. Presentation at
Industrial and Organizational
the Society for Human Resource
Psychology (SIOP), Atlanta, GA.
Management Annual Meeting,
Washington, D.C.; Van Velsor, E., & Liden, R. C., Wayne, S. W., &
63
Leslie, J. B. (1995). Why executives Stilwell, D. (1993). A longitudinal

derail: Perspectives across time and study on the early development of
culture. Academy of Management leader-member exchanges. Journal of
Executive, 8, 62-72. Applied Psychology, 78, 662-674.
Watkins, M. (2003). The first 90

57
days. Boston, MA: Harvard Business

School Press.
Pomeroy, A. (2006). Better executive

58
onboarding processes needed. HR

Magazine, 51, 16.
Dai, G., De Meuse, K., &

59
Gaeddert, D. (2010). Onboarding
23
Used in conjunction with HRM best practices, effective
onboarding will result in a faster learning curve for new
hires, improved communication and a more productive
and engaged workforce.
Sources and Suggested Readings
Books and Book Chapters
Bauer, T.N., Morrison, E.W., & Callister, R.R. (1998). Organizational

socialization: A review and directions for future research. In G. R. Ferris (Ed.),
Research in personnel and human resource management: Vol. 16 (pp. 149-214).
Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
The report looks at the socialization of newcomers in regard to three
different trends: increasing cultural diversity in the workforce, the increasingly
temporary nature of employment and downsizing. The authors provide
a comprehensive overview of the research done thus far with regard to
socialization and suggest that socialization can be better understood when
considered in the context of the above trends. The most important areas for
future research are highlighted, including the process of cultural learning,
the effects of organizational characteristics, how new entrants develop power,
pre-entry values and proactive behaviors other than information seeking. These
authors encourage researchers to be mindful of the context in which one
works, especially in regard to globalization and cultural diversity.
Bradt, G., & Vonnegut, M. (2009). Onboarding: How to get your new employees
up to speed in half the time. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
What problems can an uninformed employee pose to an organization? The
authors of the book address this question by explaining some of the most
effective tactics in orienting new employees about organizational culture and
norms and ways to enable newcomers to begin contributing as soon as possible
to the organization. Not properly orienting new employees can lead to feelings
of dissatisfaction on the part of the employee, but it also can ultimately hurt
the organization as a whole. Consultants Bradt and Vonnegut have created the
Total Onboarding Program and suggest ways to prepare employees quickly and
efficiently, which ultimately leads to organizationwide success.
Sims, D. (2001). Creative new employee orientation programs: Best practices,

