Running head: ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM FOR NEWLY HIRED PROFESSIONAL STAFF
WITHIN THE EASTON AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT

A Doctoral Capstone Project
Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies and Research
Department of Secondary Education and Administrative Leadership

In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Education

Alyssa L. Emili
California University of Pennsylvania
August 2020

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

8/11/2020

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

Dedication
This capstone research is dedicated to my husband and children. Without
your love and unwavering support, this simply would not have come to fruition.
Collectively, you have helped me to achieve one of the most important goals that I
ever set for myself. And for that I am forever grateful.
Dave, you are and have always been my rock. When I doubt myself you are
always there to check me and get me back on track. From the day we met you’ve
given me courage and support to go after my dreams. Nico and Mia, every day I
hope to set a good example for you. And I hope that I have done that through this
process, so that you learn that when you put your mind to something you cannot be
stopped. Never let anything stand in your way. Barriers are nothing more than
challenges and Emili’s never quit.
Mom and Dad, you raised me to be a strong and independent woman who
chases her dreams. I hope I’ve made you proud.

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM
Table of Contents
Dedication

Abstract

viii

List of Tables

CHAPTER I. Introduction

CHAPTER II. Literature Review

Introduction

Employee Onboarding Programs

Elements of comprehensive onboarding programs

Levels of onboarding

Employee Orientation

New teacher induction

Role of leadership

Mentoring and Professional Support

Mentoring and coaching

Personalized, professional development

Online support

Mentor training and organizational support

New Employee Socialization

Practices that impact employee socialization

Factors that impact the socialization of millennial employees

Employee Perception of Onboarding Process
Employee engagement and job satisfaction

29
29

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Commitment to the organization and retention
Conclusion and Synthesis
CHAPTER III. Methodology

31
33
34

Purpose

Research Questions

Setting and Participants

Research Plan

Methods of Data Collection

Validity

CHAPTER IV. Data Analysis and Results

Introduction

Data Analysis

Results

Quantitative results

The hiring process

The district-wide, three-day induction program

The building-based orientation

Qualitative results

Discussion

Summary

CHAPTER V. Conclusions and Recommendations

Introduction

Conclusions

vii

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The system: On the bus

Recruitment and acquisition

Compliance

Clarification

Culture

Connection

Other considerations

Financial implications

Future Directions for Research

Summary

References

APPENDIX A. Research Participant Informed Consent Form

APPENDIX B. On the Bus: An Overview for Implementation

100

viii

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Abstract
The purpose of this capstone research was to develop a formal process for onboarding
professional employees in the Easton Area School District. The Easton Area School District
is the twenty-first largest school district in the state of Pennsylvania with 75 teachers
qualifying as newly hired professional staff as defined by this study. This research study
surveyed the newly hired professional staff members within the District in order to obtain
both qualitative and quantitative data that could be utilized to develop a formal system
that, when implemented, provides a supportive and engaging atmosphere at the onset of
employment. While the survey results were somewhat favorable of the current induction
offerings, there were gaps identified based on research based best practices. Ultimately,
the findings of this research study resulted in the development of a comprehensive, yearlong onboarding system for the Easton Area School District, called On the Bus. This system
includes all necessary components of research-based onboarding programs which, when
implemented with fidelity, have the most lasting impact on organizations.

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM
List of Tables
Table 1. Newly Hired Professional Staff
Table 2. Likert Style Evaluation Questions
Table 3. Open-Ended Questions
Table 4. A Positive or Negative Hiring Process
Table 5. Review of Contract and Benefits Package
Table 6. Induction Program
Table 7. Year of Hire Comparison
Table 8. Building-Based Orientation
Table 9. Overall Impressions of the Induction Program
Table 10. Topics in Induction that Build Confidence
Table 11. The Mentoring Process

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CHAPTER I
Introduction
Over the course of my career I have come to recognize that human capital is the
greatest asset within an organization. It is important not only to hire the best, but also to
train and retain them. As the Assistant Superintendent of an organization employing 1,082
paid staff members, 604 of which are on the teacher contract, the individuals who are
deployed across nine schools have the most significant impact on achieving the district’s
goals. There are many programs and initiatives that districts implement. Many are aimed
at increasing student achievement and helping students reach their full potential
throughout their schooling. However, no program can supplant the importance of a welltrained, positive staff that establishes a culture that strives to get the most out of their
students.
The Easton Area School District is the twenty-first largest school district in
Pennsylvania. Easton is a diverse community. The district is a mix of students coming from
urban, suburban, and rural areas. Over one-half of the student population is considered
economically disadvantaged. Fifty percent of the students are White, twenty-five percent
are Hispanic, and twenty percent are Black. Fifteen percent of the students across the
District receive special education services. There are a myriad of challenges present in
districts with such a diverse population. It is no secret that many new teachers who are
entering the field initially get assigned to the most challenging students. Therefore,
teachers entering districts with more challenges often face a higher likelihood of working
with students that have historically been marginalized (Coffey, Putman, Handler, & Leach,
2019). When coupled with the fact that over the past decade in Pennsylvania there are

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71% less teachers being issued certifications (Mansfield, 2019), it is increasingly important
to attract high quality teachers who have the ability to support their students in reaching
their highest potential. However, districts cannot stop there. As jobs become more
widespread and the candidate pool becomes more shallow, districts will have to make
efforts to retain their teachers so that they do not move on somewhere else.
Throughout the past three years, in addition to serving as the Assistant
Superintendent, I have taken on the role of Director of Human Resources on two occasions
following the departure of two different directors. In the collective fourteen months that I
have served in this capacity, I have become acutely aware of the fact that new staff
members need more than what the District is providing. Historically, the District has
treated its three-day pre-employment induction program as the primary means to
integrate new teachers. However, the onboarding of new staff requires so much more.
New staff members, along with union leadership, have shared anecdotal information
with me about the need to do a better job of transitioning new employees into the
organization, ensuring that the training is valuable but not overwhelming, and providing
sustained, meaningful support extending into the school year focused on growth. This led
me to consider the concept of onboarding for my capstone research. I became interested in
learning more by answering the following research questions:
1. How did the professional staff hired within the past five years rate their overall
onboarding experience?
2. What aspects of current District practice during onboarding impact employee
perception during the initial stage of employment in the District?

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

3. What elements in the initial stage of an onboarding process will have the greatest
impact in the engagement of staff and the development of the relationship between
the employee and District?
4. What methods will have the greatest impact in engaging newly hired employees by
providing the support, confidence, and readiness needed in order to feel prepared
as a new employee in the District?
Throughout this study, I seek to gain feedback from the professional staff who have
joined the Easton Area School District over the past five years. These 78 individuals can
provide valuable information as to what they experienced when they entered the District.
Additionally, they will be able to share their experiences over the course of their induction
program. Most importantly, they will be able to identify gaps in what they received as
compared to what they believe would have been most beneficial to their integration into
the District. This data will be utilized to better understand the needs of new teachers
entering the field today. I will also be able to determine the actionable steps needed to
develop a comprehensive onboarding program. Following the development of the
program, the long-term goal will be to utilize the research and framework that is developed
to improve the onboarding process for all employee groups within the district including
administrators, para-professionals, administrative professionals, custodial/maintenance,
and bus drivers.
I anticipate that the long-term product of this research will have significant impact
on the organization moving forward. There is a significant investment made in new staff.
This investment is often monetary through salaries, fringe benefits, and professional
development. However, there is a great deal of personal investment made in new teachers

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as well. Administrators and mentors dedicate time to train and support them throughout
their transition into the field. These investments must be protected through the
development of an onboarding program. Research supports the idea that quality
onboarding programs ultimately pay for themselves through teacher retention and
improved outcomes (Howe, 2006).
The ultimate goal of onboarding is to integrate new staff into the culture of the
organization. This is only accomplished when there is a concerted investment into human
capital. Leaders must view the onboarding process as an integral component to the
achieving the goals they set within their schools. This will become increasingly more
important in the years to come as the field of education is faced with a shortage of teachers.
Districts that invest in their human capital will ultimately experience greater outcomes
with their students.
CHAPTER II
Literature Review
Introduction
Onboarding has been defined as a process whereby new employees gain knowledge,
skills, and behaviors in order to assimilate within the organization (Jakubik, Weese, Eliades,
& Huth, 2017). Onboarding became a prominent element within human resources in the
private sector in the mid 1970’s, as a result of marketplace trends that placed a demand on
companies to increase productivity and improve quality and became more prevalent in the
early 2000’s (Dunn & Jasinski, 2009; Stein & Christiansen, 2010). However, this concept
was not formally introduced in the education field until more recently (Ingersoll, 2012;
Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2019). Even still, school districts more typically

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implement new teacher induction programs which mirror orientation programs, but could
benefit from the further development of comprehensive onboarding programs. Many new
teacher induction programs lack the depth of private sector onboarding programs because
of the relatively new nature of the concept in the education field and the lack of specialized
knowledge.
It is important to consider research that draws upon the onboarding practices
within fields other than education. It is also important to consider global research and not
simply focus research on public and private sector research across the nation, as other
countries have engaged in onboarding practices that can be drawn from in order to
improve the onboarding practice in education within the United States. Since the
development of high-quality onboarding programs has been linked to reduced attrition and
increased productivity, we cannot ignore the increasing need to build stronger onboarding
programs as we see continue to see an increase in the teacher shortage (Howe, 2006). It is
important for districts to develop strong onboarding programs, which show the value of
the investment they make in their new teachers. There are significant costs associated
with human resources functions of recruiting, hiring, and training teachers which make
their retention even more noteworthy (DeCesare, Workman, & McClelland, 2016). High
quality teachers have a far-reaching impact that cannot be overlooked. “The fulcrum for
making major educational change is dedication to the success of the classroom teacher”
(Callahan, 2016).
Employee Onboarding Programs
Elements of comprehensive onboarding programs. Onboarding programs have
evolved over the course of time. The focus when onboarding was first introduced to the

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

human resources field was more geared to specific training areas within each individual’s
job responsibilities. This has grown over time to include a more holistic, strategic, longterm approach that is focused on getting the new hire to reach high levels of productivity in
the shortest amount of time possible (Dunn & Jasinski, 2009; Stein & Christiansen, 2010).
In the business sector, onboarding is traditionally a concept aimed at increasing
productivity and profit, whereas in the education field it can translate to increasing
productivity and student achievement. Select employee onboarding programs, such as the
programs designed at Martha Stewart Living, Micron Technology, and Mary Kay, are
outlined and scripted in a manner that allows for all new employees to undergo a similar
experience which is important for organizational growth (Sims, 2011). This is of greater
importance for larger organizations since there are many new employees onboarding at
one time. Similarly, the formal onboarding program utilized by L’Oreal is divided into a six
part integration program including: training, roundtable discussions, meetings with key
insiders, on-the-job learning supported by management, individual mentoring, and field
experience (Bauer, 2010).
The concept of onboarding begins with recruitment of staff. This must be viewed as
a continuous process that is grounded in the reputation of the employer (Bland, Church, &
Luo, 2014). When building an onboarding program, employers should identify what is
important to the organization and build the program backwards in order to incorporate all
that is vital (Suggs, 2014). They should also take into consideration how the employees
will know the relevance and importance of the program. If the onboarding program is
simply known as the onboarding program, employees may associate it as just another
compliant aspect of the organization. However, if the employer brands the onboarding

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

program, the employees will more likely view it as a fabric of the organization (Stein &
Christiansen, 2010). Employers should take pride in developing recruitment materials
both in print and electronic forms that introduce potential employees to the organization
and the surrounding area. Additionally, social media and online job portals can be used to
expand recruitment efforts and reach more potential new employees (Nagendra, 2014).
The beginning of an individual’s employment within an organization may be a time
of stress, especially if adequate support is not provided, which can cause the employee to
feel unprepared and unconfident in him or herself (Dias-Lacey & Guirguis, 2017;
Zembytska, 2016). New employees could be described as survivalists (Unwin, 2015).
Onboarding programs must be designed with this in mind. During this period,
organizations should focus on enhancing future job performance and building a foundation
for innovation (Keisling & Laning, 2016). This will lead to employee engagement and the
development of a professional identity that is aligned to the organization and its mission
and values (Baker & DePiro, 2019; Keisling & Laning, 2016).
In a research-based model of onboarding practices, Bauer (2010) identifies the
following processes as integral for achieving successful onboarding: recruiting, orientation,
process support, coaching/mentoring, training, and feedback. These can be designed
through an onboarding roadmap so that new employees are aware of the intentionality of
delivering each step (Bauer, 2010). When these steps are followed by an evaluation by the
new employee, organizations are guaranteeing themselves that they are building
responsive onboarding programs that can have significant impact on employee attitudes
and connectedness (Israel, Kamman, McCray, & Sindelar, 2014).

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Onboarding is mutually beneficial to the employee and employer. For the employee,
it provides them with the tools that they need as they are entering a new workplace. For
the employer, it allows a process to build capacity which strengthens the overall
organization. Suggs (2014) cites that it takes approximately twenty weeks for professional
employees to reach full productivity, and they must be supported during that time in order
to do so. Employers should not simply be interested in personnel administration. They
must focus on the constant improvement of their employees in order to achieve the goals of
the organization (Bercu, 2017).
In order for onboarding programs to develop into effective programs, employers
must engage in reflective practices that assist in future advancement. Programs should
seek the feedback of those who have been a part of their onboarding process so that they
can tailor the program in the future to the needs of the new employees (Sims, 2011). And
while programs may be accustomed to surveying their constituents, they should also
consider the value in assessing themselves. Those involved in the planning of the
onboarding program should ask insightful questions focused on whether they make their
new hires feel welcomed or if the are designing the program from the employee’s
perspective (Suggs, 2014).
In school districts, induction programs have often served as the onboarding
program. However, there are various elements that take traditional induction programs
and turn them into comprehensive onboarding programs. These include recruitment,
orientation, one-on-one mentoring, coaching, and ongoing professional development
within a learning community (Bland, Church, & Luo, 2014; Moir, 2009; Zembytska, 2016).

