Onboarding

A model of onboarding (adapted from Bauer & Erdogan, 2011)

Onboarding or organizational socialization is the American term for the mechanism through which new employees acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviors to become effective organizational members and insiders. In standard English[clarify], this is referred to as "induction".[1] In the United States, up to 25% of workers are organizational newcomers engaged in onboarding process.[2]

Tactics used in this process include formal meetings, lectures, videos, printed materials, or computer-based orientations that outline the operations and culture of the organization that the employee is entering into. This process is known in other parts of the world as an 'induction'[3] or training.[4]

Studies have documented that onboarding process is important to enhancing employee retention, improving productivity, and fostering a positive organizational culture.[5] Socialization techniques such as onboarding lead to positive outcomes for new employees. These include higher job satisfaction, better job performance, greater organizational commitment, and reduction in occupational stress and intent to quit.[6][7][8]

The term "onboarding" is management jargon coined in the 1970s.[9]

  1. ^ Bauer, Talya N.; Erdogan, Berrin (2011). "Organizational socialization: The effective onboarding of new employees". APA handbook of industrial and organizational psychology, Vol 3: Maintaining, expanding, and contracting the organization. pp. 51–64. doi:10.1037/12171-002. ISBN 978-1-4338-0734-3.
  2. ^ Rollag, Keith; Parise, Salvatore; Cross, Rob (Winter 2005). "Getting New Hires Up to Speed Quickly". MIT Sloan Management Review. 46 (2): 35–42. Gale A128607627 ProQuest 224962670.
  3. ^ "Online Training and Inductions as a Medium". onlineinduction.com. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  4. ^ "training". The Free Dictionary.
  5. ^ "New hire onboarding". onlinejournal. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  6. ^ Ashford, Susan J.; Black, J. Stewart (April 1996). "Proactivity during organizational entry: The role of desire for control". Journal of Applied Psychology. 81 (2): 199–214. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.81.2.199.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference KammeyerMueller2003 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Fisher, Cynthia D. (September 1985). "Social Support and Adjustment to Work: A Longitudinal Study". Journal of Management. 11 (3): 39–53. doi:10.1177/014920638501100304. S2CID 143607242.
  9. ^ Kaven, William H. (1971). Managing the Major Sale. American Management Association. ISBN 978-0-8144-3105-4.