creative ideas, and activities for energizing your orientation program. New York:
McGraw Hill.
This book provides strategies for companies that want to move the orientation
process beyond filling out paperwork, toward familiarizing new employees
with organizational norms and culture. The objective of this book is to inform
those responsible for the orientation process how to effectively increase a
newcomers understanding of the companys mission and maximize new
employee productivity. The author provides specific programs designed for an
effective orientation as well as case studies for comparison. Preparation creates
25
increased success in the workplace, and areas for future research. The most looking at nonprofessional workers
a comprehensive orientation program accumulated data and field studies are prior to entry into an organization
provides the tools for that success. in the area of realistic job previews. and examining how these experiences
Only a moderate amount of research influence the socialization process.
Wanous, J. (1980). Organizational has been conducted on the other three In addition, the change and process
entry: Recruitment, selection, and topics. The authors point out that that an individual experiences in
socialization of newcomers. Reading, when one focuses on a narrow topic transforming from an outsider to
MA: Addison-Wesley. within socialization, it quickly becomes an insider and contributing to the
The author of this book addresses the clear that there have been relatively few success of the organization is studied
important role that HR departments studies conducted, which accounts for further. In conclusion, the author finds
play in an organizations effectiveness. the large disparity between theory and inadequate support for the previously
In addition to understanding the way data. held belief that prior work experience
a business functions, it is important in similar settings will positively
to understand the value of behavioral Watkins, M. (2003). The first 90 days. relate to socialization variables. The
studies and how to effectively bring Boston, MA: Harvard Business School author emphasizes the importance
new employees into an organization. Press. in future research to be mindful that
This book offers solutions for what This book walks the reader through socialization is a continuous process
the author considers chronic human the necessary steps one must take in rather than a series of isolated events.
resources problems, including how the critical transition to a new role
to choose the right employees for in order to become a successful and Allen, D. (2006). Do organizational
the job, how to develop successful effective leader. The author describes socialization tactics influence
incentive programs and how to the break-even point, which occurs newcomer embeddedness and
effectively address conflict within the when the organization you work for turnover? Journal of Management, 32,
organization. needs you as much as you need it. 237-256.
The strategy outlined in this book New employees are a significant
Wanous, J., & Colella, A. (1989). can be applied to a diverse spectrum investment for an organization, but
Organizational entry research: Current of leadership positions and tailored at the same time, many organizations
status and future directions. In G. to meet your specific needs. Based on experience the highest turnover rates
R. Ferris & K. M. Rowland (Eds.), research and field work, the author among new employees. This creates
Research in personnel and human describes how to build credibility a significant loss to the company
resources management: Vol. 7 (pp. 59- during this crucial period, understand monetarily and productively. The
120). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. your own personal strengths and hypothesis of this study postulates
This article focuses on four topics: the weaknesses, become a constructive that socialization tactics influence
effects of realistic job previews (RJPs), negotiator and maintain balance. newcomer turnover and specifically
the effectiveness of different recruiting that turnover is influenced by
sources, job candidates job selection embedding new employees into the
Articles
process and the organizational organization. The author describes
socialization of newcomers Adkins, C.L. (1995). Previous steps that can be taken to entrench
specifically the behavior and perspective work experience and organizational employees more firmly into an
of the newcomer. To complete this socialization: A longitudinal organization. The findings of the
study, the authors used research articles examination. Academy of Management study suggest that organizations that
and previously unpublished work. The Journal, 38, 839-862. invest in continuous socialization
key findings summarize past research The author of this article sets out methods have a lower probability of
that has been conducted in regard to measure socialization variables worker turnover. Strong socialization
to the above topics and suggests longitudinally. The study begins strategies for newcomers have the
with organizational entry, specifically
26
potential to assist individuals in feeling practices to foster the desired level of more likely to engage in this self-
more at ease by building relationships, commitment of their employees. focused control tactic. The newcomers
minimizing uncertainty and creating attempts to frame their new situations
structure within the new environment. Ashford, S. J., & Black, J. S. (1996). positively were related to increased
Creating structural support enables Proactivity during organizational entry: self-reported performance and job
new employees to feel a sense of A role of desire for control. Journal of satisfaction.
independence and proficiency within Applied Psychology, 81, 199-214.
their roles. Historical literature focuses on ways Ashforth, B.E., & Saks, A.M. (1995).
that an organization influences Work-role transitions: A longitudinal
Allen, N.J., & Meyer, J.P. (1990). individual behavior. This study examination of the Nicholson
Organizational socialization tactics: examines a sample of organizational model. Journal of Occupational and
A longitudinal analysis of links to newcomers and looks at the ways these Organizational Psychology, 68, 157-
newcomers commitment and role individuals attempt to gain feelings of 175.
orientation. Academy of Management personal control during organizational This article analyzes the prior work
Journal, 33, 847-858. entry and how individual character of Nigel Nicholson, creator of the
This study provides evidence affects the entry process. The study Nicholson model, which suggests that
that newcomers organizational suggests that individuals proactively new role entry encourages individual
socialization experiences are negatively seek information and feedback, foster personal and/or role development.
related to role innovation after new relationships and negotiate Personal development refers to an
employees have been on a job for job-change requirements. The individuals intentional changing of
six and 12 months, and positively actions of newcomers during the behavior and habits to fit the new
related to organizational commitment entry process can be viewed in part circumstances and surroundings. Role
after six months. Role innovation as manifestations of a desire to gain development refers to an individuals
and commitment were negatively control in the new setting in order to ability to change the role to fit his
correlated at six months. The maximize performance and increase or her own requirements. Nicholson
article suggests that organizations satisfaction. Individuals entering new believed that these two processes
should be able to tailor newcomers work situations are thought either to were independent. The authors of this
socialization experiences to foster a change their jobs or change themselves study suggest otherwise, and using the
desired commitment-role orientation to create a better fit between the data collected from recent business
profile. To facilitate analysis, the individual and the new job. Entry school graduates they maintain that
authors build on the findings of into a new organization often requires the Nicholson model can be expanded
Jones (1986), as well as their own an individual to temporarily lose and upon by considering the effects
data from two successive graduating proactively regain feelings of control. of the new entrants desires as the
classes of undergraduate and graduate Individuals with a high desire for interaction between personal and role
business programs. In conclusion, the control sought more information, development rather than independent
authors find that the best predictor socialized more, networked more variables.
of role orientation, and the only one with interdepartmental colleagues,
to contribute uniquely in multiple negotiated more job changes and Ashforth, B.E., & Saks, A.M. (1996).
regression analysis, was the serial- tried to put a positive frame around Socialization tactics: Longitudinal
disjunctive dimension. An important their situations. In addition to effects on newcomer adjustment.
direction for future research will be individuals attempting to control their Academy of Management Journal, 39,
to identify the processes by which surroundings, the study supports the 149-178.
socialization tactics influence role argument that newcomers also can seek The authors of this study examine
orientation. The authors also suggest control within themselves by focusing the effects of the socialization tactics
ways in which organizations can on how they frame their situations. from Van Maanen and Schiens (1979)
facilitate and tailor their socialization Individuals who desired control were model and the effect of tactics on an
27
individuals ability to adjust to new and Bauer, T.N., & Green, S.G. (1994). Socialization can be defined as the time
unfamiliar work surroundings. Data for The effect of newcomer involvement in during which an individual obtains new
the study were gathered from business work-related activities: A longitudinal knowledge and skills in order to become
school graduates four and 10 months study of socialization. Journal of a productive member of an organization.
after the start of a new job. Findings Applied Psychology, 79, 211-223. The authors of this study analyze the
indicate that the methods were related This study analyzes a group of Ph.D. interaction between the newcomer
negatively to attempted and actual role students based on data compiled from and the manager and how these two
innovation, role ambiguity, role conflict, the time the new students entered individuals influence the socialization
stress symptoms and intentions to quit. their doctoral program and again nine process. Specifically, the focus is on
The methods were positively related months later. The authors look at the how knowledge is acquired within an
to job satisfaction, organizational effects of behavior on socialization. organizationwhether it is as a result
