ALLE MAN ”ONBOARD”, ELLER LÄMNADE VI KONSULTERNA I HAMN? - En kvalitativ studie om hur anställda och konsulter upplever onboardingprocessen i en större västsvensk organisation

Sammanfattning: The contemporary labour market places high demands on the flexibility of both organizations and individuals. As a result, companies increasingly use a mixed workforce, consisting of both traditional employees and hired consultants. The introduction an individual undergoes is a prerequisite for entering the work and the organization in order to become a participating, productive and healthy employee. A structured and well-functioning onboarding process creates the conditions for the effective transformation of new employees into organizational members. For a successful outcome, it is important that the onboarding process is based on scientific research and helps new employees to understand their tasks and new role. The purpose of this study was to investigate how traditionally employed and, consultants experienced their onboarding process in the organization where they currently work. The intention was then, through analysis of the collected material, to examine whether systematic differences could be discerned between traditional employees and consultants regarding the experience of the onboarding process. The method used is qualitative and empirical data is collected through individual semi-structured interviews. The theoretical framework used for analyzing the data is Bauer's theoretical model for onboarding. The results indicate that traditional employees and consultants go through different types of onboarding processes. The traditional employees feel that the introduction process is of a more pervasive nature with an internal focus. In general, the consultants describe the onboarding process as focused on the specific project or assignment they are expected to carry out at the client company. However, the results show that there were differences within the consultant group. A consultant who is hired through a consulting company in order to replace an absent employee for a longer period of time describes an experience that was very similar to the experience of traditional employees. This is just one example of how the results highlight that there are differences in the experience of the onboarding process that could be linked to whether the individual is employed directly by the company or hired as a consultant, but that there are also differences within the group of consultants depending on the nature of the assignment. The results of the study draw our attention to the complexity of using both individuals internally employed and hired consultants when it comes to something like the onboarding process. The findings will also be valuable guidance in our future work where the requirement for flexible personnel solutions and healthy employees must go hand in hand.