Whether it is at the start of their career or when changing jobs, employees join a company. Following a laborious recruitment process, they integrate values, standards, skills, knowledge and cultures specific to the organisation. In this article, we will detail this process, called organisational socialisation, and try to highlight the strategies which can guarantee good integration as well as the benefits of it.
What is organisational socialisation?
Organisational socialisation has been extensively studied in the literature and by companies. It emerges that organisational socialisation “is a process through which employees move from being organizational outsiders to becoming organizational insiders” (Bauer, 2015). Therefore, there is an important notion of integration within the company.
It is a dual process, of transmission and acquisition, between experienced members of the organisation and new recruits (Cordier, 2013). Indeed, it is an approach where everyone is an actor of their own integration into a new environment, but also an actor in the integration of others, whether they are colleagues or hierarchical superiors. In addition to this dual interaction, socialisation is a long-term process that goes through several stages.
It is a long-term process because today active people change organisations several times, which implies that they are in constant organisational socialisation for each new integrated company. This is why it can be said that organisational socialisation takes place throughout an employee’s career (Bauer, 2015).
It is also essential to understand that whatever the guiding line of an organisation, socialization will take place (Cordier 2013). But taking an interest in it and making sure it goes smoothly ensures that it happens from the start and that the performance will be there. It also impacts the well-being of employees at work.
Strategies for integrating employees
Socialisation begins before joining the organisation, in the early stages of recruitment. In other words, integration is part of the organisational socialisation. Indeed, when an employee join the organisation, he comes with professional values influenced by his initial training, by the organisation’s communication and by the recruitment process (Cordier, 2013). It is therefore a matter of making sure that the person and the company are in harmony.
Strategies to ensure employee integration can be:
- Collective: group training in order to promote the creation of social links;
- Informal: let learning be done by trial and error, on workplace;
- Sequential: define the stages through which the employees will pass;
- Variable: the integration is adapted and specific to each one;
- In series: ensure continuity by allowing the new employee to meet the person who held the position before him.
Clearly, we can take the example of Twitter and the “Yes to Desk” program. As soon as the contract is signed, the integration process begins. The employee begins a journey of 75 stages which engages the employee. He comes into regular contact with the HR team and his manager. Everything is done to make him feel integrated into the company as quickly as possible. His professional email, resources explaining his missions, the location of his future office as well as the contact details of his future colleagues are sent to him in order to answer his questions.
As for the day of arrival, goodies are given to the employee and a lunch with the CEO is organised. Onboardees are placed next to members of their new team to avoid the stress of “I don’t know where to stand”. Then, a tour of the company, teams and projects is organised in order to make the employee involved, motivated and ready to work, while transmitting the company culture (internal jokes, company history, etc).
Finally, they organise a monthly “Happy Hour” for new recruits with the senior team. In addition, they have set up a 5 week program of 30 minutes presentation on Friday afternoon. Thus, onboardees attend 30 minutes of presentation of the web team, 30 minutes of the support team, 30 minutes of the international team. But why invest so much in the integration of an employee?
Why integrate an employee into the company?
Objectively, it is important that employers give importance to this integration phase. According to the Center for Learning & Organizational Development (2016), “how well employees are integrated directly affects how quickly they’ll be able to contribute. “Indeed, in the first year, new employees make the decision whether to stay or leave.
If it’s not done well, socialization can lead to premature departure of employees and ineffectiveness on the job. It leads to the restart of the recruitment process and then the company loose time and money. The costs of an unsuccessful integration are high. These costs impact the company in intern and extend beyond also, by impacting the company’s reputation. But when an integration is unsuccessful, it can take years and years for the group to recover.
For employees it can also have an impact on their well-being at work and their feeling of satisfaction.
So do not forget, invest in the integration of your employees and this will have short and long term benefits for your company but also for your employees!
Bibliography
- Bauer, T & Berrin,E. (2011). Organizational socialization: The effective onboarding of new employees. 10.1037/12171-002.
- Cordier, C. (2013). Les enjeux stratégiques de l’intégration des nouveaux collaborateurs. Gestion et management. dumas-00933664.
- Integrating New Employees to the Workplace (2016). Center for Learning & Organizational
Development. hr.oregonstate.edu/training - Grenier A. (2019, 29 Novembre). 6 entreprises qui ont développé un programme d’Onboarding innovant ! https://blog.workelo.eu/6-exemples-dentreprises-qui-ont-developpe-un-programme-donboarding-innovant/