The Onboarding Problem - Long Version

Proper onboarding of new employees has been linked to positive outcomes for both the employee and the organization (Klein & Polin), indicating this is an area of important focus for organizations of all sizes. Most places have some form of new hire orientation or NHO. Research shows (Acevedo & Yancey), however, many organizations do a poor job of onboarding new employees and few organizations utilize the full potential of NHO. A well-managed and facilitated NHO can be a strategic tool for savvy organizations, while a poorly managed NHO can hurt organizations for years (Dunn & Jasinski). Onboarding is often ineffective because NHO is not viewed as an important program and budgets are frequently under attack by decision-makers. Often, top leaders ignore the benefits of NHO (Srimannarayana). Good onboarding takes an investment of time and resources. With such an investment comes a concern to ensure resources are appropriately allocated and organizational goals are met (Acevedo & Yancey). There is a lot of research indicating that NHO programs show their value in reducing turnover rates. Turnover can be very costly to an organization, costing up to three times an employee’s salary. Good NHO programs may also raise employee engagement and productivity, which can increase organizational profits (Dunn & Jasinski; Caldwell & Peters). These two measures indicate potential gains through the proper implementation of NHO programs.

Defining NHO

NHO are the programs, policies, and practices engaged in or contracted by an organization to aid in the integration of its new members. These may be formal or informal. NHO is a process that introduces new employees to their new job, acquainting newly hired employees with the “goals, values, rules and policies, and processes” of the organization.

Each organization defines its own form of NHO. Sometimes, there are very formal, complex, and long-term programs. Other times, the program is nothing more than signing benefits paperwork. NHO programs designed to acquaint new employees with job skills, develop new behaviors, and learn about organizational structure, such as where to find assistance, reduce turnover rates if they are delivered within days of being hired (Klein & Weaver). For “production-first” organizations, where the goal is to get new employees up and working as quickly as possible, skills-based NHOs play a vital role (Dunn & Jasinski). Regardless of the program type, organizations should look closely at what their NHO programs provide, both to the organization and the individual. Time invested in this stage of program development will pay dividends in retention and initial productivity.

NHO issues

There are three problems that often adversely affect orientation and NHO. These problems are new employee socialization, top-down leadership support, and orientation program design. Although there are myriad other problems organizations confront when onboarding newly hired employees, I will focus on these three issues and offer suggestions.

Socialization

Some look at the role of NHO as an entrance into the organization’s culture (Cable, Gino, & Staats). One aspect of culture is the socialization of employees, but employee socialization is more than just an orientation program. Socialization is an internal process that happens within the person and is ongoing throughout an employee’s tenure, and beyond. This differs from onboarding, which is external and designed to set up a new employee’s early organizational experiences. Thus, where onboarding is a singular, external event, socialization is a personal, internal, lifelong process.

NHO is the first opportunity to begin the longer process of socializing a new employee into an organizational culture (Caldwell & Peters). Organizational socialization may be defined as that process wherein new employees make the transition from being outsiders to being insiders (Bauer, et al). This definition implies a process that extends beyond the first few days on the job. Most NHO programs extend from 0.5 days to 24 days, with an average of 6.6 days of formal programming (Srimannarayana). This is certainly not enough time for new employees to become fully socialized into an organization. Socialization events that are built into NHO yet have a life expectancy that matches the NHO program are bound to fail.

Socialization solution

NHO occurs at a moment when the new employee is under a tremendous amount of stress, when adjustment issues are most intense and problematic, and when employees are most susceptible to the organization’s influence. (Klein & Weaver; Caldwell & Peters). Organizations that find a combination of a buddy system and one-on-one interaction with new employees as a component of their NHO program tend to be very successful in socializing new employees. The buddy system gives new employees a place to go for questions, feedback, and general reassurance (Srimannarayana). Focusing on relationships and networking during the onboarding process fosters a sense of belonging (Caldwell & Peters). Organizations should encourage their members to reach out to new employees offering assistance, information on professional organizations, and making organizational personnel accessible.

Mentoring is also a tool that can build long-term relationships with newly hired employees and can provide positive feedback and career direction (Bauer, et al; Caldwell & Peters). Organizations should appoint a mentor coach who will be committed to the task for each new employee. Mentors should be well-trained, and the assignment should not be random. The type and the quality of the mentoring relationship make a significant impact on new employee socialization. The mentoring relationship should begin before the new employee’s arrival. These relationships tend to positively affect engagement levels, work attitudes, and extra-role behavior in new employees (Caldwell & Peters).

Top leadership support

Lack of top leadership support has been seen as a hindrance to successful NHO programs. Research findings indicate a deficit of upper management support for NHO programs to be a concern for NHO program designers and is perceived as a neglected management function. Organizations often view their NHO programs as an expense rather than an investment, adopting a short-sighted approach to the process, including providing insufficient budgeting (Caldwell & Peters; Srimannarayana). Although the benefits of NHO, including lower turnover and higher work engagement, would appear to be a good investment, many organizations do not see it that way (Acevedo & Yancey). Other indicators of low support include leaders frequently rescheduling appearances and managers being unwilling to participate in NHO programming (Srimannarayana).

