Being the Newbie at Work

Growing plant

Source: lovelyday12/AdobeStock

Do you remember that first day at work? Were you shown around, introduced to everyone on the team, and paired up with someone who made you familiar with the expectations of your role, or did you just meet a few people and sit at a desk the whole day, reading through manuals or online induction modules? Starting a new job can be an exciting experience, but it can also be quite uncomfortable when you do not know anyone, are unsure of the expectations of your role, and are not familiar with what is valued in your organization.

The period during which you get familiar with your tasks, your team, and your organization—also known as the socialization or onboarding period—can vary quite a bit across work organizations, depending on whether they have a well-structured and organized set of activities for newcomers or do not have anything planned at all, leaving you to your own devices. A good onboarding experience pays off for organizations: It helps newcomers become productive members of the organization faster and reduces turnover in the first six months. Given how costly it is for organizations to recruit, select, and get new employees to the stage of being productive, these outcomes are important.

Two elements are important while being “socialized” into an organization:

1. You need to learn about your role: how to do your tasks, who or where to get information from, what procedures to follow, etc. Knowing what to do is key to your performance.

2. You need to internalize the value of what you, your unit, and your organization does. This is the key to full engagement, where you will be dedicated, value, and even enjoy the work you do.

It has long been determined that performance is a function of two things: skills and motivation. Skills can be acquired through formal education and organization-run training. Thus, during socialization, training is often included. Motivation can come from multiple sources, and the best sources are from valuing or enjoying one’s work. Internalization is, therefore, something that organizations should promote during the socialization period to ensure newcomers rapidly become productive organizational members.

Organizations often try to promote value internalization through videos that present what the organization stands for and is trying to achieve: that is, its mission and strategic goals. But just presenting this information is often insufficient for newcomers to buy into it.

Here’s more that organizations can do:

Recent research we’ve conducted on the experiences of organizational newcomers has shown that satisfying the psychological needs of newcomers—that is, making them feel competent, related to others, and autonomous from the start—improves their engagement and desire to stay in the job.

1. Ensure that managers are trained to welcome newcomers in a structured way that includes introducing them to the facilities and the people they will work with. This is seldom the case but makes the first day less daunting and accelerates learning and the social integration of the newcomer into a team.

2. Pair the newcomer with an experienced employee to shadow or mentor the newcomer for the first few weeks. This will accelerate learning and help the newcomer internalize the values and norms emulated by this experienced employee.

3. Involve the newcomer in their own socialization: Ask them what they feel they need to learn, ask them for suggestions on how they would like to learn or meet their colleagues, and empower them to seek out information and experiment with their new job. Newcomers do not come in as “blank slates” but with previous work experiences that could be valuable to the organization. Allowing them to express their own ideas and perspectives on things will not only engage them further but can also help the organization innovate and solve problems.

If you are an HR professional, check your onboarding processes to see if they meet the psychological needs of newcomers in your organization. If you are a manager, ask your human resources department to provide you with resources to provide a better onboarding experience for your new subordinates. If you are a newcomer, think of ways you can proactively seek out information and support to ensure you have a positive onboarding experience.

This post was co-created with Cecilia Runneboom