Tactics for Socializing Employees
As professionals in the workforce, we all must figure out how to navigate leadership. Understanding the best ways to try and create a sustainable and hard working organization is vital if we want to create something that will last. We need to be able to find an even balance between authority and flexibility in order to not only keep our customers satisfied, but our employees as well. If the team that works for us is unable to do their work, or unwilling, it is our job to either find a new way to engage them, or hire new employees all together.
What are some of the best ways to go about engaging our superiors in a workforce and what will work best for our selected area of work? In the communication field there are twelve different tactics for trying to focus on the best ways of socializing newcomers to the workforce. Today we will be focusing on six of those twelve in order to get a start on how some of these tactics may or may not work.
First we are going to look at Collective vs. Individual Socialization. Collective socialization is when we socialize groups of newcomers together in order to create a shared sense of reality and increase group loyalty. Individual socialization is when we have isolated integration into the organization. When hiring team members into our organization we need to decide how we want to integrate them into the group. With the collective approach we are essentially showing our new employees that our organization values team effort and that we are collectively heer for one another as a unit working towards the same goal. With the individual approach we are kind of just throwing our new employee into the organization on their own and don’t bring in a s much of that community feel. Depending on how we want to brand and operate our company / organization, we can try either one of these approaches.
Next we are going to focus on Investiture vs. Divestiture Socialization. Investiture socialization is when the organization affirms and welcomes individual characteristics. Divestiture socialization is when the organization denies newcomers’ personal characteristics. WIth the investiture approach we would want to make sure that our organization values individuality. This approach celebrates each employee for themselves as they are and wants to focus on individuality in the workforce. The divestiture approach would be for a company that wants to be seen as one cohesive unit without looking at the individuals who specifically work there.
Another area we can observe is Fixed vs. Variable Socialization. Fixed socialization is when an organization provides newcomers with an exact time at which they should reach their desired role. Variable Socialization is when there is no real cue as to when a newcomer will reach their target role. If your organization wants their employees to stay on a specific path within the organization then the fixed approach may be the way to go. This can also help an employer see who is doing well in the position and who may not be cut out for the job. If the organization is more lenient on what they want their employees to be focused on then the variable approach may be better. This approach allows the employee time to see what they may be best at when it comes to helping the organization succeed. It can also give them time to properly adapt to the new work environment as they begin their job.
When it comes to the many different approaches to integrating new, current and former employees into a work environment, there are many to choose from. Each approach is suited for different environments and different types of work. Hopefully the examples that we looked at today have set us up for a better understanding at different ways in which we can run a successful organization and or company.
