Onboarding Learning Modalities and the Relationships with Onboarding Experience, Locus of Control, Self-Efficacy, and Employee Engagement

Abstract

Online and hybrid onboarding, or new-hire training and assimilation, has grown increasingly common in corporate settings, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explores how perceived onboarding experience, work locus of control, occupational self-efficacy, and employee engagement differed between those who onboarded with in-person, hybrid, or online methods. This study also explores how work locus of control could moderate these relationships and examines the relationships between employee engagement and onboarding experience, locus of control, and self-efficacy. This study used qualitative research methods in the form of a self-administered online questionnaire aimed at corporate employees who had onboarded within the previous 18 months. One hundred fifty-three employees completed the survey. It was found that no significant difference in the variables existed between modalities, except for the task characteristic subscale of perceived onboarding experience in which scores were lower for those onboarded in-person. However, work locus of control was found to significantly moderate the relationships between onboarding modality and experience, locus of control, and self-efficacy. Additionally, employee engagement was increased with higher perceived onboarding experience, more internal loci of control, and higher self-efficacy. In addition to the research questions, demographic data were also explored. It was found that perceived onboarding experience was negatively correlated with age, education level, and employment level, locus of control was negatively correlated with age, and work-related self-efficacy was positively correlated with employment level. Further, males were found to have more internal loci of control while females had more external loci of control. Women were also found to have statistically significant lower employee engagement. Overall, this study found that, while onboarding modality itself is not a predictor of employee experiences, other characteristics of onboarding and individuals' attributes could impact the success of onboarding programs and employees' experiences.