commitment and organizational The findings indicate that the of the new employee actively seeking
identification. In concluding the study, newcomers who actively participated in information or the manager providing
the authors suggest that the interaction the socialization process and in work- information. The authors hypothesize
between the tactics and newcomer related activities had less conflict, had that newcomers and employees can
adjustment variables was stable over increased feelings of acceptance and work in conjunction to create a
time. In addition, they comment on were more productive with greater more accommodating entry into the
possible additions and enhancements to feelings of commitment toward their organization. The findings of this study,
the current model and areas for future organization. These socialization which included 205 newcomers, 364
research. activities include having realistic co-workers and 112 managers, conclude
expectations and learning about the that proactive behavior on behalf
Ashforth, B.E., Saks, A.M., & Lee, organization prior to entry, attending of the newcomer was not a reliable
R.T. (1998). Socialization and the same institution for undergraduate predictor of newcomer socialization.
newcomer adjustment: The role studies and participating in doctoral The only predictor of performance,
of organizational context. Human research. The authors conclude that job satisfaction and organizational
Relations, 51, 897-926. role ambiguity is positively related commitment was accommodation, and
The focus of this article is to review to submissions, and the possible different management behavior can be
and evaluate a model that links context, explanation for this is that the more used to accomplish different goals in
socialization and newcomer adjustment. research a student is engaged in, the socialization process. Managers and
The authors also look at particular the more ambiguous his or her supervisors are an important part of
reasons that an organization might adopt role may seem. In other words, the the socialization and accommodation
particular human resource practices, a individual might not know how best process, and they can enable a more
field of study that is generally missing to spend time in the many demands successful transition for a new employee
from human resource management of a doctoral program. Organizational into the organization.
research. It has generally been accepted commitment is also negatively related
that organizations adopt HRM practices to self-confidence. Those individuals Bravo, M.J., Peir, J.M., Rodriguez,
based on the aggregate needs of the who are unsure of their abilities may I., & Whitely, W.T. (2003). Social
company. The authors go a step further feel that they have fewer options in antecedents of the role stress and
and also consider the best human moving forward. career-enhancing strategies of
resource practices from a contextual newcomers to organizations: A
standpoint. This research views the Bauer, T.N., & Green, S.G. (1998). longitudinal study. Work & Stress, 17,
impact of socialization tactics with Testing the combined effects of 195-217.
regard to three contextual variables: newcomer information seeking and This study suggests that there are two
mechanistic/organic structure, manager behavior on socialization. overriding factors that provide for
organization size and job design. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 72-83. a successful socialization transition:
28
1) socialization tactics and 2) the experience continuing socialization who were successfully integrated
behavior of managers, supervisors and information and insight into role into the organization early on in the
co-workers. The authors analyze the expectations and career progression, as socialization process. The relationship
results of initial socialization strategies opposed to experiencing inconsistent between newcomer performance and
and what effects associations with socialization. Interaction with team performance was also evaluated,
peers in the workplace have on new- superiors and networks of support and results indicated that team
employee stress levels and work-role also create feelings of acceptance into performance was an accurate predictor
performance. The findings suggest that the organization, but newcomers who of individual performance and vice
these variables have a positive impact do not receive consistent support are versa. Because group-based projects
on the socialization of newcomers. more likely to feel disconnected from are an increasingly common part of the
Creating a relationship with managers the organization as a whole. work experience, it is important for
resulted in less role ambiguity and personnel departments to understand
increased the success of work-related Chao, G.T., OLeary-Kelly, A.M., the dynamic between individuals and
adjustment. Nurturing a relationship Wolf, S., Klein, H.J., & Gardner, P.D. teams and know how to properly
with co-workers also resulted (1994). Organizational socialization: integrate these two elements. How
in positive career enhancement. Its content and consequences. Journal a newcomer interacts and assimilates
Having initial positive socialization of Applied Psychology, 79, 730-743. into a new team is an important field
experiences in a new organization can This article provides a review of the of research and will allow for more
lead to lasting positive effects on the socialization research done thus far and effective integration, ultimately leading
organization as a whole. These tactics specifically looks at the relationship to a stronger and more successful
reduce stress and encourage individuals between different strategies for organization. This article more
to become actively involved with the teaching organizational processes specifically looks at the role of teams
strategies and the process. and the outcomes of socialization. within the high-tech world.
Information about six socialization
Cable, D.M., & Parsons, C.K. (2001). factorsproficiency, politics, language, Chen, G., & Klimoski, R.J. (2003).
Socialization tactics and person- people, organizational goals and The impact of expectations on
organization fit. Personnel Psychology, historywas collected from 594 full- newcomer performance in teams as
54, 1-23. time professionals and compared with mediated by work characteristics,
This work provides analysis of the factors for three groups of individuals social exchanges, and empowerment.
tactics that organizations use to create in different organizational transitions: Academy of Management Journal, 46,
a positive fit between organization those who did not change jobs, those 591-607.
and new employee. The authors who began a new job within the same Because many organizations are
followed individuals for two years company and those who changed both moving toward group-focused
and collected data from a series of jobs and companies. projects and work environments,
surveys: the first distributed before it is more important than ever to
students began their job search and Chen, G. (2005). Newcomer analyze the dynamics of teams and
the last distributed 18 months after adaptation in teams: Multilevel the process of newcomer socialization
college graduation. Results indicate antecedents and outcomes. Academy of in the formation of teams. The
that two variables are associated with Management Journal, 48, 101-116. findings of this study indicate that
two types of socialization tactics: The question of how newcomers both motivational and interpersonal
newcomers fit perceptions and change with an organization over processes are accurate predictors of
changes in individual values. This time is addressed in this article, which newcomer performance in a team
study also indicates that perceptions studied employee performance. Results environment. The authors suggest
of positive person-organization fit are of the study indicate that performance that to facilitate a smooth transition
more likely to occur when newcomers improved the most for individuals into a team work environment, it is
29
necessary for organization members Although the field of research in adjustment are the appropriate criteria
to communicate clear expectations, regard to organizational socialization to assess socialization progress. The
goals and role requirements. Also is vast, the possible underlying patterns author suggests it would be useful
beneficial for newcomer entry into a of organizational socialization have to consider the congruent processes
group setting is choosing individuals been somewhat neglected. The authors that occur during the socialization
with a high level of self-efficacy and of this article look at newcomer process. Building upon the empirical
facilitating a sense of empowerment. learning, job satisfaction and intent research that has been conducted
Empowerment results from creating to quit as indicators of socialization. might otherwise lead to the wrong
clear expectations as well as team Results suggest that learning assists conclusion. This is a preliminary
support and encouragement. In this newcomer adjustment during the early research paper, and the author suggests
climate, teams have a greater chance post-entry period and has a positive building upon it in order to increase
for success and productivity. impact on an employees intent to our understanding of motivation
stay in the organization and job within an organization.
Cooper-Thomas, H.D., van Vianen, satisfaction. This is consistent with the
A., & Anderson, N. (2004). Changes presumption that after the initial entry Finkelstein, L.M., Kulas, J.T., &
in person-organization fit: The impact period, individuals begin to feel more Dages, K.D. (2003). Age differences
of socialization tactics on perceived and comfortable in their surroundings and in proactive newcomer socialization
actual P-O fit. European Journal of Work their role within the organization. The strategies in two populations. Journal
and Organizational Psychology, 13, 52-78. authors also suggest that context is of Business and Psychology, 17, 473-502.
The authors of this article refer to the extremely important when analyzing The authors of this article explore the
idea of fit as the degree to which an organizations, in that findings from influence of age on the effectiveness of
individuals personal values align with different organizations with extremely socialization tactics and the correlation
the values of the organization. This different contexts cannot be used to of age to both socialization strategies
study looks at possible explanations reach the same conclusions about and the resulting outcomes. Research
and influences on perceived and actual socialization. was conducted with individuals from
person-organization fit and how different the retail and academic sectors. In
tactics can affect the transition process. Feldman, D.C. (1981). The multiple addition, the authors wondered
The results of the study indicate that socialization of organization members. whether the style of information-
