Recruiting, hiring and training new employees is a costly and time consuming activity for any organization, and a much more frequent event than in generations of workers past. For this reason, organizational leaders are more concerned than ever about finding and retaining quality employees. I chose this study because the authors, Gallagher and Sias (2009), approach the impact of new employees on an organization from a new perspective, adding valuable knowledge to this field of study.
A majority of existing research in this area is rooted in Uncertainty Reduction Theory (URT) that conceptualizes how strangers use information-seeking techniques to reduce uncertainty and anxiety that is experienced during a first encounter (Griffin, 2009). Other major contributors include Van Maanen and Schein (1977), whose seminal research defined the socialization process of newcomers; and Fredric Jablin's phased model of organization assimilation (Miller, 2005). The distinctively common thread among the approach of these researchers, and many who followed, is their emphasis on the uncertainty experienced by the new employee, with little or no regard to the uncertainty that might be experienced by veteran employees. Veterans have nearly always been considered the source of information for the new hire, not as seekers of information from or about the new hire.
Gallagher and Sias (2009) predicted that veteran employees experience some of the same types of uncertainty as newcomers, and that the information-seeking tactics used by veterans are similar, though with some differences, as those used by newcomers. Gallagher and Sias used a grounded theory qualitative methodology approach to gather and analyze data from a statistically complete sampling of 25 veteran employees from a diverse set of companies, ages, genders, organizational levels and job roles. They conducted in-depth interviews and reduced the data using open-ended and axial coding methods in a detailed, thorough and sound research methodology.
The results of the study were completely congruent with expectations, indicating that veteran employees experience uncertainty, and use a variety of information-seeking tactics to reduce the uncertainty when newcomers arrive. Veterans tend to be more covert in seeking information using tactics such as observation and indirect questioning. Veterans are surprisingly protective of the newcomers and go out of their way to be accommodating, gentle and non-threatening. A paradox exists between veterans and newcomers. Veterans are comforted when newcomers ask a lot of questions, while newcomers tend to avoid asking questions due to the perceived social cost.
Gallagher and Sias (2009) have found that there is a significant impact on the entire organization when a new hire is introduced into the system. This is significant to hiring professionals as well as managers and supervisors when planning the arrival of newcomers. It is, in essence, a change event with the potential for positive and negative effects on many aspects of the organization depending on how the event is planned, managed and executed.
References:
Gallagher, E. B., & Sias, P. M. (2009). The new employee as a source of uncertainty: Veteran employee information seeking about new hires. Western Journal of Communication, 73(1), 23. doi:10.1080/10570310802636326
Griffin, E. (2009). A first look at communication theory (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill Higher Education.
Miller, K. (2005). Organizational communication: Approaches and processes (Fourth ed.). Thomsom Wadsworth.
Van Maanen, J., & Schein, E. (1977). DSpace@MIT : Toward a theory of organizational socialization. (Working paper , Sloan School of Management ; 960-77. No. 2011). To appear in: Barry Staw (ed.) Annual review of research in organizational behavior, vol. 1, New York: JIP Press, 1978.: MIT Alfred P. Sloan School of Management. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/1934
