Onboarding of Recent Graduates in the IT Sector in a Flexible Work Environment

Abstract

The study examines the challenges employers and employees face in the IT sector when onboarding recent graduates in a flexible work environment. It also explores the impact of organizational contextual factors on the onboarding process. The research aimed to cover parts of the current research gap of onboarding recent graduates within a flexible work environment, as there has been a rise in hybrid and remote onboarding in the last couple of years. In this multiple-case qualitative study, 13 semi-structured interviews were done with participants from two large IT companies based in Sweden and the Netherlands. Participants were selected through purposive sampling, including human resources managers, team leaders, mentors, and recent graduates. The key finding in the study was the importance of being physically present during onboarding for a better socialization process, knowledge transfer, and understanding of organizational culture, which leads to an accelerated time-to- productivity for recent graduates. Also vital were the mentorship challenges observed, which included time constraints and communication issues when employees worked remotely. Lastly, the results highlighted the importance of organizational culture for successful onboarding, where an informal and open-door policy helps recent graduates integrate into the organization. Practical implications for employers include designing the onboarding process primarily on-site, utilizing transition strategies such as traineeship or part-time jobs for recent graduates, providing mentorship support, adapting an onboarding policy to sector-specific needs, and fostering an informal and open-door culture. Recent graduates can benefit from part-time jobs or traineeships to bridge the skills gap and prioritize in-office presence for social connections.