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Levels of onboarding. Four distinct levels of onboarding have been identified by
Bauer (2010) through her research which has become seminal in the human resources
field. These levels, also coined as the Four C’s, are compliance, clarification, culture, and
connection (Bauer, 2010). Each of the levels builds upon one another, yet few
organizations formally program to achieve each level.
The compliance level, which is the lowest level of onboarding, provides new
employees with basic policies and laws relevant to the job (Bauer, 2010). Nearly all
organizations implement this level of onboarding. Many organizations incorporate this
through an orientation program. One example of a way to support new staff through the
compliance level of onboarding is to provide a New Employee Handbook (Sowell, 2017).
When organizations stop at this level of onboarding they build knowledge in their new
staff, but do not create systematic change.
Clarification occurs at level two and keeps organizations in a more passive role of
onboarding (Bauer, 2010). This level ensures that the teaching that occurred in level one is
understood by the new employees. There is some two-way interaction between the
employer and the new employee, but this remains focused on policies and job-related
functions (Bauer, 2010).
The latter two levels are not only focused on knowledge gained, but are aimed to
change the behavior of the participants (Bercu, 2017). These two levels are what make
onboarding programs strategic and systematic, instead of just superficial orientation
programs (Stein & Christiansen, 2010). Level three, known as culture, focuses on providing
employees with the organization’s norms (Bauer, 2010). Whereas level four, connection,
creates opportunities to build interpersonal relationships and networks in both formal and

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informal ways (Bauer, 2010). In a study conducted by Meyer and Bartels (2017) it is
reasonable to conclude that onboarding programs that equitably focus on all four levels of
onboarding net employees with greater organizational commitment and higher job
satisfaction.
When developing onboarding programs, organizations should place focus on
developing formal aspects of each level of onboarding. Levels one and two may seem more
pressing for brand new employees, however employers cannot underestimate the value of
continuing the onboarding program into levels three and four in a formal, systematically
designed program. Attention should also be given to ensuring that the following four
concepts are interwoven across all levels: self-confidence, role clarity, social integration,
and organizational culture (Bauer, 2010).
Employee Orientation
New teacher induction. New teacher induction programs have become more
widely utilized over the past few decades. Many states have implemented legislation that
mandates districts to develop and implement induction for new teachers. In Pennsylvania,
new teacher induction became mandatory in 1987 (Pennsylvania Department of Education,
2019). Other states have built model induction programs that are widely referenced in
literature. California developed the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessments (BTSA)
program, which is funded at the state level (Howe, 2006). New teachers in Connecticut
must participate in the state’s induction program, known as Beginning Educator Support
and Training (BEST) which has evolved since 1986 (Howe, 2006).
Induction programs can take many forms. Many programs contain basic elements,
such as an orientation component (Ingersoll, 2012; Suggs, 2014). To some, induction has

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become synonymous with orientation, which limits the scope of the intent. To others,
mentoring has become synonymous with induction (Pennanen, Bristol, Wilkinson, &
Heikkinen, 2016). The purpose of induction programs is to improve teaching and learning,
enhance professional efficacy, transfer valuable cultural aspects of the organization, all
with the goal of retaining the teacher within the district (Sadiq, Ramzan, & Akhtar, 2017).
It would be unreasonable to expect that these goals can be met simply by offering a preemployment orientation.
There are various levels in induction programs, such as recruitment, training,
employment, and support (Perry & Hayes, 2011). It is imperative that when designing
induction programs, districts do not stop short of providing sustained support. Some
induction programs include supports, such as year long mentoring, regularly scheduled
communication with building leadership, common planning time with other teachers, peer
observations, professional learning networks, a reduced teaching schedule, and classroom
support from a teacher’s aide (Howe, 2006; Ingersoll, 2012; Perry & Hayes, 2011).
California’s BTSA program focuses on ongoing, intense refinement of classroom practice
(Howe, 2006). Therefore, the focus moves beyond compliance levels of orientation
programs, and places an emphasis on developing teaching practice. When studied,
programs that provide such increased supports to new teachers have a very large effect on
their acclimatization and long-term commitment within the organization (Ingersoll, 2012).
Mitchell, Howard, Meetze-Hall, Hendrick, and Sandlin (2017) cite the Center for Teacher
innovation’s cyclical model of induction that includes extending knowledge, application,
reflection, and collaboration.

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It is important to consider that the initial period following teachers being hired will
contribute to the manner in which they approach their work over time. In a study
completed by the government of Punjab, it was observed that induction programs will
serve as the backbone for what new teachers practice throughout their careers and will
contribute to the development of their outlook on teaching (Sadiq, Ramzan, & Akhtar,
2017). In an analysis of induction programs conducted by Howe (2006) of Australia,
Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States, common
attributes were identified, all of which allowed new teachers to develop together in a
supportive environment that focused on collaboration, reflection, and assimilation into
their profession and organization. However, the programs in Germany, Japan, and New
Zealand are far more robust than those in existence in the United States (Howe, 2006).
These are nationally endorsed programs that are requirements for all new teachers
entering their workforce and are developed with the purpose of enhancing their workforce.
For instance, Japanese induction programs require new teachers to complete the
equivalent of 125 days of professional development while in their first year of teaching so
that they are working in a hands-on environment, rich in collaboration with their mentor
teacher (Howe, 2006).
In a study conducted by Dias-Lacey & Guirguis (2017), new teachers cite work
overload, lack of support from other teachers, lack of support from administration,
discipline challenges, and curriculum challenges as the top five sources of stress in their
first year of teaching. Therefore, induction programs must strive to overcome such
stressors for their new employees. The research on induction programs indicates that
more comprehensive programs have a relationship with teacher assuredness which can be

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linked to teacher retention (Perry & Hayes, 2011). While not all induction programs are
found to have an effect on new employees, those that are strategic and highly structured in
their design show the greatest impact (Ariffin, Hasim, & Yusof, 2014). It also can be fairly
stated that more comprehensive programs come with an increased cost. While all of the
additional supports can serve as valuable, many are also tied to an increased financial
obligation. It is important for school districts, when developing induction programs, to
consider how best to provide ample support to their new teachers, consider the associated
costs, and determine a cost-benefit analysis of investing in their greatest asset: their
teachers.
Role of leadership. One aspect of new teacher induction programs that cannot be
overlooked is the role of building principals. These are typically the individuals who seek
to hire the new teachers that are coming on board and should play an integral role in
supporting them once they are there. New teachers will often look to their building
principal for direction. During student teaching, they received support from the supporting
teacher and university faculty. When new teachers enter the teaching field, they will need
similar connections in the beginning so that they are able to make a successful transition
(Wood, 2005). If they do not receive ample support from their building leader, they are left
with a negative perception and could develop a disconnect from the profession from the
start (Baker-Gardner, 2015; Wood, 2005). This support must be timely, with immediate
help and feedback within the first month not tapering off until individually appropriate
(Martin, Buelow, & Hoffman, 2015).
In a comprehensive program, there should be an identified manner in which
principals play a role in the induction process. As stated, since they serve as the new

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teacher recruiter, they should also serve as the new teacher advocate and retainer (Wood,
2005). Principals should be aware of their role in the process specific to building school
culture, serving as the instructional leader, and coordinating and supporting mentorship
(Wood, 2005). Selecting the correct mentor for each new teacher is integral. Principals
should be aware of what characteristics to consider when choosing mentors. Selection
criteria should include interpersonal skills, instructional effectiveness, informal and formal
leadership, content-area and grade-level expertise (Zembytska, 2016). Additionally,
principals should select teachers who are trustworthy, non-judgmental, empathetic, and
effective communicators (Hall, Hughes, & Thelk, 2017). Many induction programs simply
select veteran teachers as mentors instead of identifying the correct fit for the mentee
(Athanases et al., 2008). Principals should strive to weave the induction program into the
fabric of the school so that it isn’t viewed as checklist compliance, but as meaningful
development of their staff.
Principals set the tone of their buildings. When they place a strong value on
employee growth, they are acknowledging the benefits of continued development (Moir,
2009). By providing an environment that supports the development of teachers, principals
are establishing a culture that helps to positively define their schools (Callahan, 2016).
Building principals should strive to offer opportunities to develop high-quality
relationships with their new teachers (Lapointe, Vandenberghe, & Boudrais, 2014). This
can be accomplished by developing instructional sessions that help to convey relevant
information to the new employees (Baker-Gardner, 2015). This gives the principal an
opportunity to impart information to the new employees, while building a relationship
with them. This also requires principals to be connected to best practices connecting them

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to the needs of the new employees so that the sessions are viewed as beneficial (BakerGardner, 2015).
Another factor that can show the dedication of the building principal to the
development of teachers involved in a new teacher induction program is the role they play
in the instructional process. Principals who conduct regular walkthroughs and
unannounced visits to new teachers’ classrooms send an unspoken message that they value
the new teacher and are interested in them. Early observations and evaluations can be a
good mechanism to provide new teachers with a sense of accomplishment that they can
build upon (Stein & Christiansen, 2010). In a study conducted by Keisling and Laning
(2016) teachers reported that more frequent check-ins and attention led to a higher level
of satisfaction in their first year. Further, while most new teacher induction programs do
not include this job-embedded element of the program, principals modeling lessons for
novice teachers can be a powerful learning tool that nurtures teacher learning (Molitor,
Burkett, Cunningham, Dell, & Presta, 2014; Wood, 2005). This practice also shows a level
of vulnerability by the principal and can help the new teacher to see them as a support
more than an authority.
Teachers interfacing with their principals tends to happen more naturally and more
regularly at the elementary level. Therefore, while it is important for all principals to be
cognizant of how they will support their new teachers, it is of even greater importance for
secondary principals to do this deliberately. New teachers rely on regular feedback, similar
to that which they received during their student teaching. Principals must provide
feedback and ongoing communication in instructional areas and classroom management
strategies, while offering support to new teachers emotionally (Wood, 2005).

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Mentoring and Professional Support
Mentoring and coaching. The National Education Association, as cited by Perry
and Hayes (2011), indicate that “mentoring is best suited to helping new teachers translate
their academic knowledge into meaningful instruction.” One of the most effective reasons
that mentoring is useful is because it is a non-evaluative way to provide important
feedback, support, and advocacy (Bland, Church, & Luo, 2014; Leimann, Murdock, & Waller,
2008). Mentoring creates intentional support for new teachers who may be too reluctant
to seek out support on their own (Lee et. al., 2006; Martin, Buelow, & Hoffman, 2015). This
is particularly important since new teachers are not always sure of who can help them be
successful (Keisling & Laning, 2016).
Mentoring has become an important element of new teacher induction programs in
schools. Historically, mentoring has been viewed as a relationship between two people
where there is a one-way imparting of knowledge. Mentoring programs typically focus on
orientation to the role, technical advice, and local advice (Athanases et al., 2008).
Organization is a factor that mentors should orient their mentees to so that they can be
effective in a fast-paced, accountable work setting (Lee et. al., 2006). Mentor teachers can
also be responsible for assisting teachers with meeting basic needs and the emotional
adjustment to their new role and to their schools, providing feedback through
observations, and assisting teachers perform functions of their role that they are less
familiar with, such as analyzing assessment data (Leimann, Murdock, & Waller, 2008;
Martin, Buelow, & Hoffman, 2015). Successful mentoring programs offer a reciprocal
opportunity for new teachers to engage in open and honest communication with
experienced teachers where the mentor teacher fosters opportunities for growth and

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development and creates the habit of reflective practice (Callahan, 2016; Lee et. al., 2016;
Pennanene, Bristol, Wilkinson, & Heikkinen, 2016). While not all mentor programs include
all of these components, a comprehensive program will consider these as key aspects.
There are various models of mentoring across school districts in the United States
and throughout the world. In a study conducted by Pennanen, Bristol, Wilkinson, and
Heikkinen (2016) mentoring programs in Finland and Australia were reviewed. In Finland,
new teachers participate on a voluntary basis in mentor groups of four to eight teachers
and meet monthly (Pennanen, Bristol, Wilkinson, and Heikkinen, 2016). The members of
these groups are responsible for motivating one another by planning and implementing
their own professional learning throughout the year (Pennanen, Bristol, Wilkinson, and
Heikkinen, 2016). Finland’s model focuses on socialization and growth. Australia takes a
different, more traditional approach that is more aligned to the typical mentoring program
in the United States. In Australia, new teachers are placed in one-on-one mentoring
relationships, however they must fulfill specified standards of the program in order to
maintain employment and become an accredited teacher (Pennanen, Bristol, Wilkinson,
and Heikkinen, 2016).
Mentors have a very important role that cannot be understated. Essentially, they
must focus on the positive aspects of teaching, such as helping students grow and
contributing positively to the community, while not allowing their own stressors to impact
their mentoring relationship (Perry & Hayes, 2011; Sowell, 2017). In some districts
mentors simply complete a to-do list with their mentee. However, when mentors engage in
instructional mentoring or individual coaching sessions they are helping new teachers to
set goals, plan, analyze, and reflect (Martin, Buelow, & Hoffman, 2015; Moir, 2009; Wilson

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& Lawton-Smith, 2016). All of these are skills, while not easily acquired, will serve a new
teacher invaluably throughout their career.
It is important for mentors and mentees to be aware that mentoring will not remove
all barriers. There will still be stressful situations that occur for new teachers. Therefore,
mentors must continue to remind the mentee that as these circumstances occur, they
should approach each situation calmly and be focused on problem solving instead of the
problem itself (Ariffin, Hashim, & Yusof, 2014; Lee et. al., 2006). This is strengthened when
the mentor relationship takes a humanistic, person-centered approach (Norman-Ganser,
2004).
Having mentors serve as coaches is an effective way to support new teachers with
the actual teaching and learning process. When this is built into mentoring programs, it
encourages new teachers to review and reflect on their own teaching in order to grow and
improve (Carr, Holmes, & Flynn, 2017). It is possible for programs to utilize the same
mentor for all aspects of the mentorship. It is also feasible for the program design to
incorporate different, more specialized individuals as instructional coaches (Carr, Holmes,
& Flynn, 2017).
Coaching, which can be described as human development, can either take the form
of observations with feedback or modeling of lessons by the mentor (Sowell, 2017; Wilson
& Lawton-Smith, 2016). Due to its one-on-one nature, coaching has been viewed as a more
effective way to increase confidence and self-assuredness (Wilson & Lawton-Smith, 2016).
This is a means to grow more innovative employees than through traditional professional
learning that is textbook or lecture based. In the business sector, specifically in the telecom
market, the field changes so quickly that training and support must be adaptive as well

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(Wilson & Lawton-Smith, 2016). Therefore, this field utilizes coaching in their onboarding
programs so that the training provided is not outdated. The field of education can learn
from this approach since the field implements change at a much slower pace, despite
increasing needs.
There are factors that can negatively impact the success of mentor programs which
employers should be aware of. Cost is often a reason that mentoring programs do not
succeed (Carr, Holmes, & Flynn, 2017; DeCesare, Workman, & McClelland, 2016). Another
factor that can interfere with building a strong mentor-mentee relationship is time (Carr,
Holmes, & Flynn, 2017; DeCesare, Workman, & McClelland, 2016; Zembytska, 2016).
Mentees must feel that the mentor is available to them (Sowell, 2017). While the mentor is
performing tasks associated with their role as a mentor, they still have their own job
responsibilities as a teacher (DeCesare, Workman, & McClelland, 2016). It is for this reason
that some districts have opted to utilize retired teachers as mentors (Callahan, 2016;
Zembytska, 2016). In a study conducted in Aurora Public Schools by DeCesare, McClelland,
and Randel (2017), pairing new teachers with retired teacher mentors even had a positive
impact on student achievement in the first year of the program.
Mentor programs may develop a negative connotation to those in the organization if
the mentor-mentee relationship is not carefully selected. Mentors must be carefully
selected and thoroughly trained, or they could end up having a negative impact (Hall,
Hughes, & Thelk, 2017). A mismatch of personalities, values, or work ethic can make the
program itself appear to be ineffective (Carr, Holmes, & Flynn, 2017)
Mentoring, though, cannot stand-alone. Mentoring must be accompanied by other
aspects of onboarding in order to be most effective, such as coaching, resource connection,

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and professional development (Athanases et al., 2008). Additionally, mentoring cannot be
implemented simply to comply with policy. Mentoring is a process, not an event. It must
be done with intention and designed to truly support the new hires within the organization
(Carr, Holmes, & Flynn, 2017).
Personalized, professional development. Professional development should be a
main component of onboarding programs for new teachers. Employees perform better if
the professional development they engage in has a direct impact on their job performance
(Bercu, 2017). Many onboarding programs in schools provide a level of administrative and
collegial support, but not as many provide opportunities for ongoing, embedded
professional learning (Zembytska, 2016). Strong programs incorporate experiential
learning, social learning, and classroom learning within their programs (Adragna, 2018).
Specific areas of professional development that should be considered are classroom
management, assessment, building relationships with students, communication with
families, engaging with the community, legal aspects of the job, and professionalism
(Leimann, Murdock, & Waller, 2008; Sowell, 2017). Classroom management is especially
important since many teachers who leave the profession cite struggles in this area as a
primary reason (Baker, Gentry, & Larmer, 2016). There must also be a dedicated focus on
the participant’s own teaching followed by reflection that connects to the pedagogy of
effective teaching strategies (Unwin, 2015).
Professional development can take many shapes. One effective method is the
utilization of collaboration circles. This allows for authentic discussion about topics, such
as lesson planning, while sharing tips and strategies with colleagues (Bentley & Cason,
2019). Collaboration circles could also take the approach of book studies so that new