perceived fit is influenced by socialization Academy of Management Review, 6, seeking influences the outcome of
tactics, job satisfaction and group 309-318. the socialization process. Findings
commitment, but these same elements The author of this study suggests that of the study indicate that there is a
do not influence actual fit. The tactics because organizational socialization negative relationship between age and
do not necessarily change an individuals can be defined so broadly, research covert forms of information-seeking.
overall perceptions but rather change his that has been conducted is not Both groups of subjects found that
or her perception of the organizations necessarily cohesive. This article lays information-seeking was an important
values. Over time, perceived and actual out a more comprehensive view of part of the socialization process,
fit become more harmonious and organizational socialization using but each group employed different
aligned. three different perspectives of the strategies to obtain the desired
socialization: the view of socialization information. Covert, or non-direct,
Cooper-Thomas, H.D., & Anderson, as determining and learning information-seeking may correlate to a
N. (2005). Organizational performance expectations, the view of sense of ineffective socialization tactics
socialization: A field study into socialization as the cultivation of new in part because newcomers may assume
socialization success and rate. skills and proficiencies, and the view of their organization is unwilling to offer
International Journal of Selection and socialization as changes in team ideals. overt information or that co-workers
Assessment, 13, 116-128. Also missing from studies of newcomer lack knowledge.
30
Fisher, C.D. (1985). Social employee. Successful socialization found that GPA does not account for
support and adjustment to work: can lead to employees remaining at socialization success or failure. Those
A longitudinal study. Journal of an organization longer, to greater who had the highest and the lowest
Management, 11, 39-53. feelings of job satisfaction and to GPA and did not anticipate their entry
overall better fit for the employee in into an organization had lower levels
Entering a new organization can
the organization. The authors suggest of job satisfaction than those who had
often be a difficult transition. Role
there is a lack of research in regard to high/low GPA and had anticipated
expectations are often unclear, which
direct outcomes of socialization tactics. entry.
can lead to high levels of stress.
Direct outcomes include such results
High rates of newcomer turnover are
as effective learning of organizational Jones, G.R. (1986). Socialization
costly, but unfortunately, they are not
norms. In conclusion, the authors tactics, self-efficacy, and newcomers
uncommon in some organizations.
suggest that further research is needed adjustments to organizations. Academy
Co-worker and supervisor support
in this area to expand upon these of Management Journal, 29, 262-279.
can help facilitate a transition and help
findings and to explore their validity. This article looks at the correlation
new employees in the socialization
between socialization strategies and
process. This research study explores
Holton E.F. III, & Russell, C.G. personnel outcomes. Specifically,
the interaction of workplace stress
(1997). The relationship of the author was interested in how
and organizational support. Findings
anticipation to newcomer socialization information provided during the
suggest that social support has a
processes and outcomes: A pilot socialization process influences
positive effect on reducing stress and
study. Journal of Occupational and newcomers during the adjustment
helping to smooth the transition
Organizational Psychology, 70, 163- period. In addition, the self-efficacy of
into a new organization. The
172. newcomers was examined, as was the
author describes the importance of
This study explores the effect of resulting influence on socialization.
organizations offering some form of
anticipation and non-anticipation Because a new employees assumptions
support for newcomers. This includes
on socialization into a new about an organization are often
open channels of communication
organization. The author suggests inaccurate, the newcomer must
between new hires and supervisors.
that new graduates with low levels readjust his or her perceptions, seek
It can also be beneficial to create
of anticipation one year later have new information and reevaluate role
a mentor system in which new
less organizational commitment, expectations in order to be successful.
employees are paired with a co-worker
motivation, satisfaction and feelings The results of this study indicate that
whom they can ask questions. Finally,
of fulfillment than those graduates socialization tactics are important
support from other new employees can
who highly anticipated their jobs. in the assimilation process and that
ease the transition as well.
Individuals who had feelings of different socialization strategies result
anticipation were more likely to in different behavioral outcomes.
Haueter, J.A., Macan, T.H., & Winter,
have positive feelings toward their Socialization tactics are particularly
J. (2003). Measurement of newcomer
organization, higher levels of important in the orientation process,
socialization: Construct validation of
commitment and greater levels of during which new employees receive
a multidimensional scale. Journal of
involvement. Three factors were used information about role expectations
Vocational Behavior, 63, 20-39.
in this analysis: proper understanding and requirements.
The ability to effectively and efficiently
of the organization, the perception
socialize newcomers is vitally important
of the actual transition into a new
to the success and productivity of an
organization and understanding of the
organization. The initial entry into
organization and organizational norms.
an organization can create problems
Influencers such as grade point average
with the proper acquisition of new
(GPA) were considered, and it was
information on the part of the new
31
Kammeyer-Mueller, J.D., & additional important indicator of Klein, H.J., & Weaver, N.A. (2000).
Wanberg, C.R. (2003). Unwrapping turnover is the level of commitment The effectiveness of an organizational
the organizational entry process: felt toward an organization. And level orientation training program in
Disentangling multiple antecedents and finally, experiences or events occurring the socialization of new hires. Personnel
their pathways to adjustment. Journal of after entry into an organization can Psychology, 53, 47-66.
Applied Psychology, 88, 779-794. also influence turnover. An individuals Job orientation is a form of
This article looks at several perception of an event is more socialization and training intended
different factors in the socialization important than the nature of the event. to assist newcomers in becoming
adjustment process, including The authors conclude by indicating familiar with an organization and role
knowledge of the organization, that further research is needed to expectations. The authors of this study
newcomer personality, outside fully understand the influence that wonder how important voluntary
influences on role understanding, time has on turnover rates. They orientation programs are to the
and organizational integration and hope to stimulate movement in this success of socializing new employees.
team development. These factors and direction by initiating this important Following a group of new hires,
results were compared to such factors conversation. both before and after orientation,
as organizational commitment and the authors found that orientation
turnover. Because turnover is so costly Kim, T., Cable, D.M., & Kim, S. has a positive impact on conveying
to organizations, it is important to (2005). Socialization tactics, employee organizational goals, values and culture
analyze and understand the possible proactivity, and person-organization to those who attend orientation when
influences on newcomer retention. fit. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, compared with those individuals who
Results indicate that individuals with 232-241. do not attend the orientation session.
a proactive personality are more likely This article looks at the influences They also found that orientation
to experience a successful adjustment that proactive behavior has on the training positively affects an employees
into the organization, leading to socialization process and whether commitment to an organization.
greater role acceptance, integration employee behavior results in changes Because these programs are one of
and knowledge of the workings of the in the person-organization fit. the primary vehicles for conveying
organization as a whole. Person-organization (P-O) fit refers important organizational culture and
to the suitability of an employee for information, it is suggested that further
Kammeyer-Mueller, J.D., Wanberg, a job or a task. Obviously, P-O fit is in-depth research is needed on this
C.R., Glomb, T.M., & Ahlburg, inherently important for the success subject matter.
D. (2005). Turnover processes in a of an organization, but the challenge
temporal context: Its about time. comes in finding individuals who are Louis, M.R., Posner, B.Z., & Powell,
Journal of Applied Psychology, 90, 644- best suited for a position. The authors G.N. (1983). The availability and
658. of this study conclude that proactive helpfulness of socialization practices.
The authors of this study attempt to behavior is at least as important Personnel Psychology, 36, 857-866.
analyze turnover in the context of as the socialization tactics of an The authors of this study analyze
time and explain that when viewed in organization. Newcomers who seek different socialization tactics available
this way, there are several consistent out and create meaningful relationships to employees and indentify tactics
predictors of employee turnover. The with supervisors attain high levels of that are viewed by newcomers as most
article begins by describing the main P-O fit and are as successful as the important and beneficial during the
predictors and the relationship they organizations socialization tactics in transition into a new organization.
have within an organizational setting. creating a positive fit. Because the socialization process can
One of the most reliable predictors affect the subsequent performance
of turnover is the perception of costs of a new employee, and because
on the part of the newcomer. An there are both direct and indirect
32
costs associated with the socialization mitigate turnover intentions, and new Meyer, J.P., & Allen, N.J. (1988).
process, it is important to understand employees who held a high level of Links between work experiences
which practices are effective and clarity expectation had a greater rate and organizational commitment
produce desirable results and which of turnover than those individuals with during the first year of employment:
practices are less beneficial. This article unmet clarity expectations. A longitudinal analysis. Journal of
reviews several different socialization Occupational Psychology, 61, 195-209.
tactics and discusses which are most Maier, G., & Brunstein, J.C. (2001). The authors of this study explore
influential on a newcomers attitude. The role of personal work goals in individual work commitment at
Results of the study indicate that newcomers job satisfaction and different points in the year following
regular contact and relationships with organizational commitment: A student graduation. Findings
co-workers are an important factor in longitudinal analysis. Journal of indicate that employees who had
the success of socializing employees Applied Psychology, 86, 1034-1042. the most accurate organizational
and subsequent commitment and This study looks at the relationship and role expectations prior to entry
satisfaction. The authors suggest that between an individuals organizational and those with the greatest ability
a mentor program can be beneficial goals and their effect on a for self-expression had the highest
to new employees and can increase new employees work attitude. level of organizational commitment.
organizational commitment. Establishing job goals can create Because organizational behavior has
feelings of satisfaction, structure been closely linked to turnover, it is
Major, D.A., Kozlowski, S.W.J., Chao, and organizational commitment. important to understand the drivers
G.T., & Gardner, P.D. (1995). A The findings of this study indicate of commitment and the variables
longitudinal investigation of newcomer that a relationship exists between that motivate an individual to stay
expectations, early socialization goal commitment and levels of new or leave an organization. This article
outcomes, and the moderating effects employee satisfaction. Newcomers who analyzes the influence of the individual,
of role development factors. Journal of felt their organization was conducive the job within the organization and
Applied Psychology, 80, 418-431. to their career goals and objectives organizational characteristics to gain
Because expectations are not always felt a higher level of organizational a better understanding of why an
an accurate description of ones commitment. As might be expected, the employee feels commitment toward
actual role function, it is important to opposite was also true: those individuals an organization. In conclusion, the
understand the consequences of unmet who had specific goals but felt that their authors find that self-expression
expectations. The authors of this study organization did not create the proper warrants further analysis, but
go one step further, and rather than conditions to attain those goals had a preliminary results indicate that this
simply explaining the consequences lower level of commitment. To maintain variable is an important indicator of
of unmet expectations, such as lack of commitment over time, it is important newcomer turnover.
commitment and increased turnover, that individuals reach a level of goal
they discuss possible ways to mitigate success in the workplace. In conclusion, Morrison, E.W. (1993a). Longitudinal
the negative impact of a newcomers the authors explain that individuals have study of the effects of information
unmet expectations. This study a strong affinity to create their own seeking on newcomer socialization.
suggests that negative effects can at socialization tactics. Newcomers who Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 173-
least partially be alleviated by involving enter an organization with specific goals 183.
supervisors and co-workers in the evaluate their organizational experiences This article analyzes the connection
role development process. Working in based on the ability to achieve their between new employee socialization
groups and teams can create a system personal goals. tactics and proactive information-
of support and lessen the negative seeking. Such strategies on the part of
effects of unmet role expectations. the newcomer can accelerate and assist
However, this form of support did not the transition into an organization.
33
More than 100 accountants were commitment toward an organization, such as job structure, strategies and
followed. The more frequently and role expectations and individual group culture, the author of this article
persistently an individual sought out attitude. Although the importance begins to ask questions about the rate
information regarding his or her role of these relationships has been at which new employees move beyond
and specific job expectations, the understood for some time, the exact the initial stages of socialization and
quicker and more successfully the nature of the relationship remains the types of interactions that help
person was able to assimilate, become relatively unknown. What types of facilitate this process. A relatively quick
comfortable in the organizations relationships are most beneficial to socialization period is desirable for
culture and fully embrace the the socialization process? The author both the organization and the new
socialization process. analyzes relationships with both strong employee. An individual ready to move
and loose ties, as well as those that beyond the socialization process means
Morrison, E.W. (1993b). Newcomer are diverse and homogeneous, in an that job anxiety is reduced, and the
information seeking: Exploring attempt to understand the socialization focus can be on job performanceand
types, modes, sources, and outcomes. process from the perspective of the for an organization it means increased
Academy of Management Journal, 36, social network. productivity. In conclusion, the article
557-589. suggests that organizations may be able
This study addresses the limitations Ostroff, C., & Kozlowski, S.W.J. to increase the speed of socialization
of previous socialization research (1992). Organizational socialization by initiating interaction between
strategies, in that the author takes as a learning process: The role of new employees and insiders by
into account the fact that newcomers information acquisition. Personnel creating a mentor system, conducting
are engaged individuals who actively Psychology, 45, 849-874. performance evaluations and setting up
seek out information about their The authors of this study wanted to social activities, among others.
organization and the environment find out what type of information
they will be entering. New employees acquisition newcomers go through Reio, T.G., & Callhan, J.L. (2004).
are an important factor in the during the socialization process. Affect, curiosity, and socialization-
success or failure of the socialization Results indicate that new employees related learning: A path analysis of
process. Individuals who actively seek rely on co-workers and supervisors antecedents to job performance.
information about their organization as valuable knowledge centers. The Journal of Business and Psychology, 19,
are generally found to successfully type of information an individual is 3-22.
experience socialization. It was found seeking was found to determine whom How an individuals emotions
that newcomers discriminately seek the newcomer approaches. Because such as anxiety and anger influence
out information from different sources the socialization process is vital to the the socialization learning process is
depending on their objective. long-term success of an organization, the focus of this article. Data were
it is valuable to understand how collected from over 200 employees
Morrison, E.M. (2002). Newcomers newcomers acquire pieces of in service industries, and anxiety was
relationships: The role of social information. Information-seeking was found to negatively influence curiosity,
network ties during socialization. found to be at least as important as the organizational learning and job
Academy of Management Journal, 45, formal socialization process. performance, while anger was a positive
1149-1160. influence on these same elements.
This article looks at the correlation Reichers, A.E. (1987). An Because these emotions are such a
between the socialization process and interactionist perspective on newcomer determinant of job performance and
how it is affected by relationships. socialization rates. Academy of outlook, the authors suggest ways to
Relationships between new employees Management Review, 12, 278-287. mitigate the negative effects through
and their peers and supervisors Because socialization research has specific job learning processes and, as a
have an effect on an individuals largely focused on situational factors, result, influence overall job satisfaction.
34
Riordan, C.M., Weatherly, E.W., socialized more successfully with entry. For example, individuals with a
Vandenberg, R.J., & Self, R.M. (2001). the support of a social network and lower level of self-efficacy were more
The effects of pre-entry experiences relationships with co-workers and influenced by training processes than
and socialization tactics on newcomer supervisors whom the newcomer can those individuals who entered the
attitudes and turnover. Journal of turn to with questions and requests for organization with higher levels of self-
Managerial Issues, 13, 159-176. information. Many organizations fail in efficacy.
Pre-entry experiences can and do this regard because of the existence of
influence a newcomers perspective several common myths. For example, Saks, A.M., & Ashforth, B.E. (1996).
of the organization that he or she is managers often believe that the Proactive socialization and behavioral
getting ready to join. The selection best new employees will be fine on self-management. Journal of Vocational
process is considered to be part of their own, that simply disseminating Behavior, 48, 301-323.
the socialization phase, during which information allows the employee access Entering a new organization can lead
an individual begins to form views of to what he or she needs, and that new to feelings of uncertainty and tension.
the organization. This article analyzes employees will be able to successfully The authors continue the study of
pre-entry and post-entry socialization sift through the given information. self-management in the socialization
tactics and experiences together Many managers also believe that process, finding that emotions such as
and the influence they have on a introductions to co-workers are all that anxiety, tension and stress are related
newcomers work-related attitudes. is needed to make a newcomer feel to a newcomers ability to adjust to a
The recruitment and training processes comfortable. Clinging to these myths new role and organizational norms.
are costly for organizations, and so it is will often lead to longer periods for a Emotions also related to an individuals
in the best interest of an organization new employee to become a productive relationship management ability.
to understand the most successful member of the organization. The findings of this study, which are
way for a newcomer to integrate into consistent with previous research,
