Communication Richness and the Success of the Early Career Professional (1999)

INTRODUCTION Communication is one of the most critical management functions and is especially important for early career employees as they become socialized into the organization and attempt to succeed in their early career positions. This is particularly true in professions where there may be a great deal of uncertainty or ambiguity regarding what must be done to be successful during the early career. Several professions, including accounting, banking, the law, as well as higher education, have relatively specific time periods that comprise the early career period and in which the true expectations for success are not always clearly spelled A wide variety of communication media can be used managers to communicate to early career professionals. We have investigated the proposition that the choice of the appropriate media the manager will affect the success of the early career professional during this critical formative period. THE EARLY CAREER The early phase of any career is a critical period. Both the individual entering and those already in the organization are learning about each other. As is true with any new relationship, early impressions are very important. During the early career, the individual who is just entering the organization may be overwhelmed with new information. Whether planned or unplanned, the new employee will experience a period of socialization during which he or she will learn not only the official requirements of the job but also the unwritten expectations of new roles. The process of organizational socialization has been defined as the means by which individuals are transformed from total outsiders of companies to participating, effective members of them (Feldman 1988, p. 71). According to Feldman (1988), the first stage is typically complete within six months to a year. Even after the initial socialization process, there are continuing issues to which the junior business or professional person must attend. First, she or he must continue to improve in performance on the job. Second, the employee typically must increase his or her technical competence in a specialized functional area (e.g., accounting, computers, marketing). Third, the new employee must still be willing to accept a relatively junior role in the organization. Fourth, this is the time to re-evaluate the choice of profession and organization (Schein, 1978). In many business organizations, this early career phase is also a time of careful testing and evaluation. Performance and promotion within the first few years of a career often determines the trajectory of the later career path (Rosenbaum, 1979). However, in some firms, the entry-level evaluation may take as long as seven years (Forbes, 1987). Within professional firms and academic institutions, there are well-established policies of up or out. For example, universities evaluate assistant professors for tenure after a five-to seven-year probationary period. Those whose performance is acceptable are tenured and promoted. Others are asked to leave the organization. Likewise, firms in fields such as law and public accounting evaluate entry-level professionals after a similar trial period. Eventually only the best performers are offered partnerships. Communication that is regularly sent to early career employees is an important aspect of their socialization and evaluation process. This communication can include written manuals, company policies and procedures, evaluations and letters, e-mail and memos as well as other forms of formal and informal written communication. Early career employees are also provided oral communication with face-to-face formal evaluations, voice mail and casual comments as well as other forms of formal and informal nonwritten communication. One might assume that during the socialization and probationary periods, the entry-level employee becomes fully aware of the performance expectations of the organization. …