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teachers are able to connect their practice to literature, however it is important not to
overwhelm the new staff members in their first year (Sowell, 2017). Since collaboration
circles are unique to each group engaged, they are a way to deliver non-tailor-made
professional learning (Bentley & Cason, 2019). A point that should be instilled in new
teachers, though, is that professional development should always be taking place (Bills,
Giles, & Rogers, 2016). Attendance at planned events should not be the only time teachers
are focused on growth and learning.
Personalization of the offerings in an induction program can enhance the buy-in of
those participating. This can be likened to the manner in which we personalize learning for
our students. There are unique nuances on the job for teachers at elementary, middle, and
secondary levels, along with differences for specialists such as guidance counselors or
special educators. This creates a need for personalizing and differentiating professional
development to ensure that teachers are receiving specific support aimed at improving
them within their role without creating an overwhelming feeling (Bentley & Cason, 2019;
Martin, Buelow, & Hoffman, 2015). By differentiating the learning opportunities for new
teachers, programs become more adaptive and responsive and do not limit learning to a
one-size fits-all approach (Molitor, Burkett, Cunningham, Dell, & Presta, 2014; WinsteadFry, 2010). One way that districts can assess the manner in which they determine the
offerings within an induction program is by utilizing a Beginning Teacher Needs
Assessment (Leimann, Murdock, & Waller, 2008). This is a way to ensure that teachers are
receiving the supports that they have identified a need for and are not engaged in activities
that do not hold personal meaning to their work. While it is encouraged to personalize
learning, this should not be misconstrued into making learning voluntary (Klein, Polin, &

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Sutton, 2015). Permitting staff to engage in professional learning at their own will could be
detrimental to their own development in they did not opt to participate.
Online support. Online support can play an instrumental role in onboarding
programs. Select corporations have transitioned their onboarding programs into fully
online programs. For instance, Marriott, Holiday Inn, and Hyatt have moved away from a
classroom setting for their program delivery and have built an e-learning platform in order
to ensure that self-guided onboarding programs are delivered uniformly to all new
employees across the world (West & Barnard, 2010). However, many other organizations
including school entities utilize online resources, but do not allow it to dominate the
program and supplant personal interaction. Effective onboarding programs require an
intersecting blend of people, online resources, and processes (Adragna, 2018). It is
important to not lose the personal aspect of onboarding with online programs which can
lead to a disconnect and potential content overload (Sims, 2011).
The utilization of online programming in onboarding can help from a planning and
coordination perspective. When employees are hired at various times in the year, it can be
cumbersome to schedule employee orientation programs intermittently (West & Barnard,
2010). Yet it is important for new employees to be introduced to important information
upon hire, so they cannot wait until it is logistically viable to schedule an orientation
session to receive information. This is a prime opportunity for employers to develop online
systems that deliver important orientation information in a timely fashion. It is also
important to consider the fact that many newly hired employees who are entering the
workforce are digital natives (Gong, Ramkissoon, Greenwood, & Hoyte, 2018). For
employers who choose to utilize online programming, it is important that they remain

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updated on new technologies that can be interwoven for even greater impact (Unwin,
2015).
One tool that can be integrated into an onboarding program and enhance its value is
the use of online discussions (Moir, 2009; Unwin, 2015). Asynchronous online discussion
boards can be used by the teachers at any time so they do not feel constrained by a
designated time commitment. Online discussion board topics should be supportive and
encourage the development of sound teaching strategies (Unwin, 2015). They should not
be used to complain or commiserate. They can also contain relevant scenarios that help the
novice teacher strategize solutions to common problems within the field. Online forums
can also be a means to provide new teachers with specific resources that they can review as
needed at their convenience (Moir, 2009). Additionally, participants can bring individual
meaning to the process by identifying something that interests them within their own
classroom and problem solve with peers (Unwin, 2015). In order to intertwine all aspects
of the onboarding process, mentors could also participate in the online discussions so that
there is veteran perspective provided (Baker, Gentry, & Larmer, 2016).
Mentor training and organizational support. In order for mentors to be effective,
they must know the expectations of the role and receiving training in order to perform it.
Mentors themselves report the need for increased training in order to be effective in their
mentorship (Sowell, 2017). In a study conducted by DeCesare, Workman, and McClelland
(2016) only one-third of states reviewed require mentors to receive training. This calls for
the attention of school districts to consider implementing training in their programs.
Not only will mentors be there to assist new employees with basic functions, but
they will also play a meaningful role in developing their mentees as professionals. Their

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training as a teacher was focused on working with students, however when serving as a
mentor it is important not to undervalue potential training for providing a helping and
empowering response to an adult through effective communication skills (Dias-Lacey &
Guirguis, 2017; Leimann, Murdock, & Waller, 2008; Sowell, 2017). Providing feedback in a
non-judgmental way is an important skill for a mentor to hone (Bland, Church, & Luo,
2014). It will be important for mentors to be trained in serving as a sounding board,
making suggestions, and connecting mentees to resources, instead of simply directing them
what to do (Sowell, 2017). The latter approach would not effectively teach the mentee how
to problem solve for him or herself. Additionally, the mentor must establish a comfortable
and trusting relationship rooted in empathy so that the feedback provided is received
positively (Lee et. al., 2006; Norman & Ganser, 2004). Simply put, they will serve as a
leader and role model for new teachers (Hall, Hughes, & Thelk, 2017).
Mentors must engage in their own self-reflection. This will allow them to help their
mentees engage in the same behavior. This may not be as typical and self-explanatory as
one would anticipate, therefore, this should be a component of mentor training. Mentors
should also be trained in goal setting, which should apply to both the mentor and mentee
(Lee et. al., 2006).
Mentor training programs should be a priority when developing onboarding
programs. If mentors are not properly trained, they could conceivably pass along outdated
practices that are not effective for effective for the new teachers to acquire (Sowell, 2017).
Mentors should be trained to conduct observations so that the mentee is engaged in jobembedded learning (Bland, Church, & Luo, 2014). Failure to adequately train mentors can
have a negative impact on the teachers who are receiving the support (Martin, Buelow, &

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Hoffman, 2015). Mentoring programs are only as strong as the mentors involved (Callahan,
2016).
As the old adage goes, “we are only as strong as our weakest link.” This should be
considered when building an onboarding program. The organization, as a whole, will
benefit by building and investing in its human capital. Dunn and Jasinski (2009) view
synergism of a staff as an important concept when developing new employees. This
requires teamwork and departments working collectively as a group (Dunn & Jasinski,
2009). This concept also reinforces the value of challenging and learning from our most
experienced teachers (Moir, 2009).
New Employee Socialization
Practices that impact employee socialization. Employee socialization is an
important aspect of all onboarding programs. This can be defined as the process where
employees learn about and become entrenched in and bonded to their new role,
organization, and its culture (Klein & Weaver, 2000). This should be viewed as the
development of people instead of the development of competencies. Organizations should
have a goal that new employees feel like a valued member of the organization at the
conclusion of the onboarding program. Throughout the process, there should be an
intentionality to transfer the organizational culture to the new employee, while integrating
him or her into the social framework of the organization (Dunn & Jasinski, 2009; Meter &
Bartels, 2017). Social acceptance is powerful and can influence long-term job performance
and commitment to the organization (Fleming, Goldman, Correll, & Taylor, 2016).
Onboarding programs that focus on employee socialization reach the third and fourth
levels of Bauer’s theory, Culture and Connection (Meyer & Bartels, 2017). As employers

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increase opportunities for socialization, they decrease uncertainty and increase
connectedness (Lapointe, Vandenberghe, & Boudrias, 2014).
It is essential that upon hire, new employees be welcomed so that they develop
positive attitudes and beliefs toward the organization (Fleming, Goldman, Correll, & Taylor,
2016; Meyer & Bartels, 2017). Employee immersion drives the biggest gains and creates
the highest levels of productivity (Stein & Christiansen, 2010). This is done informally
through employee interactions, and formally through the onboarding program itself. One
way for this to occur informally is simply by fostering relationships. An important aspect of
socialization is the passing on of traditions, customs, myths, and stories related to the
organization (Klein & Weaver, 2000). Additionally, employees who regularly receive
feedback and have strong role models have been found to identify stronger commitment to
the organization over time (Meyer & Bartels, 2017). It is not surprising that employees
who build connections and experience networking opportunities throughout their
onboarding program rate the program with greater satisfaction (Meyer & Bartels, 2017).
The goal for organizations is to create an environment where new employees engage in
formal organizational socialization to enough of an extent that they feel comfortable taking
their own steps to engage in future informal socialization (Fleming, Goldman, Correll, &
Taylor, 2016).
New employees should have the opportunity to socialize with the existing members
of the school community. They should also be provided with opportunities to socialize
with other inductees (Fleming, Goldman, Correll, & Taylor, 2016). This will allow them to
become engrained in the existing and future culture of the organization, for which they will

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play a role. Doing so has a pervasive impact on the new employee’s socialization (Suggs,
2014).
Socialization within organizations is important. It is also important to consider the
value of socializing employees to the full organization, beyond the department they are
assigned to. In schools, socialization should occur with members of the full school
community and should not be limited to those who share the same grade level or content
area (Fleming, Goldman, Correll, & Taylor, 2016). This will allow new employees to
become engrained in the full culture of the organization and not simply the ideals that are
readily accepted by those in the same role as them which will lead to the development of a
cohesive school community.
Research has indicated that comprehensive new teacher induction programs not
only help new teachers with effective teaching practices, but also have a significant impact
on their development of a professional identity (Howe, 2006). Socialization should be done
with intentionality through an onboarding program, otherwise it will occur on its own but
the outcome will be left to chance. Principals have the ability to impact employee
socialization when assigning mentors who are respected and portray positivity within the
school community (Wood, 2005).
Factors that impact the socialization of millennial employees. Many of the new
employees entering the workforce are considered millennials. In fact, they make up the
largest, most educated generation in the United States workforce (Gong, Ramkissoon,
Greenwood, & Hoyte, 2018). Millennials can be defined as those individuals born between
1980-2000 and have distinct needs and motivations when compared to other generational
groups (Abrams, 2018). Employers must understand the nuances of this demographic

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group in order to recruit, train, motivate, and support them, specifically because a majority
of new teachers from this point forward are millennials (Abrams, 2018; Gong, Ramkissoon,
Greenwood, & Hoyte, 2018). Millennials are apt to be high achieving, high-energy, multitaskers who think on a global level and are accustomed to personalization and immediacy
(Abrams, 2018). They will likely need high levels of engagement from the beginning of the
onboarding process (Vargas, 2013). Their big picture perspective should be considered
when developing the onboarding program so that it does not have solely a task-driven
focus (Vargas, 2013).
For many millennials, they are entering the professional workforce for the first time.
Employers must consider orienting them to the role, along with orienting them to the
world of work (Vargas, 2013). Consideration should be given to handling conflict, learning
from constructive criticism, and communication skills with teammates and leaders (Vargas,
2013).
Knowing the characteristics of millennial employees is important, since employers
will need to gear practices to align to their needs and motivations. Having an onboarding
program that does not offer timely information could be troubling to a millennial.
Providing detailed information and a means to access all information electronically would
likely be preferred by millennial employees (Abrams, 2018). Since they have grown up in a
culture of immediacy, employers cannot wait to support them. Ample information should
be provided and should not be difficult to access of locate (Gong, Ramkissoon, Greenwood,
& Hoyte, 2018). Further, many basic human resources functions are augmented through
the use of social media, which is appealing to millennial employees (Nagendra, 2014).

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Millennial employees also tend to prefer working collaboratively, in teams (Abrams,
2018). They are innovators and are eager to identify new ways to help the organization
(Gong, Ramkissoon, Greenwood, & Hoyte, 2018). In a study conducted by Gong,
Ramkissoon, Greenwood, & Hoyte (2018), millennials were found to develop greater role
innovation when faced with opportunities for service and dedication to the organization
than when they are simply presented with policy driven, technical tasks. Millennials also
wish to be viewed as valued partners interested in creating change and often do not
perceive the hierarchy in the same manner as other generations (Abrams, 2018). For this
reason, mentors need to understand this as they approach their role. Otherwise, there
could be role confusion and misinterpretation simply based on generational differences.
Additionally, due to their collaborative nature, soliciting feedback from millennial
employees throughout the onboarding process shows an organizational commitment and
values their feedback for future development of the onboarding process (Vargas, 2013).
Employee Perception of Onboarding Process
Employee engagement and job satisfaction. Two goals of strong onboarding
programs are to produce greater job satisfaction and achieve an alignment to the value
system of the organization (Spanjol, Tam, & Tam, 2015). It is important for employees to
embrace the same vision and values of their employer for maximized success. Employers
who offer opportunities for employee development tend to have more satisfied employees
(Bercu, 2017). This is because knowledge alone does not impact behavioral change (Suggs,
2014). Employees who have greater job satisfaction are more inclined to take on more
work and demonstrate a commitment to the organization (Spanjol, Tam, & Tam, 2015).
This results in a mutually beneficial relationship between the employee and employer.