an organization and its culture. The Saks, A.M. (1995). Longitudinal field indicate that there is a relationship
authors suggest that socialization investigation of the moderating and between a newcomers ability to cope
tactics should be associated with mediating effects of self-efficacy on and his or her active versus passive
the attitudes of the newcomer as the relationship between training and participation in the socialization
well as a newcomers perception of newcomer adjustment. Journal of process. Active participation includes
work satisfaction, intent to stay and Applied Psychology, 80, 211-225. information-seeking, goal-setting and
organizational commitment. Self-efficacy is ones ability to become a self-management. Individuals who are
productive member of an organization active in their socialization process
Rollag, K., Parise, S., & Cross, R. and to properly accomplish a given generally have reduced feelings of
(2005). Getting new hires up to speed task within that organization. The uncertainty and general anxiety.
quickly. MIT Sloan Management purpose of this article is to analyze
Review, 46, 35-41. the relationship between self-efficacy Saks, A.M., & Ashforth, B.E. (1997).
Rapid onboarding is the process and the socialization process and the Organizational socialization: Making
by which new employees become effect of self-efficacy on employees sense of past and present as a prologue
contributing and productive members during the first year after employment. for the future. Journal of Vocational
of an organization. This is of vital The study focused on attitudes Behavior, 51, 234-279.
interest because if an individual and behaviors with regard to ones The 1990s were a period of rapid
does not successfully become job and the resulting levels of self- growth in the field of organizational
integrated into the system, feelings efficacy. Findings indicate that there socialization. This article reviews
of job dissatisfaction and decreased is a correlation between socialization the culmination of research from
performance can result. This article tactics and a newcomers perceptions the previous five years. Patterns and
suggests that employees will become and level of self-efficacy prior to trends in the field of study are covered,
35
as well as the major theoretical theory that the situation rather than indicate that newcomers predominantly
perspectives. The major areas of focus an individuals personality is a better use referents from inside their
are socialization tactics, socialization predictor. organization rather than from outside
training, socialization learning and the organization. Interestingly,
content, group socialization, and Saks, A. M., Uggerslev, K. L., & newcomers associated the use of
moderators, mediators and individual Fassina, N. E. (2007). Socialization referents with a negative perception
differences. In conclusion, the authors tactics and newcomer adjustment: of their own performance. Possible
address possible areas for further A meta-analytic review and test of a explanations might be that individuals
exploration. Research has positively model. Journal of Vocational Behavior, view information-seeking from outside
contributed to the understanding 70, 413-446. sources as a weakness. Newcomers
of how newcomers adjust to new This article discusses the importance might be concerned that using
organizational situations and their and effectiveness of socialization referents could be viewed as a sign
ability to become productive members tactics on the process and success of of weakness or that they should have
of that organization. The socialization onboarding. The authors attempt to prior knowledge of this information.
process has been found to decrease speak to the limitations of socialization The authors conclude that because
stress and contribute to increased levels strategies and suggest other possible socializing new employees is so vital
of job satisfaction. theories. Findings of this study to the success of an organization,
indicate that there is a relatively strong understanding information-seeking
Saks, A.M., & Ashforth, B.E. (2000). relationship between socialization behavior is central to newcomer
The role of dispositions, entry tactics and a new employees ability to adjustment.
stressors, and behavioral plasticity successfully adjust to an organization
theory in predicting newcomers and the organizations culture. Sias, P.M., Kramer, M.K., &
adjustment to work. Journal of Jenkins, E. (1997). A comparison
Organizational Behavior, 21, 43-62. Settoon, R.P., & Adkins, C.L. (1997). of the communication behaviors of
Because individuals react differently to Newcomer socialization: The role of temporary employees and new hires.
similar circumstances, to successfully supervisors, coworkers, friends and Communication Research, 24, 731-754.
predict behavior one must consider family members. Journal of Business & The information-seeking behaviors
both the context of the situation and Psychology, 11, 507-516. of temporary employees versus new
the organizational factors influencing The authors of this article explore the hires is the topic of discussion for
the newcomer. The objective of this use of referents by new employees these authors. Research suggests
article is to examine environmental in the decision-making process. that compared with permanent
factors in relation to a new employees Individuals were surveyed at different employees, temporary employees
ability to successfully and effectively intervals after initial entry into a new are less concerned with creating a
adjust to his or her new role. The organization. Findings show that positive impression and image with
authors studied self-efficacy in relation depending on the amount of time supervisors and, as a result, seek
to four job-related stressorsincluding that has passed since entry into an information less frequently than those
conflict and expectationsand the organization, newcomers use different hired permanently. In addition, these
ability to predict a newcomers capacity groups for reference. At the time of individuals are less likely to provide
for adjustment. The conclusion of the the first survey, which was the closest information to others and are therefore
study indicates that there is minimal point after hire, newcomers most more likely to find themselves isolated
support for the role of personality routinely used friends and family as in terms of communication and
and behavioral plasticity theory referents, and at the time of the second information. Temporary employees
in successfully predicting a new survey, individuals had begun to use lack a connection to their organization
employees ability to adjust to work. co-workers and supervisors as referents and their role within the organization.
The study results also support the for decision-making. Overall, results It is suggested that this lack of
36
communication on the part of the Wanberg, C. R., & Kammeyer-Mueller, perception of negative job information,
temp can indicate an organizations J. D. (2000). Predictors and outcomes which resulted in early entry turnover.
inability to innovate and inability of proactivity in the socialization Individuals who were part of the
to effectively provide information. process. Journal of Applied Psychology, experimental group and who stayed in
The authors offer suggestions for 85, 373-385. the organization beyond four weeks
organizations to improve new-hire This article seeks to provide new were found to have intentions of
learning and active communication understanding on the productivity remaining with the organization for
with temporary employees. of employees and how it is related to more than a year and felt increased
the socialization process. Socialization levels of job satisfaction.
Van Vianen, A.E.M. (2000). Person- refers to how newcomers gather
organization fit: The match between information, obtain feedback and Wesson, M.J., & Gogus, C.I. (2005).
newcomers and recruiters preferences create connections with co-workers Shaking hands with a computer:
for organizational cultures. Personnel and supervisors, and what their An examination of two methods of
Psychology, 53, 113-149. organizational outlook is. Results newcomer orientation. Journal of
The authors of this study were indicate that an individual with a Applied Psychology, 90, 1018-1026.
interested in the relationship between proactive personality is more likely The authors of this study explore
employees and their organizations to have a positive and effective the effectiveness of computer-
also known as person-organization socialization experience. Personality based orientation programs on the
(P-O) fit. They believed that prior is important in this process; a new socialization process. Newcomers
research on the topic was limited employee who is an extrovert is in the study either participated in a
in its approach in that it made the more likely to seek out feedback social-based orientation or a computer-
assumption that individuals seek and communicate with peers in the based orientation on an individual
out organizations that have similar organization. level. Findings indicate that although
values as themselves and that mutual information content was not negatively
attraction can account for similar Waung, M. (1995). The effects of affected, individuals who participated
individuals within an organization. self-regulatory coping orientation on in the computer-based program
The current study focuses on the newcomer adjustment and job survival. felt lower levels of organizational
role of individuals favoritism for Personnel Psychology, 48, 633-650. commitment and satisfaction.
organizational cultures. The results In this study, one group of new
indicate that similar preferences employees (the comparison group) was
for people and personality exist for given information regarding negative
individuals within an organization, but job features and ways to cope with
that such characteristics as motivation those negative aspects, and another
and conscientiousness are not as group, the experimental group, was
homogenous. A possible explanation given the same information and
might be that these characteristics provided with additional training to
are more position-specific rather increase self-efficacy to effectively
than organization-specific, and so it deal with these possible negative
is possible that a greater degree of situations. The original hypothesis
preference variation exists. said that the comparison group would
demonstrate higher levels of turnover
than the experimental group, but in
fact, the opposite was found to be
true. The additional training provided
to the experimental group created a
37
Make Better Talent Decisions
Turn to the SHRM Foundations Effective Practice Guidelines series for research-
based information you can trust. Instead of relying on the latest fad, you can access
evidence-based research in a condensed, easy-to-use format. Implement HR practices
that work. Visit www.shrm.org/foundation to download your free reports.
The Search for Executive Additional

