We Are Happy To Be Here: The Onboarding Experience in Academic Libraries

Keisling, Bruce L.; Laning, Melissa

doi:10.1080/01930826.2015.1105078

Cited by 14 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Traditional methods of onboarding focus on socializing new hires within the pre-existing frame of the organization. For example, managers will often focus on communicating local norms, sharing insights on work culture, and providing other instruction on how team members interact with one another (Keisling & Laning, 2016). One major issue with this approach is the fact that work cultures have had to change dramatically within our current remote work environment, and these cultural norms no longer map in a clean or clear way to actual working conditions.…”

Section: Advertise the New Hire Before Their First Daymentioning

confidence: 99%

Into the Unknown: Onboarding Early Career Professionals in a Remote Work Environment

2021

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This paper explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of three individuals, all of whom are early-career professionals: Julia, a term librarian for an academic library who began her role as the pandemic was causing widespread change; Christine, a recent graduate who started her job search during the pandemic; and Kevin, a current Master of Library and Information Science student who started and completed his co-op in an entirely remote setting. This paper explores their perspectives on job precarity in a remote work environment and provides reflections on working in a library setting during the pandemic. To bring together the key themes experienced throughout this period, several recommendations are offered to managers and early-career librarians as they navigate this new landscape. For employers, advertising new employees, organizing their onboarding, and ensuring concerted efforts for introductions are recommended. For new librarians, forming communities of practice and building relationships in the remote work environment to battle feelings of isolation and not belonging are recommended. The precarious roles most early-career librarians find themselves in is unlikely to improve during the pandemic. The perspectives and reflections shared in this paper are intended to provide a transparent view into the experiences of three early career librarians, what they have learned, and how they are maximizing their time in the remote work environment.

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Section: Advertise the New Hire Before Their First Daymentioning

confidence: 99%

Into the Unknown: Onboarding Early Career Professionals in a Remote Work Environment

2021

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“…Communication is key in the two articles that interview new employees to uncover what works and what does not for onboarding/orientations (Oud, 2008) and (Keisling and Laning, 2016). The article by Oud looks at the differences between expectations and the reality of a new job for employees in Canadian university libraries.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Beyond the basics, they want more check-ins, more attention and more opportunities to connect with other people. What does not work are highly self-directed onboarding or orientation practices and canned presentations that do not allow interaction (Keisling and Laning, 2016).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Survey on onboarding practices in Carnegie research institutions

Semenza¹,

Harden

Koury

2021

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to describe survey findings on onboarding initiatives at the Carnegie Doctoral Research Institutions of Higher Education libraries. The findings would be helpful to libraries that are at the beginning of their own onboarding initiatives or that wish to compare ongoing efforts.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a survey of Carnegie Doctoral Research Institutions of Higher Education libraries using Qualtrics, an online survey software. Link to the survey with a short explanation was e-mailed to the 319 identified contacts and 111 responses were received at the end of the survey.FindingsSurvey responses revealed that the most prevalent types of onboarding initiatives are an orientation to campus policies and procedures and meeting with human resources. Half of the respondents introduce new employees to the social/cultural norms of the library informally, with responsibility for onboarding falling on the supervisor. Surprisingly, diversity and inclusion have not been identified as formal components of the onboarding by those who engage in it.Originality/valueSpecific research into the onboarding initiatives of Carnegie Doctoral Research Institutions of Higher Education libraries does not exist.

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“…Furthermore, talking to new employees early on about what strengths they bring to the organization can help them identify opportunities to use those strengths in their positions, and to be more confident in participating in the organization. 3 As librarians progress in their careers, supervisors can work with them to identify areas of potential growth, and support training and professional development in areas that will benefit both the employees and the organization.…”

Section: Job Performancementioning

confidence: 99%