Supervisors’ roles for newcomer adjustment: review of supervisors’ impact on newcomer organizational socialization outcomes

Purpose This study aims to explore and classify the fragmentary findings of previous studies and improve understanding of the overall roles of supervisors in newcomer organizational socialization (NOS) and their relationships to NOS outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The study chiefly involves undertaking a literature review, with an emphasis on the perspective of human resource development (HRD). A structured literature review was conducted to identify and select articles through the Web of Science database. Findings Five important roles of supervisors during NOS – supporting training transfer, providing information, clarifying newcomers’ roles, facilitating sensemaking and providing feedback – were revealed from an examination of extant work. These roles markedly influence five different components of newcomers’ adjustment: task mastery, role clarification, organizational knowledge, social identification and social integration. Research limitations/implications Although the concept of NOS used in this paper did not include all meanings of organizational socialization, the findings proposed key areas that require further study to enhance the understanding of supervisors’ roles for NOS. Practical implications The literature review suggests key efforts that supervisors should pursue to enhance the efficacy of newcomers’ adjustment. HRD professionals can use this information to design supervisor training programs aimed at enhancing supervisors’ knowledge and skills for successful NOS. Originality/value Studies have reported that supervisors markedly impact NOS and ultimately a newcomer’s success or failure. Relatively little work, however, has investigated how supervisors’ roles in the NOS process can enhance newcomers’ successful NOS outcomes.