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According to Bland, Church, & Luo (2014), teachers who feel welcome and have a
sense of belonging upon their arrival have been found to develop more positive attitudes.
Ballard and Blessing (2006) liken this concept to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. They cite
that once new employees feel belongingness, they can reach levels of personal satisfaction
which impacts positive output (Ballard & Blessing, 2006).
Peer mentoring has been associated with increased employee engagement and
satisfaction (Jakubik, Weese, Eliades, & Huth, 2017). Taking this one step further,
providing opportunities for new teachers to conduct peer observations of other teacher
leaders is an element of a comprehensive onboarding program. This is a component that
can have a great impact on employee engagement and does not simply treat the new
employee as a recipient of information. In order to achieve employee engagement that
leads to job satisfaction, peer mentoring should be incorporated into onboarding programs
regularly (Algozzine, Gretes, Queen, and Cowan-Hathcock (2007).
Dias-Lacey and Guirguis (2017) researched the coping strategies that most
supported the challenges of new teachers. In their qualitative study, they found that when
a novice teacher received the support she had been requesting, her emotions towards the
teaching professional overall changed dramatically (Dias-Lacey & Guirguis, 2017). We
cannot underestimate the value of simply listening and providing support, and the impact
that has on new teachers.
In a study of 451 new teachers in North Carolina which was conducted by Algozzine,
Gretes, Queen, and Cowan-Hathcock (2007), nearly 70% of the teachers indicated that their
induction program activities were effective. In the same study, 96% of respondents
indicated that the most valuable aspect of the induction program was when other teachers

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

made them feel part of the school community (Algozzine, Gretes, Queen, and CowanHathcock (2007). This data set is powerful as it illustrates that the highest impact to
teachers is the support from other teachers. Certain aspects of induction programs focus
on compliance and are necessary components of onboarding. However, in order to achieve
employee engagement and a sense of assimilation, programs must incorporate strategies
that acculturate new employees. As a respondent stated in a study conducted by Keisling
and Laning (2016), “people in a new job are very happy to be here, and the organization
should do as much as possible to capitalize on their enthusiasm.”
Commitment to the organization and retention. Comprehensive onboarding
programs must focus on not allowing novice teachers reach a level of disenfranchisement,
especially during an era of increased accountability and professional demands (Wood,
2005). While not always quantifiable, districts can be proactive in reducing attrition by
implementing strong teacher induction and mentoring programs (Bland, Church, & Luo,
2014; Callahan, 2016). Districts must guard against teacher attrition and teacher migration
(Norman & Ganser, 2004). Once a teacher is invested in, they should be developed with an
eye on maintaining them within the district. This is why it is important to provide specific
onboarding for both new teachers and teachers who are new to the district.
When implemented well, onboarding programs take a great deal of time and
resources, therefore organizations should strive to retain the employees that they invest in.
It is for this reason that employee preparedness is a main focus of onboarding programs, so
that the employees do not fall into isolation and, instead, remain confident and committed
well beyond the conclusion of the onboarding program (Callahan, 2016; Meyer & Bartels,
2017). Research conducted by Callahan (2016) has shown that confident employees

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directly correlate to employee retention. In a study conducted in the hospitality industry,
West and Barnard (2010) cite the most correlative reason for loss of productivity in
companies is a result of inexperienced staff who have not been trained to be efficient.
Similar results are found in the education field related to employee commitment and
retention of teachers. It has been shown that in order to have a positive impact on teacher
retention, the substance, intensity, and length of the mentoring program are critical
(Callahan, 2016).
Teacher retention is becoming a greater focus in the current era of education. Not
as many teachers are entering the field so it is important for employers to protect and
nurture their human capital. Further, the annual turnover rate in the education field is
13.2%, which is greater than the average of 11% in other fields (Bland, Church, & Luo,
2014). Additionally, nearly 30% of new teachers leave the profession during the first three
years of their careers (Winstead-Fry, 2010). These statistics are of grave concern, since
Zembytska (2016) reports that the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future
has calculated the cost of teacher turnover annually at over $7 billion inclusive of training,
recruiting, and hiring. When broken down, this can be attributed to $8,000 per teacher
(Callahan, 2016). This is a significantly high financial cost to school districts with an even
greater cost to student achievement (Carr, Holmes, & Flynn, 2017). Additionally, this is of
great importance since there are already many financial constraints placed on school
districts (Callahan, 2016).
Teachers will feel a sense of commitment to the organization if they feel valued.
Engaging them in the future development of the onboarding program by soliciting their
feedback is an effective way to display value (Vargas, 2013). In research cited by Carr,

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Holmes, and Flynn (2017) the implementation of onboarding practices, either in sum or in
isolation, has been found to reduce teacher turnover and decrease retention. Simply
stated, “[t]eachers flourish when they feel good about their work” (Bland, Church, & Luo,
2014).
Conclusion and Synthesis
There are many reasons for employers to develop comprehensive onboarding
programs. While the impetus of onboarding programs in businesses was based on financial
and market outcomes, improved employee attitudes and behaviors has had an equally
important impact on organizations (Spanjol, Tam, & Tam, 2015). Strong onboarding
programs in education must focus on the fact that the single greatest factor for success of
students is the teacher. Therefore, induction programs and onboarding programs that
focus solely on compliance and review of policies and practices do not help to grow the
individuals who will ultimately have the most significant impact on students. Additionally,
this is an area that requires greater development and research. Due to the fact that there
are not widespread examples of onboarding programs in the field of education, the
research of their impact on teacher retention and job satisfaction remains sparse. As
districts develop and implement comprehensive programs, research should focus on best
practices and elements that make them most successful.
While the state of Pennsylvania requires each local district to develop and
implement an induction program, it is not a state coordinated program. Therefore, districts
must develop their own program to support new teachers which leads to inconsistencies.
Comprehensive new teacher induction programs must be developed to include elements of

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onboarding that are present in other sectors of work in order to provide sustained support
that will have the greatest positive impact on new teachers.
An onboarding program should be developed with sound expectations and
components that are mandatory. There should also be elements of the program that are
more specific to each individual teacher based on their needs and role in the district. It is
important to remember that “although new teachers need support, forcing them to
participate in too many learning activities can adversely affect their teaching” (Algozzine,
Gretes, Queen, and Cowan-Hathcock (2007).
There is nothing profound about developing an onboarding program for new
teachers. However, the time and resources that are dedicated to developing a strong and
comprehensive program will yield an improved organization with the goals of retaining
teachers and building a culture of support for professionals. This will translate to support
for students.
CHAPTER III
Methodology
Purpose
There has never been a more important time in education than the present to
recruit and retain teachers that are hired. There is a teacher shortage nationwide, with
veteran teachers reaching the age of retirement and far less people entering the profession
on an annual basis to take their place (Mansfield, 2019). A review of literature indicates
that a key strategy in recruitment and retention used by organizations, including school
districts, is the onboarding process (Bauer, 2010; Bland, Church, & Luo, 2014; Perry &
Hayes, 2011).

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The Easton Area School District lacks a formal system for onboarding professional
employees. While the Easton Area School District implements an induction and mentoring
program for all newly hired professional staff in accordance with the Pennsylvania
Department of Education’s induction requirements, this induction program has been in
place for nearly twenty years with little modification over time. I have served in the
capacity of Assistant Superintendent in the Easton Area School District since 2014. During
this time period the District has been without a Director of Human Resources in two
instances totaling eighteen months and on both occasions I have provided direct oversight
to the Human Resources Department. This has allowed me to have an intimate review of
the onboarding process that is in place and has led me to recognize the need for
improvement. A review of the current induction program indicates that there is a threeday workshop prior to the start of the school year, followed by a one-year mentoring
process which includes a checklist of items for the mentor and mentee to review. Based on
literature, the current system does not rise to the level of a formal onboarding program and
is more closely aligned to the compliance tasks that are a single component, and basic level,
of true onboarding (Bauer, 2010).
The intent of this action research study is to identify key components of high quality,
research-based onboarding programs, along with identifying the opinions, experiences, and
needs of the newly hired professional staff within the Easton Area School District. The
development of a documented, comprehensive onboarding process will bring about
increased support and attention for newly hired professional employees from the time of
recruitment through their initial stages of employment within the Easton Area School
District. The end result will be the development of a formal onboarding process that

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includes elements of the District’s current practice along with best practices within the
field. The goal of implementing a formal process is to provide support to new staff
members during a potentially stressful time of entering a new position with the intent of
welcoming, engaging, and contributing to the development of confidence within the new
employees within the District.
For the purpose of this action research project, the following research questions
were developed.
Research Questions
1. How did the professional staff hired within the past five years rate their overall
onboarding experience?
2. What aspects of current District practice during onboarding impact employee
perception during the initial stage of employment in the District?
3. What elements in the initial stage of an onboarding process will have the greatest
impact in the engagement of staff and the development of the relationship between
the employee and District?
4. What methods will have the greatest impact in engaging newly hired employees by
providing the support, confidence, and readiness needed in order to feel prepared
as a new employee in the District?
Setting and Participants
The Easton Area School District is the twenty-first largest school district in the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The area is comprised of urban, suburban, and rural
communities spanning approximately thirty square miles, with a total population of over
63,000 people (Easton Area School District, 2017). The most appropriate socio-economic

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designation for the District would be middle class. However, the population across all
communities ranges from impoverished to upper class. Both the Easton community and
District alike take pride in a rich history and unparalleled sense of tradition. The School
District is nearly equidistant between New York City and Philadelphia, making it an
attractive location for individuals and families to settle in.
There are approximately 8,700 K-12 students in the Easton Area School District.
There are seven elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. The student
population is racially and culturally diverse with a representation of approximately 51.5%
Caucasian, 22% Hispanic, 18% African American, 5% Asian, and 3.5% multi-racial (Easton
Area School District, 2017). The District has encountered an increasingly transient student
population as families have moved to the area from New York and New Jersey for work
opportunities (Easton Area School District, 2017).
The demographics of the community and the demographics of the student
population are important factors from the perspective of the employer because they have
an impact on teacher recruitment and teacher retention (Geiger & Pivovarova, 2018). As
an organization, the Easton Area School District must be cognizant of the densely
populated Lehigh Valley area and the other options that prospective employees have when
determining which district to accept employment in. In the Lehigh Valley, alone, there are
twenty school districts. These districts range from large urban districts to small suburban
or rural districts. However, there are also large suburban and large rural districts.
Depending upon a teacher’s preference, the Easton Area School District may be more or
less desirable. For this reason, the District must ensure that it provides a supportive

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onboarding program so that even those staff members who are entering the district with
reservation feel supported and this leads to a positive experience.
The student demographics across the Lehigh Valley schools are equally diverse.
There are districts with very high economically disadvantaged and minority populations,
while there are other districts with very little diversity. Since the Easton Area School
District is very diverse in its enrollment, the District must be aware of the needs teachers
will have as they transition into such a circumstance. Essentially, a one-size-fits-all
instructional approach will likely be unsuccessful, and the District must provide the
correlative professional development to its newly hired teaching staff in order to engage
them so that they develop into confident and prepared teachers (Coffey, Putnam, Handler &
Leach, 2019).
Another factor that impacts teachers selecting districts and remaining in districts is
the compensation. Currently, the Easton Area School District’s average teacher salary is
$78,587 which is within the top one-third of the districts in the Lehigh Valley (Forecast5
Analytics, 2020). This is a promising aspect for the recruitment process for the Easton
Area School District, but one that cannot stand alone. Maintaining a competitive starting
and average teacher salary certainly assists in recruiting staff members, but once the staff
members are hired they must also be supported in order to be successful and remain
within the District (Gunther, 2019). A consideration that also must be a component of
long-term planning is the sustainability of competitive teacher pay specifically due to the
impact a recession could play so that hiring continues and furloughs are avoided (Stover,
2009). This is especially important in the current COVID-19 nationwide pandemic since

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there is no certainty as to the short or long-term impact this will have on school districts
and the economy moving forward.
Student and community demographics, along with teacher pay, are largely out of the
control of District leaders. While the compensation is typically bargained by a team of
Board members and administrators, the compensation package that is offered must be
within the financial means of the District’s budget and tax base. Therefore, districts must
ensure that its teachers are provided with the necessary support during their transition
into the district so that they remain committed to the District.
The Easton Area School District employs 602.5 professional employees (Easton Area
School District, 2020). Professional employees include teachers, school counselors, school
psychologists, school nurses, and a behavior specialist. The staff is comprised of mostly
veteran teachers. There are one hundred twenty-three (123) staff members with twenty or
more years in the District. Three hundred seventy-six (376) teachers have been employed
in the district for 10-19.9 years. Only twenty-nine (29) teachers have been working in the
Easton Area School District for 5-9.9 years. Seventy-five teachers (75) have worked for the
District for less than five years, with three (3) of them being hired within the past three
months.
The teachers who are hired in the Easton Area School District come from a variety of
backgrounds. There are many local colleges and universities with strong education
programs, including but not limited to Lehigh University, Moravian College, and East
Stroudsburg University. The Easton Area School District has developed relationships with
these and other post-secondary institutions for the purpose of recruiting strong candidates.
There is, however, a balance of teachers hired directly out of college and quite a few from

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other school districts, including those located in New Jersey. Many professional staff
members in the Easton Area School District have come into the teaching profession as a
second career.
This action research study focuses on the experiences of the newly hired
professional staff within the Easton Area School District. For the purpose of this study,
newly hired professional staff has been defined as those with less than five years of
experience in the Easton Area School District. The total number of staff members who
meet this criterion is seventy-five (75). However, three (3) of the newly hired staff
members were hired within the past three months and therefore have not yet participated
in the District’s induction program. For this reason, the total sample used for this research
project is seventy-two (72). Only twenty-four (24) of the newly hired professional staff
members came to the District directly out of college. Ten (10) of the staff members had
taught previously in other states. The remaining thirty-eight (38) staff members had
worked in other Pennsylvania school districts, charter schools, or an Intermediate Unit.
The newly hired professional staff members span teachers of Kindergarten through grade
12 in various content areas including special education and English as a Second Language,
and also include certified school counselors, certified school psychologists, certified school
nurses, and a behavior specialist as identified in the Table 1 (Easton Area School District,
2020).
Table 1
Newly Hired Professional Staff

Classroom Teacher

Elementary

Middle School

High School

District-wide

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Special Education

English as a Second
Language

Certified School
Counselor

Certified School
Nurse

Certified School
Psychologist

Behavior Specialist

Research Plan
A sound research design connects the purpose of the research to the process utilized
during the research plan so that the data collected helps to provide answers to the research
questions (Newman & Covrig, 2013). Action research has been defined by Ernie Stringer,
former teacher and school administrator, as “a systematic approach to investigation that
enables people to find effective solutions to the problems that confront their everyday
lives” (as cited in Hendricks, 2017). Participatory action research is defined as a
collaborative process of action research that strives to identify and study realities that can
be improved upon (Hendricks, 2017). The research plan contained in this study would be
designated as participatory action research, since the onboarding process in the Easton
Area School District has been identified as an area that can be improved upon and the
newly hired professional staff are being asked to provide feedback that will help the
process to be redeveloped and ultimately enhanced.

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Baseline data relative to this research study was initially gathered and included
personnel data and the current induction program paperwork. This personnel data
ascertained from Easton Area School District’s human resources database, eSpace, included
information specific to the professional staff members who were hired within the past five
years, their certification, assignment within the district, and education and employment
background (Easton Area School District, 2020). While the initial total data set was
identified to be seventy-five (75) newly hired professional staff, the total number who were
identified as potential participants was seventy-two (72) since three (3) staff members
were recently hired and have not yet participated in the induction process. Since the
sample population was less than one hundred individuals, it was determined to study the
entire population (Olney & Barnes, 2013). Additionally, artifacts from the District’s current
induction program were identified for collection and review.
Qualitative and quantitative data was sought. Inquiry data was collected through a
questionnaire administered to newly hired professional staff within the Easton Area School
District. Quantitative data was collected through Likert Scale evaluation questions.
Qualitative data was collected from the open-ended questions on the questionnaire.
The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of the newly hired staff
within the Easton Area School District during onboarding with the goal of developing a
formal and responsive onboarding program for future professional staff who are hired.
Based on this goal, the data that was sought from the participants should provide an
illustration of the positive aspects of the current induction program, the areas of need or
gaps in the current induction program, and aspects that could be added to future induction
programs that would lead to greater staff confidence as they assume their roles. It is

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essential to obtain this qualitative data since it provides perspective of those who recently
participated in the induction program. This could prove to be especially important since
the design of the induction program is largely planned by administrators who have very
different perspectives than those new to the district and who may not be cognizant of the
specific needs of current, newly hired professional staff.
The inclusion of both qualitative and quantitative data is important to this study.
The quantitative data is garnered from five-point Likert style questions included on the
questionnaire. The value of Likert style questions in research is that they assign a
numerical or descriptive value to qualitative data which is beneficial during the data
analysis period of research (Olney & Barnes, 2013). The qualitative data is derived from
the open-ended questions contained on the survey. The open-ended questions provide
first-hand opinions and experiences of the research participants and can be used to
determine if themes emerge from multiple respondents (Olney & Barnes, 2013). The
qualitative data is also valuable because it provides insight into the various perspectives
maintained by all respondents. While there may be outliers when reviewing quantitative
data, there is no justification and only assumptions can be drawn. When reviewing
qualitative data, the perspective of the outliers becomes known and can be used for future
planning.
Documents from the District’s current induction program were also identified for
collection and review. The documents, which will serve as a source of baseline data,
included the annual memos regarding the three-day induction program held in August, an
Induction Program Activities Log, a Support Teacher Checklist, and a Peer Observations
form. These documents will aid in determining the current activities that are occurring

