Onboarding during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Insights from New Hires Entering the Audit Profession

Abstract

The pivot from in-person to remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic forced audit firm leaders to reevaluate work practices and to implement new strategies to cope with this profound transition in the profession. At the forefront of audit firm priorities is the new hire onboarding process, which is critical in shaping new auditors’ initial work experiences and their long-term commitment to the firm and profession. Drawing from organizational socialization theory, this study explores the onboarding process in a remote environment. Results of a field-based survey of 56 new staff auditors suggest that new hires experienced a more institutionalized, rather than an individualized, onboarding process. We also report aspects of the remote onboarding process auditors viewed positively and present auditor provided recommendations for improvements. Results of this study provide important insights regarding the remote onboarding process through the theoretical lens of organizational socialization and provide implications for future research and audit firms.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, onboarding, novice auditors, training, socialization