Learning the ropes - analyzing the organizational onboarding process

Joininga new employer can bring about many changes. In order to enable new employees’ integration into a new work environment, it is crucial to impart company-specific knowledge, new skills as well as cultural and social aspects. This can help newcomers to attach meaning to new experiences, modify their actions, and adapt their expectations about upcoming situations in the new context. Hence, by well designing learning processes of the onboarding phase, individual socialization and professional development can bepromoted. In guideline-based interviews, IT professionals will be asked how they perceive onboarding practices, what entry barriers they fear, and to what extent onboarding can contribute to employees’ career development. First results of the case study show that new employees—according to self-reports—only perceive a small number of practices that are planned by the company. Moreover, the practices are not consistently assessed as beneficial. Rather, barriers are mentioned which none of the implemented practices are tailored to overcome