Organizations invest heavily in recruitment, but they have very little time to successfully integrate new employees. The first few days are not just about learning procedures and meeting the team. They can determine whether employees develop the relationships they need to find their place and stay with the organization. In a study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, Huaikang Zhou, Jiatan Chen, Ning Li, and Junyuan Liu show that early workplace relationships are closely associated with the risk of leaving.
The researchers analyzed the daily communications of 8,043 new employees at a large Chinese technology company, along with their departures. They found that, from the very first day, employees who communicated more with other newcomers rather than experienced colleagues were at greater risk of leaving the organization. Each additional contact with another newcomer was associated with a 30.8% increase in the instantaneous risk of departure, controlling for the total number of contacts.
The authors explain that new employees who interact primarily with one another risk remaining on the periphery of organizational networks, potentially limiting their access to informal knowledge, resources, and influential people who can facilitate their integration. The researchers also found that relationships with newcomers from other departments were particularly associated with turnover, while interactions with newcomers on the same team could provide valuable support. Importantly, the first ten days appeared to be critical in shaping these networks.
These findings suggest that onboarding should not simply bring new employees together, but also quickly connect them with established colleagues. Mentoring, collaboration on initial assignments, and meetings with key people could help facilitate this integration. Although this observational study cannot establish causation, it reminds us that successful onboarding involves more than giving someone a warm welcome. It also means helping them become part of how the organization actually works.