Talent: Understanding Titles Available:
the process and setting Employment Downsizing
it in motion and Its Alternatives
Studies show that high-performing
Recruiting and
executives add millions of dollars to
Attracting Talent
their firms bottom lines. Yet failure
rates for senior executives are high Human Resource Strategy
and getting higher. This new report Retaining Talent
provides an overview of the executive
Performance Management
search process and offers specific
research-based recommendations for Learning System Design
increasing its success rate. Developing Leadership
Talent
Retaining Talent: Employee Engagement
A guide to analyzing and Commitment
and managing Selection Assessment
employee turnover Methods
As the economy recovers, Total Rewards Strategies
organizations are seeking ways to
retain valued workers and optimize
talent with limited budgets and
resources. This report helps leaders
analyze and manage employee
turnover and develop an effective
retention management plan.
Visit www.shrm.org/about/foundation and select

Foundation Products to download your free reports.
These products are made possible by your generous, tax-

deductible donations to the SHRM Foundation. Additional
funding is provided by the HR Certification Institute and SHRM.
10-0518
Work.
Its a force that continues
to change the world.
Powerful forces are at work around the world today. Forcing

employers to ask some difficult questions of their talent strategy.
Right Management can help your company keep pace by making
sure your talent strategy aligns with your business strategy. Get
this right, and it can accelerate performance throughout your
organization. The world of work is changing. Is your company
ready? Sample our thinking on the subject at Right.com/work
The SHRM Foundation is the 501(c)3 nonprofit affiliate of the Society for Human
Resource Management (SHRM). The SHRM Foundation maximizes the impact of the HR
profession on organizational decision-making and performance by promoting innovation,
education, research and the use of research-based knowledge. The Foundation is
governed by a volunteer board of directors, comprising distinguished HR academic and
practice leaders. Contributions to the SHRM Foundation are tax deductible. Visit the
Foundation online at www.shrm.org/foundation.