Top leadership support solutions

One way to highlight the value of NHO programs and engage top-level management in NHO programs is to show the cost benefits, modeling employee turnover costs in terms of organizational financial goals (Caldwell & Peters). Effectively assimilating employees into the organization increases job satisfaction, organizational commitment, employee retention, and job effectiveness and productivity, while poor NHO programs lead to the exact opposite (Caldwell & Peters).

Top-level management should also clearly communicate the value of NHO programs to all lower-level managers. There should also be clear communication between stakeholders, including managers and new hires, on NHO program expectations. Unclear expectations lead to lower support from management and unmet needs from newly hired employees (Srimannarayana). Top-level management should participate in the development of NHO programming that empowers new employees and lessens managerial control systems as a way to socialize new members of their organizations. NHO programming should reflect the implied ethical sensitivities that newcomers reasonably hold as they start a job with a new organization (Caldwell & Peters).

Program design

NHO is the most common type of employee training program (Klein & Weaver). Building and maintaining NHOs that meet the needs of both the organization and the employee is vital to organizational success, however, Western culture fosters a mediocre NHO process (Acevedo & Yancey). Supervisors typically want practical skills taught, but rarely know what is actually covered in NHO, while participants often complain their orientation was overwhelming, covering way too much information to remember and assimilate (Dunn & Jasinski). The top two most frequently requested elements of employee engagement are having the right tools, including technology tools, and opportunities for skills development (Joyner). These findings suggest the need to create NHO programs that address the needs of both newly hired employees and organizations, including focusing on skills and drawing out the process over a longer period.

Employee retention is a key responsibility of an organization’s management and holds the key to justifying NHO expenses (Dunn & Jasinski; Acevedo & Yancey). This obligation is linked to an employee’s motivation to engage in learning opportunities (Rousseau). Employees are more and more responsible for their own learning as they attempt to rise to the technical challenges of the modern workplace (Dunn & Jasinski). Unmet perceived obligations by employers can lead to employee disengagement (Rousseau).

Program design solutions

The new hire period is a time marked by stress and anxiety and, as noted above, is when employees are most susceptible to the organization’s influence. Developing and maintaining a strong, functional NHO that immediately engages newly hired employees suggests a systematic approach to creating a culture of engagement that develops an organization’s human capital as a source of competitive advantage (Dunn & Jasinski; Joyner). Early engagement of new employees is important to an organization’s success. An employee just meeting an employer’s expectations is only a small step above disengagement. Fully engaged employees bring their full selves to their workplace obligations.

NHO program design should reach across to multiple stakeholders within the organization. Program designers must understand the needs of employees and departmental managers (Dunn & Jasinski). Program designers should learn the needs of new employees arriving in their organization and provide choice within their programs. This allows the NHO to align organizational and new employee requirements, giving newly hired employees the right skills to access the right tools to put themselves into a position to succeed. Top-level managers should be involved and communicate their support and program designs should be paced so newly hired employees can assimilate the information.

Conclusion

Attendance in NHO programs affects socialization and aids in building employee commitment to an organization, improving competitive advantage. Although NHOs allow an organization to pass on knowledge and build skills, it is also an opportunity to build relationships between the organization and the employee. Building relationships with new employees improves employee attitudes, which is shown to increase revenue. Building support from top-level management can have a positive effect on the success of NHO programs. Top-level management should be shown the cost benefits, both short-term and long-term. Successful NHO programs must be designed well with the interests of all stakeholders in mind.

References

Acevedo, J.M., & Yancey, G.B. (2011). Assessing new employee orientation programs. Journal of Workplace Learning, 23, 349-354.

Bauer, T.N., Bodner, T., Erdogan, B., Truxillo, D.M., & Tucker, J.S. (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., Gino, F., & Staats, B.R. (2013). Reinventing employee onboarding. MIT Sloan Management Review, Spring 2013, 23-28.

Caldwell, C., & Peters, R. (2018). New employee onboarding – psychological contracts and ethical perspectives. Journal of Management Development, 37, 27-39.

Dunn, S., & Jasinski, D. (2009). The role of new hire orientation programs. Journal of Employment Counseling, 46, 115-127.

Joyner, F. F. (2015). Bridging the knowing/doing gap to create high engagement work cultures. Journal of Applied Business Research, 31(3), 1131-n/a.

Klein, H. J., & Weaver, N. A. (2000). The effectiveness of an organizational-level orientation training program in the socialization of new hires. Personnel Psychology, 53, 47-66.

Klein, H.J., & Polin, B. (2012). Are organizations on board with best practices onboarding? In C. Wanberg (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Socialization (pp. 267-286). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Rousseau, D. M. (1990). New hire perceptions of their own and their employer's obligations: A study of psychological contracts. Journal of Organizational Behavior (1986-1998), 11, 389.

Srimannarayana, M. (2016). Designing new employee orientation programs: An empirical study. Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 51, 620-632.