All on Board, Take Off! An Example of Practitioner’s Research on Teachers’ Professional Well-being in Higher Education in Their Early Career Stages

Abstract

Organisations compete on the labour market for highly educated staff and put a lot of effort in attracting new employees. However, high percentages of newly recruited employees leave the organisation within one year. Good onboarding practices and good practices in the stage after onboarding, the take-off stage, could increase retention rates in the early career stages of professionals.In this study an example of practitioner’s research is presented on newly hired teachers’ professional well-being in higher education in their early career stages. Two batches of newly hired teachers at NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands were studied in the context of improving HR practices.Research on newly hired teachers revealed the importance of good onboarding practices and the crucial role of team leaders in retaining and motivating newly hired teaching staff.