Onboarding Epg - Final PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Onboarding Epg - Final PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

SHRM Foundations Effective

Practice Guidelines Series

Onboarding New Employees:

By Talya N. Bauer, Ph.D

Onboarding New Employees:

Talya N. Bauer, Ph.D

ix About the Author

1 Onboarding New Employees: Maximizing Success

4 Using New Tools to Keep Onboarding on Track

4 Short-Term Outcomes of Onboarding:

25 Sources and Suggested Readings

An important way leaders can combat these challenges is to implement a

In 2004, the SHRM Foundation created this Effective Practice Guidelines

Mary A. Gowan, Ph.D.

Major funding for the Effective Practice Guidelines series is

Onboarding New Employees:

The degree to which each organization

Culture nor Connection is addressed. Level 2: High Potential

2 High Potential YES YES SOME SOME

3 Proactive YES YES YES YES

resource groups and a 30-60-90 day

Self- Role Social Knowledge Successful

After selection and entry, new employees go through multiple adjustments.

Case Study: Effective Onboarding and Integration Cultural Integration

Culture Dimension Change Impact Hypotheses Potential Manager Onboarding Actions

A research-based model of onboarding

Industry, Organization Size, Leadership, Climate and Culture

Self- Role Social Knowledge Successful

Time for Successful OnboardingOngoing pre-hire to 12 months post-entry

Case Study: Intensive Onboarding at Zappos

One organization that engages in intensive onboarding during orientations is

help new employees understand many intervals to help new employees

Onboarding Tool #2: Conversation Guide

those involved in hiring, training, HR, programs, opportunities for informal

Mentors are a similar resource to Both internal and external coaching

Case Study: Keeping Onboarding Up-to-Date at Microsoft

Web support for new employees

New employee helpdesk

+Custom additions for senior levels

Overview of Microsofts Onboarding Program.55

hard skills, soft skills and onboarding E

Case Study: Executive Onboarding at Bank of America

1. M inimize the high costs of executive derailment.

Best practices developed at Bank of America include:

Viewing onboarding as unfolding over time.

Onboarding tool Why Is It Used? When Is It Used?

Hourly worker onboarding Onboarding. Paperwork

Best Practices for Onboarding

Implement the basics prior to the first day on the job.

Successful onboarding is a key part of any talent management strategy. With

quickly. MIT Sloan Management Review, 46, 35-41.

Watkins, M. (2003). The first 90 days. Boston, MA: Harvard Business

Smart, B. (1999). Topgrading: How leading companies win by hiring,

Krauss, A. D. (2010). Onboarding the hourly workforce. Poster presented

at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP),

socialization. In S. Zedeck, H. Aguinis, W. Cascio, M. Gelfand, K. Leung,

your talent in the first year. Boston, MA: Aberdeen Group.

Your career at LOreal: www.loreal.com/_en/_ww/html/careers

Zahrly, J., & Tosi, H. (1989). The differential effect of organizational

induction process on early work role adjustment. Journal of Organizational

(2007). Newcomer adjustment during organizational socialization: A

socialization tactics influence

513-523. Science Quarterly, 36, 459-484; field investigation of the moderating

1 Onboarding New Employees: Maximizing Success

4 Short-Term Outcomes of Onboarding:

1. M inimize the high costs of executive derailment.

Viewing onboarding as unfolding over time.

Implement the basics prior to the first day on the job.