One of the notable challenges for new hires during the Covid pandemic was making the kind of connections that are so crucial to success in their new job.  Research from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management illustrates the importance of these connections.

While the importance of connections has been well explored at work, most of these studies have focused on connections between newcomers and more experienced colleagues.  This study takes a different stance and looks at the relationships between fellow newcomers.

Building relationships

The study found that when newcomers build relationships with their fellow newcomers, they’re better able to pick up the skills needed to thrive in their job.  The researchers found, however, that quality of networking tends to work better than quantity, with excessive networking actually slowing down the adjustments made by newcomers.

The findings emerged from a couple of studies conducted in a South Korean conglomerate and an American university.  Both involved tracking how newcomers interacted with their peers and how this impacted their subsequent performance.

“For these newcomers [in both settings], it’s more beneficial if they can first concentrate on getting to know newcomers in their unit because the connections they make outside the unit, at least within the time window we studied, there’s not a particular benefit,” the researchers say.

Networking smartly

The authors highlight, however, that there is a balance to be struck between not networking at all and networking too much.  Across both studies, newcomers were able to achieve clarity in their role faster when they networked a medium amount with their fellow new peers.  This in turn led to greater performance on the job and also job satisfaction, which understandably led to lower turnover.

The authors argue that these relationships with their peers act as a crucial sounding board to allow new hires to bounce ideas off of each other and better understand their role and their place in the organization.

“If you have another person who’s also seeing this for the first time, you might say, ‘Oh, what do you think that means? Is that what we’re supposed to do? And does that make sense?'” they explain. “It’s a perspective and learning process that is different from talking to a person who’s already been there a while.”

As such, it’s important that companies still provide a range of opportunities to network with peers from across the organization during the onboarding period (and beyond), but to be mindful not to go overboard and offer too much.