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within the District’s induction program, and can be used to help illustrate the experiences
that are referenced by the survey respondents in the open-ended questions on the
questionnaire.
A cursory cost-benefit analysis would imply that the benefits to the Easton Area
School District far exceed the costs assumed by the District and me as the researcher. The
research plan for this study was designed with minimal cost to implement. One fee
associated with the research was specific to the Society for Human Resource membership,
which cost $219 for a one-year membership. This membership was reimbursed by the
Easton Area School District, per my contract. The only other fee was to Survey Monkey, for
a standard monthly membership at the cost of $29 per month which will be paid
throughout the duration of the research and data analysis phases of this project. This fee
was assumed in full by me as the researcher. The financial outlay for this research is vastly
insignificant when compared to the high cost of $8,000 per teacher that is estimated each
time teacher turnover occurs (Callahan, 2016). Any steps that the District can take to
decrease the likelihood of teacher turnover by implementing strong onboarding upon hire
will pay dividends in retention of teachers and translate to student achievement (Callahan,
2016; Carr, Holmes, & Flynn, 2017).
Methods of Data Collection
The objective of this research was to focus on the onboarding experience of the
newly hired professional staff within the Easton Area School District. The newly hired
professional staff were defined as those who have worked in the District for under five
years. The first step in the research process was to receive approval from the California
University of Pennsylvania Institutional Review Board (IRB). This approval was granted by

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the IRB Chairperson on December 20, 2019. Additionally, the Superintendent of the Easton
Area School District provided authorization for this research to occur using subjects from
within the professional ranks of the District.
The survey presented to and accepted by the IRB for use during this action research
study was adapted in a non-substantive manner from the New Hire Survey #1 and New
Hire Survey #2 which are endorsed by the Society for Human Resource Management (n.d.).
When determining the most appropriate questions to include from the Society for Human
Resource Management (SHRM) new hire surveys, the research questions for this study
were considered. A thorough review of the questions contained in SHRM’s (n.d.) New Hire
Survey #1 and New Hire Survey #2 was conducted in order to determine which questions
would assist in answering the research questions that have been posed.
Both quantitative and qualitative questions were included in the survey. The
quantitative, Likert style evaluation questions, were identified and included at the
beginning of the survey. This was done strategically in order to draw respondents in to the
survey and not make the survey appear overwhelming. Olney and Barnes (2013) indicate
that beginning a survey with open-ended questions can deter respondents and that it is
most beneficial to begin surveys with questions that are more easily answered. Openended questions were placed towards the end of the questionnaire. This allows for the
collection of qualitative, descriptive data that, through analysis, can provide the opinions
and experiences of respondents which can lead to the assessment of attaining the goals set
forth in the research questions (Olney & Barnes, 2013). Once finalized, the survey
questions were built into Survey Monkey so that the survey could be administered
electronically. The survey utilized for this research was titled, EASD Onboarding and a

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unique URL was created for this survey so that only those who were provided with the link
would have the ability to complete the questionnaire.
Baseline data was collected in the first question of the survey. Respondents were
asked to identify which year they were hired in the Easton Area School District. The
options included: 2015-2016; 2016-2017; 2017-2018; 2018-2019; 2019-2020. The next
three questions on the survey were designed with Likert style response options, as
outlined in Table 2. The final seven questions on the survey required open-ended
responses, as identified in Table 3. These questions were designed to elicit experiences
and opinions in an effort to provide descriptive data that would assist in the development
of a comprehensive onboarding program in the Easton Area School District (Olney &
Barnes, 2013).
Table 2
Likert Style Evaluation Questions
Please rate the following
aspects of your hiring
process:

Please rate the following
aspects of the district-wide
portion of the three-day
induction program held in
August:

Please rate the following
aspects of the building-based
orientation portion of the
three-day induction program
held in August:

Survey Items:
• Application process
• Interview process
• Overview of role
applied for
• Review of contract
• Review of benefits
package

Survey Items:
• I was provided clear
information regarding
the first day of induction.
• The information
presented was in an
easy-to-understand
format.
• The people presenting
were able to answer my
questions during the
induction program.

Survey Items:
• My building principal was
present and available to
meet with me during the
induction program.
• I was taken on a tour of
my building during the
induction program.
• I was introduced to coworkers and other staff
members at my school

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•

•

Response Options:
• Very Satisfied
• Somewhat Satisfied
• Neutral
• Somewhat Dissatisfied
• Very Dissatisfied

Sufficient time was
allotted for the induction
program.
•
I felt confident about
district policies following
•
the induction program.
Enough information was
provided on key policies
and practices during the •
induction program.
I got what I expected
from my induction
program.
The administrative staff
conducting the induction
program was courteous
and professional.

Response Options:
• Strongly Agree
• Somewhat Agree
• Neutral
• Somewhat Disagree
• Strongly Disagree

during the induction
program.
I received instruction on
how to operate districtissued technology.
I received instruction on
how to request technical
support from the IT staff.
My building principal was
available to answer
questions in a timely
manner during the
induction program.

Response Options:
• Strongly Agree
• Somewhat Agree
• Neutral
• Somewhat Disagree
• Strongly Disagree

Table 3
Open-Ended Questions
•

What was your overall impression of the three-day induction program in August?

•

Are there any topics you feel would be beneficial for new staff to hear about
during the induction program that weren’t covered during the induction
program?

•

Did you have any further questions that were not answered during the induction
program that would have helped you begin on your first day?

•

Is there anything you think the District should consider changing about or adding
to the induction program that would contribute positively to a new hire’s
experience?

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•

What is your overall impression of the mentoring component of your onboarding
experience?

•

Are there any topics you feel would be beneficial for new staff to receive training
on during their first school year?

•

Please use the area below to comment on any issue or suggestion that you would
like to bring to the District’s attention for the purpose of improving the
onboarding program.

In addition to the questions that were included in the survey, an informed consent
page was included, as contained in Appendix A. This page was designed to provide the
survey respondents with important information relevant to the research study. Included
on the page was the purpose of the research study, what the respondents would be asked
to do, the foreseeable risks, confidentiality, the contact information of the researcher and
faculty advisor, and a disclosure statement indicating that the research project had already
been approved by the California University of Pennsylvania IRB. Respondents were asked
to agree to the consent form and that by doing so their data could be used for the purpose
of the research. No demographic information was collected on the respondents in order to
protect confidentiality of responses. Participants who did not agree with the terms that
were presented on the informed consent page were able to opt out of the survey at this
time. Additionally, any respondent who started the survey and did not wish to submit their
responses was able to discontinue their participation at any time during the survey without
penalty.
Prior to the survey being distributed to the sample, it was important to pilot test the
questionnaire. The purpose of the pilot test was to ensure that the wording contained in
the email invitation, informed consent, and survey questions was easily understandable for

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the target audience. The pilot survey was provided to one member of the sample of newly
hired professional staff whom I have been acquainted with prior to her tenure in the
Easton Area School District. I sent the pilot survey to her attention on March 9, 2020. She
thoroughly reviewed the email contents, informed consent page, and survey questions and
provided clarifying and grammatical feedback to make the contents less confusing and
more direct. Additionally, she answered all questions of the survey, and was therefore the
first respondent. Having her participate in the survey, and not simply read its contents,
was an important step that is recommended by Olney and Barnes (2013) since respondents
may not pick up on complicated wording or confusing response options just by reading it.
The pilot test was successful in providing minor amendments to the wording in the email
and the informed consent page. There were no changes, as a result of the pilot test, to the
survey itself. Conducting the pilot test, however, was an integral step within the research
process. Not only did it provide necessary feedback, but it provided me with increased
confidence in my communication and the survey instrument overall.
The next step in the research process was to begin the data collection phase. This
step was, however, delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the school closure that
occurred in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania announced on March 13, 2020. This was a
time of great concern to the nation and the closure of schools brought about significant
changes in the manner in which education was delivered. Educators were under an
unprecedented level of change and stress. As the Assistant Superintendent of the Easton
Area School District I was keenly aware of the stress that teachers were facing. I could only
surmise that this was intensified for those new to the profession. Therefore, I opted to
delay my communication to the newly hired professional staff asking for them to complete

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the survey for my research until the District’s continuity of education plan was well
underway. An email was ultimately sent to them on April 10, 2020.
The email that was sent to the seventy-two (72) newly hired professional staff
informed them of my research topic. I provided the purpose and rationale for my selection
of this topic, including the fact that I have recently been providing direct oversight to the
Human Resources Department. I informed each individual who received the email that for
the purpose of this research study, they were considered newly hired professional staff
within the Easton Area School District. I also included the fact that I would be the only
person within the School District viewing their responses, but also that no name or email
address would be attached to the responses thus ensuring anonymity. I shared that the
goal of the research was to improve the onboarding process in the Easton Area School
District and reminded them that the only way to improve the system is to gain honest
feedback. Following the first email that was sent on April 10, 2020, forty-five (45) newly
hired professional staff within the Easton Area School District completed the survey. On
April 18, 2020, I sent a follow up email thanking those who had already completed the
survey and requested that anyone who had not yet completed the survey but was willing to
do so could complete it prior to April 20, 2020. From the time the April 18, 2020 email was
sent through the time the survey closed on April 20, 2020, ten (10) additional individuals
completed the survey. This resulted in the survey being completed by fifty-six (56) newly
hired professional staff within the Easton Area School District from the time the pilot
survey was issued, through the two emails to the entire sample. This designates a 77.78%
response rate, which will be further discussed during the data analysis portion of this
research project.

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It was important during both the email that was sent to the newly hired professional
staff and in the informed consent that I acknowledge the foreseeable risks that those within
the sample may experience or perceive. As the current Assistant Superintendent in the
School District, I hold the position as the second highest ranking official within the
organization. It is on rare occasions that I have direct, individual interaction with teachers
within the District. I recognize that this factor could make my communication to the newly
hired professional staff intimidating. I was sensitive to the fact that the respondents could
be nervous or hesitant to provide honest feedback, if in fact that honest feedback were
constructive or negative. It was important to be clear in both my email communication and
the informed consent that was included prior to the survey that participation was
voluntary and anonymous, and that participation in the survey would in no way be used for
evaluative purposes. While I do not evaluate any members of the professional staff, I also
conveyed that the information obtained would not be shared with anyone who does have
evaluative responsibilities of the professional staff.
During the data collection phase, the induction paperwork utilized by the Easton
Area School District was also collected from the Human Resource Department Executive
Assistants. The purpose of collecting this paperwork was to utilize it as baseline data for
comparison purposes during the data analysis phase of research. The documents included
the 2019 memo mailed to all newly hired professional staff for the 2019-2020 school year
regarding the three-day induction program held in August, an Induction Program Activities
Log, a Support Teacher Checklist, and a Peer Observations form. Additionally, a memo that
was sent to newly hired professional staff regarding specific requirements for the 20182019 school year was also collected, since it differed from the requirements in 2019-2020.

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Due to turnover within the Human Resources Department, memos from the 2015-2016,
2016-2017, and 2017-2018 years were not retrieved. While the memos changed minimally
from year to year, the Induction Program Activities Log, Support Teacher Checklist, and
Peer Observations form remained the same for all years being studied during this research
project.
There was very little fiscal impact of this research study. The only financial
commitment of the research phase of this study was the standard monthly membership to
Survey Monkey so that the survey was able to be developed and implemented
electronically. This cost, of $29 per month, was encumbered by the researcher and not
passed on to the District. Nevertheless, the ultimate benefit to the School District will far
exceed the monthly fee expended to collect the necessary data that will be utilized in
improving the onboarding program within the Easton Area School District with the
ultimate intention of retaining professional staff.
Validity
Validity can be defined as the accuracy of the data collected through research (Olney
& Barnes, 2013). When feasible, researchers should attempt to utilize research survey
tools that have been used previously, as they have already gone through the validation
process. Since validity cannot be proven as an absolute, researchers must be able to
demonstrate that the research tool was appropriately designed and administered properly
(Olney & Barnes, 2013). It is important for researchers to consider any issues that may
have an impact on validity through design or administration of the tool, and subsequently
how that could impact the actual data collected. In action research, research is considered
to be valid if it appears to solve the original presenting problem (Watkins, 1991). In this

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case, the data sought is directly connected to the research questions, which have been
derived from the initial problem related to the Easton Area School District’s lack of a formal
onboarding program.
The survey utilized in this study was non-substantively adapted from New Hire
Survey #1 and New Hire Survey #2 of the Society for Human Resource Management (n.d.).
Utilizing previously administered surveys is a recommended approach in research, since
the design has already been validated. Therefore, the primary focus of validating this study
is based on the administration of the survey.
When determining validity, there are various aspects of the data collection process
to consider. One consideration that could impact validity is the response rate, since a low
response rate could lead to a bias in the data collected (Olney & Barnes, 2013). The
response rate for this survey is 77.78%, accounting for 56 respondents out of the 72
potential. Due to the high response rate, it is doubtful that a bias exists in the responses
and the data can be generalized to the full sample.
Another consideration to ensure accuracy of the data collected is to look for low
completion rates of either questions or sections of the survey. The Likert Style questions
were all responded to at a 92.86% rate, or 52 of 56 respondents. The open-ended
questions varied in their response rate, with the highest rate being 89.29%, or 50 of 56
respondents, while the lowest rate was 71.49%, or 40 of 56 respondents. It should be
noted that the open-ended question responded to at the lowest rate was the final question
on the survey which asked respondents to utilize the text box to comment on any
suggestions that they wish to share in order to improve the onboarding program. This is
intended to serve as a catch-all question that would provide any additional descriptive or

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experiential data not already ascertained in the questionnaire. Despite the fact that openended questions on most surveys are typically only completed by a small percentage of the
sample, the open-ended questions contained in this survey were answered at a high rate
thus leading to validity of the survey’s implementation (Olney & Barnes, 2013).
Foreseeable risks were considered prior to the survey. It was recognized that the
respondents may be hesitant to provide honest feedback due my high-ranking position
within the School District as the Assistant Superintendent. While steps were taken through
the informed consent process to mitigate this likelihood, such as providing anonymity of
responses and a guarantee of confidentiality, it is still important to consider this factor
during the validation process. Nevertheless, it appears through the high rate of response,
including the response rate on the open-ended questions, that this was not a factor and
positively impacts the validity of this research.
CHAPTER IV
Data Analysis and Results
Introduction
Onboarding is not a new concept in the business sector. For many decades,
businesses have utilized onboarding in an effort to train employees so that productivity
and profits increase (Spanjol, Tam, & Tam, 2015). Yet school districts have more linearly
viewed the process of bringing employees into their organizations through the lens of
induction, which is mandated in many states. This often translates into an orientation and
compliance driven process that, if expanded, could have more meaningful impact for the
employees’ transitions and overall health of the organization.

