Abstract:
Employee onboarding is a crucial process that has served both the new employee
and the organisation in ensuring that there is a seamless integration into a new
working environment. The ways of work in the knowledge economy have changed
post the COVID-19 pandemic with an increase in full-time remote work as well as
hybrid working models. It has become imperative for organisations to be conscious
of the techniques to not only attract talent in a competitive environment but also instil
and maintain high employee engagement levels. This research aims to explore the
emerging themes from the lived experiences of knowledge workers in South Africa
who have undergone a virtual onboarding process as well as explore how this has
influenced their level of engagement.
The study was conducted through a qualitative methodology through phenomenology
to allow for in-depth analysis of the lived experiences of the employees who have
undergone virtual onboarding and consequently understanding their corresponding
levels of engagement. Twelve participants were purposively sampled from the
Financial Services, Engineering, Mining, Insurance, and Health sectors to participate in
semi-structured interviews. The different sectors allowed for diverse experiences
drawn from a wide range of knowledge workers which resulted in the collation of rich
information. The thematic data analysis and the results thereof revealed that
knowledge workers have a positive experience of the virtual onboarding process and
this in turn increases employee engagement
