03. Another Scientific Framework for Onboarding New Employees

 NethmeeSW

To Overcome Challenges in Globally Distributed Projects (GSD)

According to Moe, et al. (2020), GSD project will have all kinds of employees from different counties, cultures, time zones, values and norms. Therefore, it would be difficult to manage them as it is the Human Resources Department's responsibility to do so. The report further states that the productivity of the team reduces when a new member joins. It says that it will take three years for their learning cycle after joining the company/ project. Hence, the onboarding process is playing a vital role in smoothing the new member’s life at work/ project.

Figure 1: Bauer’s Onboarding Model built upon Johne’s work

Source: (Moe, et al., 2020)

    The above scientific framework was built upon Jone’s work as cited in Moe, et al. (2020) research, using Bauer’s Onboarding Model. The Four C’s are the main attributes of the employee onboarding process which was founded by Bauer. This was later developed into 5C’s as well. 

1. Compliance - Informing the employees about general guidelines, rules and regulations. 
2. Clarification - The job role, duties and responsibilities. 
3. Connection - Relationship with the peers, the network and communication channels (if any). 
4. Culture - Organizational culture, norms and values. 

Compliance

The first day of most of the employees will be spent filling out forms. I did the same in my company which is in the higher education industry. The legal forms will be provided to the employee. General rules and regulations along with policies will be provided to the newly hired employee to refer. 

Figure 2: Corporate Compliance

Source: (Cleo, 2023)

Further reading: Blog - Top 5 Corporate Compliance Mandates You Must Meet

Ziden & Joo (2020) proposed the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to be used during the onboarding process to support HR, employee motivation and self-efficacy. The "Expectancy Motivation Theory" has been used to justify the recommended model. The gap in the onboarding process has been found as fewer of the companies are using formal methods, the confidence level measured during the onboarding process which will impact the motivation of the employees. 

Hence, the researcher states that using technology to share the employee handbook, fill forms online and get records from a system is more efficient to satisfy the employee. Further, it saves a lot of time, increases convenience and decreases errors.

Moreover, Petrilli, et al. (2022) argue that digital onboarding had to be implemented due to the pandemic situation and it can be done effectively with a structured process. The world transition to remote working experience made socialization to be minimized. This definitely supports in sustainability of our mother Earth. The compliance paperwork was completed online. There might be a doubt in reliability and challenges in making the employee be attentive to these guidelines when shared online. However, these are different arguments in the compliance stage of the onboarding process. 

It can be concluded and suggested that organizations can use digitalized methods in this stage to motivate employees on their first day at work. They can also make it more interactive as the world is back to the normal way of living which is different than the pandemic days. 

Clarification

As mentioned in the "New Employee Onboarding Guide" by a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) manager, employees knowing the job role and setting goals for the employees are the two main areas that should be covered on the very 1st day (Maurer, Roy, 2019). I personally believe that sometimes the employee already knows about the job role but there are also situations where the selected candidate does not know the real job they are going to handle. Therefore, whatever the situation is, it is better to "Inform" the job role, duties and responsibilities clearly during the onboarding process. In my first article, I have explained the

IWG Framework. According to that theory, the compliance and clarification steps fall under the "Inform" category. 

According to Vetrivel (2018), the effectiveness of job performance will be reduced if the employee does not know the level of task, responsibility and the job role. The study has been carried out in an Indian organization and justified that clarity of the job position is needed to perform better. Further, Mohamed & Hosny (2020) states that clarification of job role will lead to employee satisfaction and thereby adds positive effect on the job roles and responsibilities. The research was done among nurses who are in a University Hospital. 

The authors recommend clearly defining the description of the job during the orientation period. It was also suggested to add this in diploma levels of nursing education on how to understand the job role through job description. The main reason is that nurses are one of the indicators of health care services in a country. Hence, it is crucial when it comes to employee satisfaction in specifically some industries. 

Connection

The transfer of training would be easier when the employees are having a good relationship with each other (Najeemdeen, et al., 2018). The study shows that the selected company should have a competitive advantage in this era of globalization. The training should be provided to improve the skills and the competencies of employees. The prominent facet found in this literature is that the relationship between the peers and the supervisor will affect the training process. Therefore, the connection between these two parties should build from the beginning of the orientation programme. It will make things effective and efficient. Further, Talukdar (2020) states that peer support is one important thing among the factors affecting employee engagement in an organization. The thematic analysis has justified that the employees expect emotional attachment, support and the ability to share their professional issues would make them comfortable to work. Therefore, it is not just at the beginning of the employee's life in an organization but they expect such relationships throughout their career. Hence, employee engagement will increase and thereby be loyal to the company.

We all like to be a part of a community. The majority of us will not like a place where we don't feel that we belong there. It is understandable that the new employee expects the same. Therefore, the onboarding process should think about employee connection before delivering the training programmes. It does not have to be a one-time thing but the managers can also make it happen throughout the training. That is one reason trainers propose group activity and focus on team building during training programmes. 

Culture

Figure 3: The Conceptual Framework of Organizational Culture 

Source: (Aryani & Widodo, 2020)

The above Figure 3 shows the conceptual framework of organizational culture proposed by Aryani & Widodo (2020). The framework justified that Transformational Leadership and Organizational Communication Media affect the organizational culture and thereby Motivate the employees as shown in the above motivational factors. 

Further, according to Malam, et al. (2019), employee performance directly gets impacted by the organization's culture. The factors identified as the organizational culture are employee commitment, emotional intelligence, organizational citizenship behaviour among others, personality and job satisfaction. The research has been conducted in a Nigerian higher educational institution. 

Therefore, it is clear that the organizational culture is significantly affecting the employee. The employee first should know what is the culture inside the company, Reporting style, beliefs, values, human behaviour and employee benefits are some of them. An employee can search about these before applying for a job which is much recommended. However, the probation period is to check whether you fit in the culture or not. Both the employer and the employee have the right to leave the company during this period. Hence, introducing the organizational culture is essential during the onboarding process. 

The 4 Cs, 

are now clear. The 5th C which was added later to this theory is to show the importance of CONFIDENCE of an employee during the onboarding process. It states that, providing guidance and making the employee feel confident doing their job and selecting the best place to work for them should be created during this process. This was found in the blog of Cleo as mentioned at the beginning of my article. 

Good luck in creating the best onboarding process that fits YOUR company!

References

Aryani, R. & Widodo, W., 2020. The Determinant of Organizational Culture and Its Impact on Organization: A Conceptual Framework. International Journal of Higher Education, 9(3), pp. 64-70.
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Cleo, 2023. Blog. [Online]
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Malam, S. S., Daji, L. B. D. & Ladan, A. A., 2019. The Relationship between Organizational Culture and Employee Performance in Nigerian Tertiaty Institutions: A Proposed Theoretical Framework. Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 7(7), pp. 12-17.
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Mohamed, F. R. & Hosny, E. K., 2020. Role clarity as a Predictor of Nurses’ Job Satisfaction. Assiut Scientific Nursing Journal, 8(21), pp. 65-73.
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Petrilli, S., Galuppo, L. & Ripamonti, S. C., 2022. Digital Onboarding: Facilitators and Barriers to Improve Worker Experience. Sustainability, 14(9), p. 5684.
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