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The goal of this action research study was to identify the perceptions of newly hired
staff during their entry into the Easton Area School District so that a formal and responsive
onboarding program could be developed for future professional staff who are hired. A
mixed-methods approach was utilized in this research project through the inclusion of
qualitative and quantitative questions on a questionnaire. Of the seventy-two (72) newly
hired professional staff who were eligible to participate in the research study, fifty-six (56)
completed the questionnaire, which designates a 77.78% response rate.
Data Analysis
The questionnaire that was administered to newly hired professional staff within
the Easton Area School District was developed in Survey Monkey. Survey Monkey is a
platform that allows researchers to gain feedback in an easily analyzed and sharable format
for the purpose of transforming organizations (SurveyMonkey, n.d.). This format served to
be valuable to the researcher during the data analysis phase, specifically so that the
qualitative data could be analyzed using different techniques than the quantitative data.
When beginning the data analysis phase of the research, it was advantageous to
break the questionnaire into sections to streamline the data analysis process. Question one
of the questionnaire was specific to informed consent. Therefore, a potential respondent
would not proceed to the next question if he or she did not agree. This question was not
reviewed during data analysis. Question two of the questionnaire contained baseline
information as to the year the staff member was hired. This was not initially considered in
the data analysis phase, and was viewed as potentially valuable to further understand the
experiences of the newly hired professional staff over the five-year period being studied
once all other data was analyzed. Questions three through five were designed as Likert

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Scale evaluation questions and was analyzed using quantitative techniques. Qualitative
data was sought through open-ended questions on the questionnaire in items six through
twelve.
The first step in analyzing the quantitative data collected through the questionnaire
was to utilize descriptive statistics to help identify the response distribution and patterns
that exist within the data (Olney & Barnes, 2013). This applied to questions three through
five, as they represented those garnering quantitative data. I was interested in knowing
how many respondents selected each answer on the Likert scale for each question. This
was ascertained through a table generated directly in SurveyMonkey. From there I was
able to see the overall impressions of the respondents on various aspects of the onboarding
process that is currently in place in the Easton Area School District. This allowed me to
determine the central tendency, or the most representative score, of the group (Olney &
Barnes, 2013). Due to the nature of the questions being asked, I was most interested in the
mode, or the most frequent response. From there, I was able to determine the percentage
of respondents selecting each option and create a frequency table for each question, as this
is an easily understood format for readers of research studies.
In an effort to further simplify the data, I also explored the trends in the responses
to the quantitative questions. For instance, since the Likert Scale that was utilized in some
questions on the questionnaire gave options of Strongly Agree, Somewhat Agree, Neutral,
Somewhat Disagree, and Strongly Disagree, I was able to consider the data through the
more simplistic lens of either Positive or Negative. I was able to deem all responses of
Strongly Agree or Somewhat Agree as “Positive,” while the responses of Somewhat

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Disagree and Strongly Disagree could be seen as “Negative.” In this analysis strategy,
Neutral remains Neutral and does not account for Positive or Negative results.
Due to the fact that respondents were asked their year of hire, I was able to analyze
data based on this data set as well. The year of hire with the most respondents was 20192020. Of the fifty-two (52) individuals who answered this question, nineteen (19) were
hired at the start of the 2019-2020 school year. This accounted for 36.54% of those who
participated in the research study. A similar sample size, sixteen (16) respondents,
represented the respondents who were hired for the 2017-2018 school year. I also
reviewed the responses of the respondents by year of hire to determine if overall
experiences were impacted based on the year the staff members entered the School
District.
Qualitative data can provide researchers with rich information based on the sheer
amount of text that can be provided by respondents (Olney & Barnes, 2013). However, for
the very same reason, the data analysis process for qualitative data can be overwhelming
and daunting. In this phase of data analysis, I was most interested in determining themes
within the data. In an effort to bring cohesion to the overall study, I found it most beneficial
to remain aligned to the methods used to analyze the quantitative data. This would assist
in the presentation of the data in this study, when sharing with stakeholders within the
District, and in developing recommendations for future developments to the onboarding
process. The overarching themes that were utilized were: Positive, Neutral, and Negative.
When analyzing the open-ended responses, Positive comments were highlighted in yellow,
Neutral comments were highlighted in pink, and Negative comments were highlighted in
orange. From there, subthemes were determined as they emerged during the data analysis

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process and were then utilized to further code the text which helped to collect feedback
that would be useful in the recommendations phase of this study. The specific subthemes
utilized when coding text were: Experiences (Exp), Suggestions (S), Barriers (B), and
Specific Needs (SN). The corresponding codes were entered into the margins when
analyzing the data for ease in the analysis and reflection of the data.
The coding of the text into themes and categories was a cumbersome process that
culminated in the need to identify the most usable format. Therefore, brief written
summaries were drafted followed by the development of tables to aid in presenting the
interpretation of the data. Through this process, Olney and Barnes (2013) recommend that
the researcher consider the following questions in order to ensure that all aspects of the
data are incorporated:
•

What worked well?

•

What were the challenges?

•

What can be improved?

•

What stories were told through the open-ended responses that demonstrate
positive experiences?

•

What unexpected findings were reported?

Additionally, SurveyMonkey includes a feature known as Word Cloud. Word Cloud
identified key words that are used by the respondents and informs the researcher of the
frequency with which the word was used (SurveyMonkey, n.d.). This feature of the
platform was utilized during the data analysis of the open-ended questions to categorize
the units of information based on themes that emerged (Olney & Barnes, 2013). These
approaches proved to be effective in collating all of the data from the qualitative questions

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into a format that can be used to describe the experiences of the participants and
subsequently in the planning process for further development of the onboarding process in
the Easton Area School District.
Results
The purpose of this research study was to gain feedback of newly hired professional
staff within the Easton Area School District on the onboarding process so that it may be
further developed for future new hires. The findings obtained through this action research
study via the quantitative and qualitative data are discussed below.
Quantitative results. Quantitative data was collected from questions three through
five on the EASD Onboarding Survey. The Likert Scale questions were in a matrix format,
with sub-questions that were rated by respondents. Overwhelmingly, through cursory
review, the data collected through these questions indicates that the respondents rate their
overall onboarding experience positively. Nevertheless, a deeper analysis can help to
identify aspects of the onboarding process that can be improved upon.
The hiring process. Five aspects of the hiring process were rated by the survey
respondents: the application process, interview process, overview of the role applied for,
review of contract, and review of benefits package. In simplifying the data, respondents
identify these aspects in a positive manner, as outlined in Table 4.
Table 4
A Positive or Negative Hiring Process
Positive

Neutral

Negative

Application Process

94.12%

5.88%

0.00%

Interview Process

96.08%

0.00%

3.92%

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Overview of role
applied for

98.03%

1.96%

0.00%

Review of contract

65.39%

15.38%

19.23%

Review of benefits
package

71.15%

13.46%

15.39%

It should be noted that while a majority of the respondents view the hiring process
in a positive manner, there are two aspects of the hiring process that respondents had
negative experiences with at a higher rate than the other processes. Additionally, when
considering the five-point Likert ratings on the questionnaire, less respondents considered
their experience relative to the Review of contract and Review of benefits package as
something they were very satisfied with. The mode for the Review of contract subquestion fell within the Somewhat Satisfied range, as outlined in Table 5.
Table 5
Review of Contract and Benefits Package

Review of
contract
Review of
benefits
package

Very
Satisfied
16

Somewhat
Satisfied
18

Neutral
8

Somewhat
Dissatisfied
8

Very
Dissatisfied
2

The district-wide, three-day induction program. The aspects reported on by
survey respondents regarding the three-day induction program indicate moderate to high
levels of satisfaction with their experience. While some aspects of the induction program
could be improved upon, based on a neutral or somewhat agreeable response, few
respondents indicated dissatisfaction with facets of the program. Table 6 highlights key

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portions of the induction program and the corresponding rating based on the responses
collected.
Table 6
Induction Program
Strongly
Agree
30

Somewhat
Agree
12

Neutral

Confident
about district
policies

I got what I
expected from
my induction
program

Information
was presented
in easy to
understand
format

Administrative 44
staff was
courteous and
professional

Somewhat
Disagree
1

Strongly
Disagree
0

Data sets were also compared based on year of hire. The comparison indicates that
the experience of induction participants did not vary to any great degree based on the year
they participated in the induction program. This can be reviewed in Table 7.
Table 7
Year of Hire Comparison
The people presenting were able to answer my questions during the induction program.
Strongly
Agree

Somewhat
Agree

Neutral

Somewhat
Disagree

Strongly
Disagree

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2019-2020

52.63%

26.32%

10.53%

0.00%

2017-2018

62.50%

18.75%

0.00%

Enough information was provided on key policies and practices during the induction
program.
Somewhat
Agree
36.84%

Neutral

2019-2020

Strongly
Agree
36.84%

10.53%

Somewhat
Disagree
10.53%

Strongly
Disagree
5.26%

2017-2018

43.75%

6.25%

0.00%

Strongly
Disagree
5.26%
0.00%

I got what I expected from my induction program.
Somewhat
Agree
21.05%

Neutral

2019-2020

Strongly
Agree
42.11%

21.05%

Somewhat
Disagree
10.53%

2017-2018

56.25%

25.00%

12.50%

6.25%

The building-based orientation. The building-based orientation portion of the
onboarding process was also rated with moderate to high levels of satisfaction by the
respondents. Data trends in a positive direction, as outlined in Table 8. The participants
viewed their building principals as being present and available, with 67.31% strongly
agreeing with this statement. However, only 42.31% of the participants strongly agreed
that they received instruction on how to operate district-issued technology, followed by
only 30.77% in strong agreement that they received instruction on how to request
technical support.
Table 8
Building-Based Orientation
Positive

Neutral

Negative

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I was taken on a
tour of my building

75.00%

13.46%

11.54%

I was introduced to
co-workers

75.00%

17.31%

7.69%

I received
instruction on
operating districtissued technology

73.08%

13.46%

13.47%

My building
principal was
available to answer
questions

86.54%

5.77%

7.69%

Qualitative results. The open-ended responses on the questionnaire provided
insight into the perceptions of newly hired professional staff of the onboarding program in
the Easton Area School District. Initially, all responses were coded as either Positive,
Neutral, or Negative. This allowed further review into subthemes that emerged. Primarily,
the subthemes that emerged could be categorized as Experiences, Suggestions, Barriers,
and Specific Needs. Respondents were asked to describe their overall impressions of the
three-day induction program, along with topics to add and ways to improve the induction
program. Participants were also asked to provide their overall impression of the
mentoring program. Other suggestions were also solicited through this research.
For most, the overall impression of the induction program, based on the responses
provided to the open-ended questions, was positive. Of the fifty (50) respondents, only
nine (9) responses were categorized as negative. With two (2) responses described as
neutral, the remaining thirty-nine (39) were deemed positive. Common themes in positive
responses were that the induction program was informative, professional, organized, and
made participants feel comfortable. A commonality within the negative responses was that

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the induction program was confusing. Table 9 further demonstrates the responses within
the subthemes.
Table 9
Overall Impressions of the Induction Program
Experiences

Bus tour of the Easton Area School District was most
beneficial
Appreciated having time to digest everything before the
start of school
Gave me a safe net of people I could communicate with and
feel comfortable with
Highly impressed with how informative induction was. I
taught previously in another school district and it was not
nearly as informative as the EASD
Too much information in a short amount of time
Principal was not present to answer any questions and
colleagues were not there
Not a lot of time to get used to the building

Suggestions

More time at my building and having mentor meet with me
at that time
Have some teachers volunteer to come in and meet new
staff
More time spent on technology
More time for staff interaction with more hands-on
activities
More time to see materials and the curriculum

Barriers

Those not hired in the summer do not experience induction
and miss out on all of the information and activities during
this program

Specific Needs

Did not feel that it was sufficiently geared to my role

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The induction program could be more geared towards
School Nursing for Certified School Nurses than teaching
Various suggestions were provided when participants were asked to share any
topics that would be beneficial to cover during the induction program. These responses
were analyzed via the text provided in the open-ended responses and through the Word
Cloud feature within SurveyMonkey. Word Cloud indicated the following words as having
the most frequency in responses: technology, time, building, benefits, and mentor. When
analyzing the open-ended responses, it can be noted that themes emerged surrounding
these words. The remaining analysis can be best summarized in Table 10.
Table 10
Topics in Induction that Build Confidence
Topics to be
included or
expanded in the
induction

School building expectations
Student behavior expectations and student discipline
Technology and systems, such as PowerSchool, Xello, Google
Classroom, SeeSaw
Collective bargaining agreement, fringe benefits, and Level II
certification process
Teacher evaluation process
School specific programs and services for students, such as Family
Connection, trauma informed practices, resource room, paraprofessional support

The mentoring program is a component of induction but lasts during the full school
year. This was met with a mix of perceptions by the participants. Forty-nine (49)
participants provided an open-ended response to this question. While twenty-eight (28)

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respondents considered their mentor experience to be positive, ten (10) rated it neutrally
or fair, and eleven (11) perceived this experience negatively. Table 11 displays themes that
emerged within both the positive and negative responses to the mentoring process.
Table 11
The Mentoring Process
Positive
My mentor was the best resource I was
given

Negative
Checklist was dated and had many things
that were not relevant

Great to have a go-to person to go over
questions and concerns

Mentor did not have a clear understanding
of the role and expectations

I continue to collaborate with my mentor
on content and still ask for advice on
certain situations

Mentor was very passive

I always feel supported
My mentor was wonderful, helpful, and
knowledgeable
I cannot say enough about my mentor
The process was easy to navigate
The mentor is a highly valuable component
of the induction program

My mentor was overwhelmed so I did not
get to spend as much time with her
It was a joke. My mentor never checked on
me
The mentorship is a necessity but the
mentor needs to be chosen carefully and
not necessarily based on years of
experience but more importantly on
helpfulness

Additional suggestions for improvements to the onboarding process, not specifically
captured within any of the other open-ended questions were provided by respondents.
These varied from specific instructional strategies to the implementation of theoretical
concepts, such as trauma informed practices and social-emotional learning. The suggestion
to have teachers conduct meaningful observations followed by collaboration was provided.
Additionally, the diversity and traditions that exist within the Easton community emerged

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as an area to lend greater focus to. Participants also recognized the volume of information
in general that must be provided during the onboarding process and cited the potential
need to establish periodic check-ins during the school year to better support the transition
of new employees.
Discussion
Participatory action research is a collaborative process that explores reality so that
it can be changed (Hendricks, 2017). The purpose of obtaining data in this action research
study was to identify findings that will aid in the further development of a formal,
comprehensive, and supportive onboarding process for the Easton Area School District.
Once data is obtained, inferences are able to be drawn and utilized for discussion, and
ultimately recommendations. Overwhelmingly, the data ascertained through the
questionnaire showed that the respondents had a relatively positive onboarding
experience.
Based on the quantitative data, there are aspects of the onboarding process that
emerge as meeting the needs of the newly hired professional staff. Survey respondents
rated high levels of satisfaction with the interview process. This is important since the
interview is often the first impression of the organization. The respondents also indicated
that the administrators who led the induction program were courteous and professional.
This is especially important because organizations can be defined by their leadership. It is
of critical value for the new hires to have confidence in those who are leading the
organization, as this can have an impact on the relationship between the employee and the
District. The data also indicated that building principals were available and provided
responses to questions that the inductees had during the orientation program. This, too,

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helps to establish a supportive environment that leads to a trusting sense for new
employees.
There are, however, areas within the onboarding process that can be built upon in
order to impact employee perception, provide support, and increase the confidence of the
newly hired professional staff. The District must review the procedures for reviewing the
contract and benefits package. This can be a confusing aspect of onboarding for new
employees, and this should be improved upon. Additionally, more attention should be
given to training on key policies and procedures. School district policies are legally binding
and become a vital component of ensuring organizational compliance. New employees
should be well versed in key policies and procedures so that they are aware of the
expectations. Technical support must also be provided to newly hired professional staff.
All Easton Area School District teachers are provided with both a laptop and iPad. Since
the District expects that technology will be integrated into the instructional program, it is
necessary to provide adequate training so that the employees are able to utilize it in a
meaningful manner.
Similar to the analysis of the quantitative data in this study, the qualitative data also
generally characterized the onboarding experience in the Easton Area School District as a
positive one for the participants. The respondents identified experiences that contributed
to their positive outlook of the onboarding program. For example, the bus tour visiting all
of the district schools during the induction program was cited favorably by multiple
respondents. They acknowledged this as a way to become familiar with the district while
also seeing the communities that the students come from. Another positive experience that
emerged throughout the responses on the questionnaire was relative to socialization. The

