A proposed research agenda concerning supervisor training for newcomer organizational socialization

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify extant training needs for preparing supervisors to support newcomers’ organizational socialization and to develop a research agenda concerning aspects that conduce to making supervisors efficacious in the process of organizational socialization. Design/methodology/approach A review of the literature on the development of socialization agents for organizational socialization generally indicates that relatively minimal research has been undertaken on this topic. Most articles have focused on the effects of organizational socialization on other variables – such as newcomers’ work outcomes, turnover intention and organizational commitment. The review was conducted in light of this phenomenon. It is based on the structured literature review method, per Rocco, Stein and Lee (2003). Findings Supervisor training is suggested as a means for enhancing organizational socialization. However, supervisor training is not often studied in organizational socialization research. Therefore, the verification of the impact of supervisor training on organizational socialization is required. Given the proposed research agenda, identifying the impact of supervisor training on different areas of organizational socialization domains and inspiring increased interest on supervisor training as an effective program for organizational socialization are logical outcomes. Research limitations/implications The concept of socialization is used in broad areas of research, such as education, military and engineering. However, it was reviewed here vis-à-vis human resource development (HRD). Therefore, the focus was on the notion of organizational socialization, which is appropriate for employee training development. The concept of organizational socialization in this paper, therefore, was delimited, as it failed to include all meanings of socialization. This paper sought to review all studies related to organizational socialization. However, some research was not considered and, thus, not discussed in this paper. This was because of time and resource constraints. The author sorted previous studies by personal standards and, thus, may have inadvertently included non-germane or excluded relevant citations. Practical implications Supervisory training for organizational socialization can be proposed as a potential area for leading to an effective organizational socialization program. So HRD professionals should study further about the topic and develop such programs. Increased attention on supervisor training for organizational socialization may increase the number and quality of supervisor training programs. Such studies would augment HRD professionals’ knowledge about organizational socialization and eventually enhance performance in organizations. Social implications This paper can expand the area in which social learning theory can be applied. According to Bandura and Walters (1977), the social learning theory posits that learning new behaviors can usually be acquired by observing and imitating others. This implies that newcomers emulate other organizational members to adapt to the organization and their assigned roles. In this process, supervisors can play a key role through showing them the appropriate behaviors, supporting their learning and providing appropriate feedback. Presumably, then, new employees may perform better if supervisors receive training on crucial socialization efforts. Originality/value Significantly, socialization agents are uniquely situated to greatly impact the organizational socialization process of newcomers. Among the socialization agents, supervisors garner enormous influence on newcomers’ organizational socialization. However, relatively few studies investigated the training of supervisors for organizational socialization.

Supervisors’ roles for newcomer adjustment: review of supervisors’ impact on newcomer organizational socialization outcomes

“…Theoretical framework NOS can be regarded as a learning process through which newcomers can become successful members of their organization. During NOS, they become keenly cognizant of the organization's norms and values, as well as their jobs and requisite relationships for working with others in the organization in a complementary and efficacious manner (Lee, 2022). Scholars have offered several theories describing this complex process.…”

Supervisors’ Roles in Training Program Culture, Training Intrinsic Motivation and Knowledge Transfer: an Empirical Study

“…Besides that, this mechanism to increase intrinsic motivation training in performing daily tasks). This situation also promotes the improvement of positive employee behavior, which is knowledge transfer (such as efficiently generating expertise, creating an excellent and innovative work culture, having the necessary skills for the current task, developing a positive attitude, and adapting knowledge to the situation) (Husain & Brahim, 2006;Husain Rohman, 2008 program, the advantages of the program, the appropriate knowledge to be acquired (process, content and tasks), the appropriate skills to acquired and the resolution of interpersonal barriers before, during and/or after following the training program (Yaghi, 2020;Lee, 2022).…”

“…Both types of coaching are critical in motivating employees to meet and maintain annual work goals. In addition, recent studies suggest that the ability of supervisors to practise direct communication and training feedback in training programs' organizational cultures can be a significant antecedent to training intrinsic motivation and knowledge transfer in competitive firms (Lee, 2022;Amoo & Adam, 2022;Tahiry & Ekmekcioglu, 2022). Second, leaders need to be willing to take risks in order to stimulate positive thinking by encouraging followers' creativity in task management to be intellectually stimulated.…”

“…Intrinsic training motivation is an important component of training program culture.Intrinsic training motivation is generally considered as an individual with a high desire, exact passion and deep interest to attend training to attain certain objectives in a career and organization(Lees & Dhanpat, 2021;Mohamad, Ismail & Mohamad Nor, 2021;Chow & Yeh, 2022). This illustrates that the internal motivation of training attempts to develop attitudes and enhance skills and new knowledge in addition to being influenced by the supervisor's role in building a balanced training culture(Chow & Yeh, 2022;Lees & Dhanpat, 2021). There is evidence that high intrinsic training motivation leads to a strong desire to overcome motivational barriers that discourage individuals from participating in training programs to increase positive behavior(Kim, Park & Kang, 2019;Lees & Dhanpat, 2021).…”

“…This illustrates that the internal motivation of training attempts to develop attitudes and enhance skills and new knowledge in addition to being influenced by the supervisor's role in building a balanced training culture(Chow & Yeh, 2022;Lees & Dhanpat, 2021). There is evidence that high intrinsic training motivation leads to a strong desire to overcome motivational barriers that discourage individuals from participating in training programs to increase positive behavior(Kim, Park & Kang, 2019;Lees & Dhanpat, 2021). Therefore,intrinsictraining motivation is frequently interpreted as an important result between supervisors' roles in training program culture and knowledge transfer in the context of training management.…”