Processes of Staff Onboarding in the Supply Chain Management of Industrial Enterprises: A Comparison of Best Practices and Literature

This work focuses on best practice processes and methods of onboarding in the supply chain management (SCM) of industrial companies by means of a qualitative investigation. The findings from other industrial companies are compared with each other as well as with the processes and methods given in the literature. This study highlight similarities, differences and examples of best practices. The key findings of this study show that structured onboarding is successful above all through the interplay of professional and social onboarding. The study also identified that social familiarization is given special consideration in the literature as well as in practice through the topics of appreciation and trust as well as the development of a godparent, mentor or buddy program. None of the industrial companies makes use of holistic concepts of onboarding, which are presented in the literature. This is due to the fact that various interfaces common in the SCM-industry exhibit highly individual requirements. The key findings of this study show that structured onboarding is successful above all through the interplay of professional and social onboarding. The preparation of these processes takes place before the start of the employment relationship using checklists in order to enable new employees to become productive as quickly as possible. The study also identified that social familiarization is given special consideration in the literature as well as in practice through the topics of appreciation and trust as well as the development of a godparent, mentor or buddy program.