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newly hired professional staff members valued the opportunities they had to connect with
one another during the induction program. Additionally, some respondents recognized the
significance of meeting with veteran staff members at their respective buildings despite
this not being a formal aspect of the induction program. This creates an area that can be
built more formally into the process.
Many of the participants in this study cite the fact that starting a new role in a school
district is overwhelming. For some, they were even beginning their career. Therefore,
there is a tremendous amount of information that must be presented during the three-day
induction program, much of which must be introduced but could not be expected to be
retained. For this reason, some respondents suggested the need for additional time. Other
respondents identified the need to provide the newly hired professional staff with a
guidebook that would assist them chronologically with what they need to know and do
prior to the first student day and beyond. Other respondents recognized the need to
continue support beyond the induction program through scheduled meeting times for
maintenance purposes.
A common theme within the open-ended responses was the pride and tradition that
exist in Easton. However, interestingly, this theme was referenced based upon the
perspective of the respondent. Some of the newly hired professional staff cited the fact that
they were Easton graduates and felt a great deal of pride returning to their school district.
They were proud of how well-organized the introduction to the District was and felt lucky
to be a part of a district with such a cohesive foundation. Yet, others who did not hail from
the area recognized the existence of pride and traditions, but did not understand their
significance. There were suggestions for this to be more explicitly reviewed, even

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

displayed through videos, and not to assume that it was understood by all. Essentially,
while there is so much pride and tradition in Easton, it is important to make sure that the
induction program is inclusive so that individuals not from Easton do not feel they are
starting at a deficit.
There were various suggestions of topics that would be beneficial for new staff to
hear about during the induction program that were not covered to the desired depth.
These included specific school building expectations, school district policies, student
behavior and discipline expectations, technology and the systems utilized within the
district, the evaluation process, and school specific programs and services for students.
Another topic that was identified as a need to be covered more comprehensively is the
induction program itself. Respondents cited the need to better understand the
expectations for working with their mentor and the associated paperwork that needs to be
completed throughout the school year. Mentioned most frequently as a topic requiring
additional time is contract review and benefits. This is an area that many respondents did
not feel confident in understanding during their onboarding process, and future attention
should be given to this area.
The mentoring program elicited a range of responses. While some participants
classified their mentoring experience positively, there was a somewhat equal rate of
neutral and negative responses when asked directly about their mentorship. It was
recommended that mentors have a clear understanding of their role and the expectations.
The need to select the proper mentor was also discussed by respondents. The sheer
volume of responsibilities of a mentor was cited, with the suggestion that newly hired
professional staff be assigned to multiple mentors. Additionally, multiple respondents

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suggested that the mentor/mentee checklist be revised so that it is updated and relevant.
The entire mentoring process is an area that will require additional attention through
recommendations for future changes.
Based on the quantitative and qualitative data which was ascertained through this
study, it can be concluded that the Easton Area School District does a satisfactory job at the
induction program and the associated aspects of onboarding that are currently in place.
While many of the activities are geared to orientation and compliance, the School District
executes those aspects with fidelity. There is, however, room for growth and sustained
learning and support for its newly hired professional staff.
Summary
The results from this action research study provided information that helped in
understanding the aspects of the onboarding program that participants rated as valuable,
the areas that require further development, and the additional gaps in programming that
exist and should be considered when developing a comprehensive onboarding program.
Many of the respondents rated their experience in a positive vein. Twenty-four, or onethird, of the newly hired professional staff members joined the Easton Area School District
directly out of college. Therefore, they would not have participated in another onboarding
program in another district to draw a point of comparison from. Of the forty-eight other
members of the sample, it only known through self-report during an open-ended response
as to if they participated in an onboarding program previously and how they compared
their prior experience to Easton’s, as this information was not directly sought from
respondents. The lack of comparison or knowledge about comprehensive onboarding
programs could contribute to the positive ratings that were reported. This factor makes it

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essential that the conclusions and recommendations being made in the next section of this
study consider both the data and the best practices learned through the literature review.
CHAPTER V
Conclusions and Recommendations
Introduction
Onboarding of new staff members into any organization is an important process
that, if done effectively and purposefully, yields dividends. In the field of education, the
concept of onboarding has often been synonymous with the induction process and is most
frequently achieved through an orientation program. There are, however, many aspects of
a comprehensive onboarding process that can be learned from best practices and prior
implementation in various fields.
The Easton Area School District is no different than most educational institutions.
The Easton Area School District does not have a comprehensive onboarding process, and
the program that is in place is comprised of a three-day induction program which mirrors a
compliance-driven orientation, and a mentoring process that utilizes an outdated checklist.
This leads to compliance, but does not effectively deepen learning, establish sustained
support, or solidify the confidence in new employees that would result in the intended level
of readiness to flourish in their jobs. Effective onboarding programs can assist
organizations with not only preparation of its employees, but the retention of its employees
(Howe, 2006). For educational institutions, such as the Easton Area School District, this is
of utmost importance since the nation is in a teacher shortage (Howe, 2006). It is
imperative to begin an employee’s career with a focus on strengthening the relationship
between the staff member and the district, and with an eye on continued preparation and

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

support that will lead to the new employee remaining with the organization. This is
important both from a financial perspective and through the investment in human capital
that impacts students.
The research conducted throughout this study considered the best practices within
onboarding programs in various sectors of employment along with the experiences of
newly hired professional staff within the Easton Area School District. Consideration was
given to the strengths of the current program in place within the District, along with the
gaps that were identified through literature and the data provided by the newly hired
professional staff members. The goal of this research project was to develop a
comprehensive onboarding program that can be utilized within the Easton Area School
District in order to improve the initial stage of employment for professional staff. This
should lead to immediate and long-term impact for the District, as it will integrate new staff
members into the culture of the organization and provide the necessary level of support to
its new employees with the ultimate goal of making a difference for students.
Conclusions
Comprehensive onboarding programs can be viewed as a holistic, strategic, and
long-term approach focused on getting new employees to reach high levels of productivity
at the onset of their employment (Dunn & Jasinski, 2009; Stein & Christiansen, 2010).
These programs have been implemented in the business sector for decades, and only
recently have been considered in the field of education. Bauer (2010) has been a leader in
researching onboarding processes and cites four levels that must be in existence in order
for an onboarding program to reach its highest level of effectiveness. These levels, known
as the Four C’s are compliance, clarification, culture, and connection (Bauer, 2010).

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Therefore, the framework for a comprehensive onboarding program for the Easton Area
School District must be comprised of each of these levels. Additionally, the development of
any program should be built around the concept of onboarding being a continuous process,
not an event (Norman & Ganser, 2004).
The system: On the bus. The year-long onboarding system developed as a result of
this research study has been coined On the Bus. The name was derived from the idea that
as students embark on their journey to school, their first experience is typically riding a
school bus. Additionally, a component of the current induction program in the Easton Area
School District is a bus tour around the community so that all new staff members are able
to see first-hand the district’s nine schools and the diverse communities that our students
reside in. The activities included in On the Bus have been developed with a basis in the
Four C’s, combining a blend of people, technology, and process (Adragna, 2018; Bauer,
2010). The system includes a cohesive set of activities that clearly lead to the
organizational commitment of the newly hired professional staff members. Additionally,
prior to the 4C’s it includes the basic human resource functions that occur before a new
employee joins the organization, such as recruitment, talent acquisition, and the hiring
process (Nagenara, 2014).
Recruitment and acquisition. On the Bus begins with an outlined process for the
recruitment and hiring of professional staff members. All recruitment materials will be
developed both in print and electronic form. Those in electronic form will be posted on the
District’s Human Resources webpage. In addition to posting all vacancies on the District’s
webpage, they will also be included on job portals such as PA-REAP and PSBA Career
Gateway. This, however, may not hit the entire market of prospective employees, therefore

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

social media and LinkedIn will also be utilized, to ensure that the District appeals to
millennial employees as well.
The interview process will continue in its current fashion, whereby candidates will
be interviewed by a panel and a successful candidate recommended to Human Resources.
Once employees are recommended for employment, an onboarding checklist will be
followed in the Human Resources Department to ensure that all aspects of the onboarding
process are adhered to for each employee. One of the more frustrating aspects of the
onboarding process that was identified by the respondents to the survey in this study was
the lack of clarity around the employment contract and the associated benefits. It is
important that the Human Resources Department take time with each individual upon
their hire to review such important terms of their employment and fully answer any
questions that may arise. It also gives the new employee the opportunity to meet directly
with the Chief Human Resource Officer which also deepens the connection to the District.
Compliance. Compliance can be viewed as the process of providing employees with
the necessary tools needed for their jobs (Bauer, 2010). This can occur through an
orientation or a new employee handbook. In the Easton Area School District’s current
program, much of the three-day induction program and the mentoring process fall within
this category. While this phase is somewhat basic and does not have long-term cultural
impact on the organization, it is nevertheless a very important foundational aspect of a
comprehensive onboarding program.
On the Bus will maintain a three-day induction program prior to the start of the
school year. The orientation program will be designed where each day starts with light
refreshments and coffee, an icebreaker activity on the first morning, and a lunch served

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

mid-day on the first day. The program will continue to include an overview of topics
focused on district-wide goals, technology training, curriculum and assessments, special
education, student services, and equity. These topics will be presented by the respective
central office administrator during identified blocks of time, never exceeding one hour.
Additionally, during the three-day induction program, the newly hired professional staff
will be taken on a bus tour, in line with the name of the onboarding program. This activity
was well received by the participants in the survey as part of this research study and allows
the new employees to gain a visual understanding of the communities that make up the
Easton Area School District.
There will be opportunities built into the induction program for the newly hired
professional staff to return to their respective school buildings and meet with their
principals. It is imperative that the building principal be present during these times so that
the teacher is not left by him or herself. This was cited as a concern through the survey
data through this study and there must be an expectation that building principals
understand the importance of establishing a relationship with their new employees during
these designated times. Additionally, it will be encouraged that the principals also invite
existing teachers to meet and greet the new hires at the buildings and assist them by
touring the facility. The new teacher’s mentor will be expected to meet with the new
employee during the time spent at the school on a specified day as well so that they are
able to become acquainted prior to the school year beginning.
In addition to the three-day induction program prior to the start of the school year, a
new employee handbook will be developed that will contain key policies and procedures
and will serve as a reference guide for all newly hired professional staff. A new employee

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

handbook was cited by many of the respondents as something that would have been useful
to them following the induction program since there was a great deal of information
presented in such a short period of time. This new employee handbook will be developed
electronically and will be included in a new employee portal which will aid in the ease of
updating and its accessibility to the new employees. Additionally, by developing it
electronically it will appeal to millennial employees who prefer the immediacy of access to
information (Abrams, 2018).
The mentoring process will remain a component of On the Bus, and will be further
delineated during the Connection sub-section of this research study. But a component of
the mentoring process that resides in the compliance phase is the mentor checklist. The
mentor checklist will be updated on an annual basis, collectively by the administrative
team, to ensure that it does not become outdated. Routine items, such as the process to
request a personal day or the safety drill procedures will remain. However, the mentor
checklist will also be designed so that the topics that are of utmost importance appear at
the beginning, with those less important to be aware of within the first month of
employment listed at the end of the document.
Clarification. The clarification phase is intended to create a two-way exchange that
deepens the understanding for the new employee. So, while the compliance phase is
dedicated to imparting information, the goal of the clarification phase is to ensure that the
information has been absorbed. Many activities associated with the clarification phase can
occur simultaneous to the compliance phase, as embedded activities. For instance, at the
conclusion of the first day of the induction program, the inductees will participate in a new
employee trivia game. This not only gives a way for the administrators to assess the

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

effectiveness of their presentations, but also provides for a light-hearted way to engage the
new employees.
Another strategy that can be utilized, specifically following the equity presentation
of the induction program, is to conduct round table discussions. Round table discussions
are an effective way to have smaller groups debrief about new learning and share insights
with one another. In addition to solidifying new learning, this strategy also creates an
opportunity for socialization amongst the newly hired professional staff. Round table
discussions should not cease following the three-day induction program. These are an
effective way to check the understanding of the newly hired professional staff on a variety
of topics throughout the year-long onboarding program and will be scheduled periodically
by the Chief Human Resource Officer.
Culture. Two words that are often associated with the Easton Area School District
are pride and tradition. Both of these words emerged as key elements in the survey
responses by the participants of the research study. It is important for those who do not
hail from Easton to better understand the traditions since they are so interwoven into the
activities in the District throughout the year. The rich history that exists in the Easton Area
School District and its community must be capitalized on throughout On the Bus in a
variety of ways.
The Easton brand is something that many take pride in. The culture within the
Easton community is centered around the community’s love for the school district and its
activities. The Rover E is easily recognizable. Therefore, each newly hired professional
staff member will be provided with an Easton water bottle and a coupon to receive an
Easton t-shirt from the high school store to welcome them into the Easton family.

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

Additionally, a cornerstone activity in the Easton community is a Friday night football game
at Cottingam Stadium. In order for the newly hired professional staff to get integrated in
the community beyond the walls of the school, each newly hired professional staff member
will be provided with a complimentary ticket to each home football game. There are very
few events that enculturate someone to the school community in Easton other than a
football game.
The local businesses in the City of Easton and its surrounding municipalities are
thriving and dedicated to the community. Through the On the Bus onboarding program, a
passport to the community will be developed which will be distributed to each newly hired
professional staff member. In coordination with the local business development
organization, the passport will contain discounts to stores and eateries that will encourage
the inductees to become acquainted with the community while helping the local
businesses.
Videos that are available but not required to be viewed at a specified time are an
effective way to share information, especially on norms within the District. This also
enhances the personalized nature of On the Bus since there will be online professional
learning sessions dedicated to specific employee groups, such as Certified School Nurses or
School Counselors. Virtual professional development opportunities will be included in the
new employee portal and will be developed on topics that were highlighted by survey
respondents as part of this study such as school building expectations, trauma informed
practices, social-emotional learning, classroom management, and student behavior and
discipline. Many new teachers struggle in fully comprehending these ancillary areas, as
they are not typically instructed in teacher preparation programs (Sowell, 2017).

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Brief videos will also be developed that assist in sharing the programs in the Easton
Area School District. For instance, Family Connection serves as the family center for the
Easton Area School District. There is an abundance of resources provided by Family
Connection to the students within the District. Many of these are coordinated based on
referrals by teachers. So, if the newly hired staff member is not aware that the resources
exist, their students could be at a disadvantage. For this reason, videos will be developed
for programs and services, such as Family Connection, so that the newly hired professional
staff can view them at their leisure and refer back to them as needed.
Connection. The deepest level of an onboarding process, which has the most impact
on the employee’s success, is connection (Lapointe, Vandenberghe, & Boudrias, 2014;
Meyer & Bartels, 2017). Connection builds the socialization and organizational
commitment that onboarding programs strive to achieve. Providing new employees with
the opportunity to develop high-quality relationships with supervisors and peers is the
most effective way to ensure a connection to the organization (Lapointe, Vandenberghe, &
Boudrias, 2014). The is extremely important from a behavioral perspective and even more
important in a district as large as Easton. For instance, at Easton Area High School, there
are nearly 200 teachers. So, the District must create intentional opportunities for genuine
connections to occur amongst its new employees and the existing staff members.
Mentoring is a prime example of a way to build connection within an onboarding
program. Mentoring is an intentional process that creates a support system for new
teachers to aid in their continued development at the onset of their employment (Lee et. al.
2006; Bland, Church, & Luo, 2014). Mentoring must go beyond the compliance driven
relationship of information sharing that currently exists in the Easton Area School District.

