Digital Onboarding
In light of increased remote and hybrid settings, the study seeks to understand the effect of onboarding structure, tools, social interaction, and communication modes to support emotional well-being, trust, and inclusion within the onboarding experience.
How do digital and hybdrid onboarding processes influence psychological comfort and trust among new hires?
In light of increased remote and hybrid settings, the study seeks to understand the effect of onboarding structure, tools, social interaction, and communication modes to support emotional well-being, trust, and inclusion within the onboarding experience.
As organizations transition to more flexible and remote work, HR departments need to adjust onboarding beyond just the practical components. Onboarding is one of the directing factors of retention, engagement, and performance over the long term. Managers and HR professionals must understand how to create trust and psychological comfort online for their employees to integrate newcomers effectively and minimize turnover in the first year in their hybrid teams.
The evidence suggests that unstructured digital onboarding can create isolation and uncertainty for new hires. Trust and comfort are noticeably improved when new hires are able to experience regular feedback, engage with mentors, and share a human connection with their onboarding process, especially when working in hybrid environments. Personal relationships and a sense of belonging can have the biggest influence on successful onboarding experiences and employee engagement.
- Provide roadmaps for onboarding program schedules and structure.
- Use a combination of virtual modules and scheduled in-person or live correspondences.
- Utilize assigned mentors or buddies for emotional support to build empathy and trust.
- Include informal social opportunities, reminders to connect, and social events, if only virtually.
- Create frequent feedback and avenues for communication.
This research used qualitative exploratory research methodology and employed 12 semi-structured interviews with employees who have experienced some form of digital or hybrid onboarding since 2020. Participants came from various industries and jobs and were selected using purposive and snowball sampling. Data was then analyzed thematically based on the Gioia Methodology, which included methodical coding and interpreting code patterns. For structured coding and visualizing code relating to the themes of trust and psychological comfort during digital onboarding LIGRE software was used.
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