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

Through On the Bus, each newly hired professional staff member will be paired with a
mentor. They will meet during the induction program and complete a checklist throughout
the school year. However, in addition to these activities, they will also be responsible to
participate in activities that deepen the connection between the mentor and mentee in
order to have a significant impact on the behaviors of the new employee. There will be an
expectation for the mentoring relationship to include professional goal setting, lesson
planning, the analysis of student work, and a reflection on the teaching and learning
process.
A component of On the Bus will be for the mentor and mentee to participate in a
book study using Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov so that the mentee can read a few
chapters and attempt a few of the strategies within the classroom prior to debriefing with
the mentor. This type of job embedded learning creates a dialogue between the mentor
and mentee that would not otherwise exist and deepens the connection between the two.
It also provides a safe space for the mentee to discuss successes and failures that may not
as easily be shared with a larger group.
The mentor will perform job embedded coaching for the mentee. The newly hired
professional staff member will have the opportunity to conduct a peer observation of the
mentor while he or she is instructing, and the mentor will then conduct a similar
observation of the mentee. Following the observations, the two will meet and discuss what
they observed. The goal of this is to increase professional collaboration and deepen the
understanding of strong teaching pedagogy. This type of non-evaluative practice is
intended to generate feedback and lead to true impact on the new employee’s professional

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

practice. This will be implemented in the fall and in the spring as a component of On the
Bus.
Collaboration circles are another way to build connection amongst newly hired
professional staff. In collaboration circles, the participants are all inductees who are
sharing ideas, asking questions, and reflecting on their own practice in an informal,
nonthreatening environment with their peers (Bentley & Cason, 2019). These can be held
on site, off site, or virtually. Establishing collaboration circles, but offering them
voluntarily, adds to the favorable nature of the experience. The Chief Human Resource
Officer will share out dates, times, and locations for collaboration circles throughout the
school year for anyone who is interested to attend.
Another mechanism that will be utilized in the onboarding program is the
implementation of an online discussion board. This will be an asynchronous platform that
will be available to all newly hired professional staff and monitored by the Chief Human
Resource Officer. Establishing an online professional learning community can be an
effective way to supplement any in-person trainings that are in place (Moir, 2009). New
employees will be able to post questions, ideas for feedback, or articles they found to be
helpful, and their newly hired peers will have the ability to review and respond. This is a
way for the District to ensure that the mentees have a safe place to ask questions of their
peers and receive responses in a timely fashion. It maintains a connection for all newly
hired professional staff, regardless of the building they teach in. Additionally, if all else fails
and the mentor/mentee match was not positive, the new teacher still has a group of
individuals to rely upon and receive support from. The Chief Human Resource Officer will

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monitor the discussion board solely for the purpose of providing answers or connecting
inductees to answers so that their questions do not go without a response.
The voluntary nature of respective components of this program is important so that
the newly hired professional staff members do not feel overwhelmed, but instead realize
the various activities that are designed and offered to support their transition into their
role (Algozzine, Gretes, Queen, & Cowan-Hathcock, 2007). This will require the
development of a menu of the voluntary options so that the inductees are aware of all of the
opportunities available to them. This also opens up the flexibility of some of the voluntary
components, such as the online professional learning sessions, to any faculty members who
would find benefit from the opportunity.
Undoubtedly, On the Bus has been scaled up significantly from the induction
program that was previously offered in the Easton Area School District. Nevertheless, the
robust nature of the onboarding system is rooted in research and based upon the needs
cited by the most recent hires to the District. On the Bus is designed to be a comprehensive
onboarding program for the Easton Area School District. A full outline of the program is
contained in Appendix B of this research study. This guide will be utilized to present the
program to the administrative team in the Easton Area School District.
Other considerations. While the activities outlined above describe the
opportunities that will occur for the newly hired professional staff, there are additional
considerations that must exist within the program in order for it to have the greatest
impact. For a multitude of reasons, On the Bus will be developed so that it can be delivered
in the format outlined above, but it will be also be modified so that each phase can be
implemented electronically if necessary. One of the barriers that was presented by the

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

respondents of the survey in this study was for those who were not hired at the traditional
time. Those that were hired after the school year began missed the three-day orientation
program and felt they were starting at a disadvantage by missing such key content.
Additionally, under the current circumstances of being in a nationwide pandemic and the
uncertainty that this brings to in-person interactions, having all content built online would
ensure that all staff members would receive the information from the three-day induction
program. While there should not be an intent to supplant personal interaction through the
onboarding process, having a back-up plan so that new employees do not miss critical
information is important.
On the Bus will have an established process for mentor matching. This was one of
the most frequently cited negative aspects of the onboarding process that was provided by
the participants in this study. Principals will be provided with a list of considerations to
utilize when selecting and matching mentors to mentees. The checklist will include the
following characteristics: effective communicator, trustworthy, empathetic, respectful,
ability to provide nonjudgmental responses, experience acting as a role model, ability to
empower the new teacher, effective instructional practices, and prior displays of leadership
capabilities (Bland, Church, & Luo, 2014; Dias-Lacey & Guirguis, 2017; Hall, Hughes, &
Thelk, 2017). The relationship and fit between the mentor and mentee cannot be ignored
and including this as a formal component of On the Bus ensures that it is not overlooked.
Another factor that must be an integral component of On the Bus is mentor training.
The training of all mentors will be conducted by the Chief Human Resource Officer in the
summer prior to the mentors meeting their mentees. Those who have participated in the
training in a prior year would not be expected to complete the training again, unless

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

recommended by the principal. The training will be developed virtually, with an
interactive component. This will ensure that all potential mentors can participate, despite
any vacation plans, but the interactive nature of the training provides an opportunity for
the Chief Human Resource Officer to assess the mentor’s level of commitment and
understanding of the expectations.
The mentor training protocol will highlight the following topics: mentoring
strategies, providing suggestions instead of instructions, adult learning theory, and
effective communication strategies (Leimann, Murdock, & Waller, 2008; Sowell, 2017). A
basic way to open the dialogue about effective mentoring strategies is to share a
professional article dedicated to mentoring as the initial phase of the mentor training. One
article reviewed as a component of the literature review in this study, Create Effective
Mentoring Relationships: Strategies for Mentor and Mentee Success, could serve as a valuable
tool that outlines the basic tenets of effective mentoring practices in an easily digestible
format (Lee et. al., 2006). From there, the training will focus on ways to deepen the
mentoring relationship and will require some interactive activities that prepare the
mentors to be most effective. Requiring the mentor training is important because it
establishes a sense of commitment for those who are signing up to serve as mentors and
decreases the chance that veteran teachers are agreeing to act as mentors solely for the
associated compensation.
Principals play an important role in the development of new teachers (Wood, 2005).
However, most interactions, especially at the secondary level, that occur between teachers
and principals in the Easton Area School District are focused on the evaluation process.
Therefore, it is important to establish occasions where principals and new teachers are

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

interfacing in order to strengthen the relationship in a non-evaluative forum. This should
be an expectation of the principals, but in an informal manner. Principals should establish
a personal goal to spontaneously stop in and see each new teacher within the first two
weeks of the school year, and again once per quarter. Doing so in the teacher’s classroom
gives the teachers the opportunity to share any needs or artifacts with their supervisor on
their own turf. Also, by the principal seeking out the teacher, it sends the message that they
genuinely care.
Financial implications. The comprehensive onboarding framework described in
this research study will have increased financial impact on the District over the current
induction program. Currently the only costs associated with the induction program are the
meals served by the District, the in-kind cost of the administrative time being dedicated to
the orientation program, and the compensation provided to those who serve as mentors.
For the 2020-2021 school year, that rate is established at $60 per month through the
collective bargaining agreement with the Easton Area Education Association. Based on the
increased responsibilities that are associated with serving as a mentor in On the Bus, it is
recommended that the monthly rate be doubled to $120 per month. Additionally, based on
the expectation that the mentors attend a training session and a portion of the three-day
induction program, the mentors should also be compensated at the hourly contractual rate
for these summer meetings, which is set at $40 per hour. The added expectations and
increased sophistication of the onboarding program justify the increase in the expenditure.
With all of this said, Ingersoll (2012) concluded that here is a correlation between
comprehensive onboarding programs and the retention of teachers. This, coupled with the
average cost to replace one teacher being estimated at over $8000 makes it essential for

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

districts to invest properly on the front end (Callahan, 2016). Therefore, the increased
expenses being added to the onboarding program will ultimately pay for themselves in the
District’s long-term investment in its human capital.
Future Directions for Research
The research conducted through this study establishes a solid framework that can
be utilized for the implementation of a comprehensive onboarding program within the
Easton Area School District for newly hired professional staff. Nevertheless, this brings
about the need to also consider a proper onboarding program for all new employees to the
Easton area School District. The Easton Area School District has employees that fall within
six different bargaining units: Professional Staff/Teachers, Para-professional staff,
Custodial/Maintenance Staff, Administrative Professionals, Bus Drivers, and Act
93/Administrative Support Staff. It will be important to consider the applicability of this
framework to other bargaining units.
Currently, there is no induction or orientation program for any employee group
within the District other than the professional staff. This leads to role confusion and a lack
of overall understanding of the expectations for positions and the district as a whole for
newly hired members of other bargaining units. The responsibility to orient new staff
members within each of the five other employee groups falls to the respective supervisor.
This does not lead to a consistent process, and depending upon the time of year that the
hire is being made could result in a virtually nonexistent orientation or onboarding
process. These factors point to the need for a formal, comprehensive program to be
developed and implemented by the Human Resources Department prior to any new
employee beginning their employment within the District.

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

Future research should focus on the elements of the onboarding program developed
for professional staff that would be applicable to other bargaining unit employees. The
next step would be to survey the newly hired staff members within each respective
bargaining unit to discern what aspects of an onboarding program would have helped them
to transition into their roles. From there, similar to the process utilized in this research
study, an onboarding program could be developed for each respective bargaining unit.
Undoubtedly there will be unique needs across each bargaining unit which is why the
program cannot simply be replicated and survey responses must be utilized in order to
ensure that the programs being developed are specific to supporting the new employees in
their roles.
Another aspect of this research study that was not explored was the opinion of the
administrators in the Easton Area School District. The administrative team, including
central office administrators and building principals, play a sizable role in the current
induction process. It would be valuable to ascertain the feedback of the administration in
order to ensure that the comprehensive onboarding program being developed meets the
needs of the district from their perspective as well. The building principals are able to
gauge first-hand the strengths and needs of their new employees. They would be able to
share, through a survey that would provide either qualitative or quantitative data, the
areas that the induction program should be robust in based on their general experiences
with newly hired professional staff. Further, the central office administrators would have a
more global perspective on the trends in education systems and may have ideas that would
be valuable in the planning process.

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

Similarly, in order to ensure that the program is developed comprehensively from
the perspective of all involved, mentors should also be surveyed. Those who have served
as mentors within the same period being studied in this research program should also be
asked to provide their experiences and to provide data surrounding the effectiveness of the
program. This could assist not only in the development of the onboarding program, but
also the mentor training portion of the framework that is being presented as a result of this
study.
Once the comprehensive onboarding program is implemented, it will be necessary
to assess its effectiveness. While it has been developed based on best practices included in
literature along with the data obtained through the survey contained in this research study,
the implementation of the program will need monitoring. Newly hired professional staff
should continue to be surveyed, utilizing the same survey tool from this study, in order to
compare results from year to year. This will allow the District administration to modify the
program, as needed, in order to increase its overall effectiveness.
Summary
There are many reasons for employers to invest time and resources into developing
a comprehensive onboarding program. Businesses utilize onboarding programs with the
goal of improving outcomes, many of which are related to profits. For educational entities,
our outcomes come in the form of students. Therefore, it is imperative that we invest our
resources in developing our greatest asset, our teachers.
The framework developed as a result of this study provides the most important
aspects of onboarding at each phase of the process. Each component builds upon the prior,
like the foundation of a structure. This creates building blocks throughout the employee’s

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

first year of employment that lead to sustained learning, a connection to the school district,
and the support needed in order to have a true impact on the District’s students.
On the Bus is a comprehensive onboarding program that is designed to engage the
newly hired professional staff within the Easton Area School District, deepen the
relationship between them and the District, and provide the supports that will have the
greatest impact on a seamless transition into the District. Undoubtedly, there will be
stressors for any new employee. However, the purpose of establishing a comprehensive
onboarding program is to provide a safety net and readily available resources that will
minimize stressors and help new staff members develop the confidence they need in order
to improve teaching and learning and the overall educational process in the Easton Area
School District.

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ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

APPENDICES

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

Appendix A
California University of Pennsylvania
Research Participant Informed Consent Form
For the capstone research project entitled:
Onboarding: Developing a system for newly hired professional staff within the Easton Area
School District
I.

Purpose of the research study:
The purpose of this capstone research is to develop a formal process for onboarding
professional employees that will be utilized within the Easton Area School District’s
Human Resources Department. This data obtained in this research will be used to
develop a formal system that, when implemented, provides a supportive and
engaging atmosphere to the beginning of a professional employee’s tenure in the
District.

II.

What you will be asked to do:
If you wish to participate in this study, you will be asked to complete an anonymous
questionnaire focused on your experience with the onboarding process as a new
employee in the Easton Area School District. Participation in this study is entirely
voluntary and there is no requirement for your participation. You may withdraw
from this study at any time with no penalty and any data you submitted would be
discarded. Your participation in this study will take a total of under ten minutes.

III.

Foreseeable risks:
There are minimal risks associated with your participation in this research. Your
anonymous responses will only be viewed by the researcher and will not be used in
any way by any other administrator in the District. Feedback will not be used in an
evaluative manner in any way, nor will it be shared with anyone with evaluative
responsibilities for professional staff in the district.

IV.

Confidentiality:
Any information provided and/or identifying records will remain confidential and
kept in a locked file and/or password-protected computer file. Following the
conclusion of this study, the data and results will remain in locked file at California
University in the Educational Administration and Leadership Department.

Contact Information:
If you have any questions about this research, you may contact either:
Primary Researcher:
Alyssa L. Emili

Faculty Advisor:
Dr. Peter J. Aiken

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM
Email: emi0956@calu.edu
Phone: 610-390-0952

99
Email: aiken@calu.edu
Phone: 717-368-8745

VI.

This research project has been approved by the California University of
Pennsylvania Institutional Review Board. This approval is effective 12/20/19 and
expires 12/19/20.

VII.

Your agreement to this consent form shall serve as your consent to utilize the data
provided herein.
Yes
No

ONBOARDING: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM

100

Appendix B
On the Bus: An Overview for Implementation
Research Based Best
Practice Category
Recruitment and
Acquisition

Onboarding Activity
•
•
•
•

Recruitment through HR webpage, Job Portals, and
Social Media
Paper screen and interview
Recommendation to HR
HR meets with each new employee

Compliance

•
•
•

3-day induction program
New employee handbook in electronic portal
Mentor checklist

Clarification

•
•
•

New employee trivia during induction program
Round table discussion during induction program
Round table discussions scheduled throughout the
year on topics identified by HR

Culture

•
•
•
•
•

Easton water bottle and t-shirt coupon
Complimentary Easton football tickets
Easton passport
Online professional learning sessions
School-specific program videos

Connection

•
•
•
•
•

Mentor
Mentor book study
Job embedded coaching
Collaboration circles
Online discussion board