Report on the topic: “The concept of “adaptation”, its essence, main stages and factors”

Any change in a person’s life is always a way out of the comfort zone, out of convenient and familiar circumstances. Even positive changes are accompanied by serious stress, which, of course, affects the performance and psychological mood of each person. Additional stress factors are fears, concerns, uncertainty or lack of knowledge and skills on the threshold of new events.

An employee who starts working for the first time in another organization or in another position experiences all this to the fullest. And since not only his personal success, but also the efficiency of the enterprise itself depends on his activities, management is interested in his speedy and successful adaptation to a new place.

The issue of labor adaptation is occupying an increasingly serious place in modern personnel policy. Approaches to this problem are constantly changing due to the demands of a changing market. Let's consider modern approaches to the process of labor adaptation of personnel.

How is labor law adapted to the development of digital technologies ?

Adaptation goals:

1. Cost reduction - the faster an employee integrates into the work environment, the faster he will work effectively.
2. Reduce employee turnover: If a new employee feels uncomfortable in the workplace, he may start looking for a new job. If adaptation is successful, the new employee quickly joins the team and the chance that he will stay in the company for at least three years increases by 69%.
3. Saving time for the immediate manager: adaptation according to a specific algorithm helps different departments of the organization interact better to immerse the newcomer in the work environment.
4. Reducing the stress level of a new employee.
5. Increasing employee job satisfaction.

What influences adaptation?

• The company's openness to the arrival of newcomers to the team.
• Organization size: In a small organization, onboarding new employees is less formalized.
• Corporate culture – how open it is, how logically structured it is, and whether there are ready-made integration algorithms.
• The psychological climate in the team, in a friendly environment, adaptation occurs faster.
• Management skills, both from the immediate supervisor and from senior management.
• Motivation of a new employee - whether he is committed to short-term cooperation or plans to work as long as possible.
• A position with great responsibility and an impressive amount of work requires a long adjustment period.
• Personal characteristics of a newcomer - emotional intelligence, communication skills, education, qualifications.
• Compliance of skills and professional competencies with the position held.

Types of adaptation:

Adaptation can be primary , if an employee starts work for the first time in his life, and secondary , when he already has work experience. However, this division does not cover all the directions in which employees adapt to the new environment. If we consider this process in more detail, we can distinguish the following types of adaptation:

1. Social adaptation – familiarization with the “company atmosphere”, integration into the social environment, acceptance of norms of behavior, active interaction with this environment. 2. Production adaptation - inclusion of an employee in the production process, study of labor standards and production conditions, this includes getting used to new technology and software, studying a CRM system. 3. Professional adaptation – acquisition of new knowledge and skills needed in a new place of work, assessment of growth prospects, opportunities for training and advanced training. 4. Physiological adaptation – adaptation to new working conditions, schedule, loads. 5. Psychological adaptation – building relationships with the team and management. 6. Organizational adaptation - the study of interaction mechanisms in the organization: who can be contacted with this or that question, who reports to whom. Its result is a clear understanding of your place in the company structure. 7. Economic adaptation is the process of getting used to the system of material incentives and the level of payment.

Why is personnel adaptation necessary in an organization?

Since adaptation is a biological and psychological mechanism “built-in” in a person, in most cases it occurs by itself. The question may arise: why, in this case, focus attention on the problem of adaptation, develop its programs, and strive to increase its effectiveness?

Indeed, a person most often sooner or later, one way or another, adapts to any conditions or adapts them to suit himself. To do this, he needs several factors: enough time, motivation, the will to change and their natural capabilities. But in the process of professional activity, all these factors can cost the employer too much, so he strives to reduce and simplify this complex process as much as possible.

REFERENCE! Research shows that 9 out of 10 people who quit without working for even a year made this decision in their first days in the service.

Three approaches to adaptation

“Optical” - “you work, and we’ll look at you”

This approach cannot be called successful. Employers who choose it prefer to discuss the employee's salary and responsibilities after looking at him in action. There is practically no training; a beginner gets to work right away. If he doesn't fit, they hire someone else. For a new employee, this can result in frustration and a feeling of uselessness.

“Army” - “hard in training, easy in battle”

The probationary period becomes a real test of survival - the newcomer is given complex and responsible tasks, but is not explained how to complete them. Under these conditions, only the most purposeful remain. The employee who was not suitable is parted with and a new one is hired. This method has negative consequences: after joining the staff, the new employee relaxes or begins to “revenge”. Newcomers in such organizations are treated with hostility or tried not to notice - it is unknown how long they will last. Thus, an attempt to hire the best personnel results in the long term in a bad attitude towards work and conflicts in the team.

“Affiliate” – “we will help”

This approach is the result of an effective personnel policy. The employer realizes that there are no ideal candidates, does not delay the search, but chooses the most suitable person for the position. Entry into work is as smooth as possible - the employee is trained, introduced to the organization, and assigned a mentor so that he can ask him his questions.

Vladimir Trofimenko , General Director of the Mankiewicz representative office in Russia and the CIS countries, Member of the Strategic Council for Investments in New Industries under the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade:

“Our project management system was implemented in a natural, organic way and was based on the desire to achieve the company’s goals. We do not have a department that could deal with personnel adaptation. Instead, a “start-up” system has been introduced. They are formed based on the psychophysiological characteristics of each participant and are based on continuous training of team leaders who monitor balance, clear planning and hierarchy within the team. With this approach, the effectiveness of an entire department is always greater than the sum of the abilities of its constituent employees. Each startup is recruited for a specific project, and its duration depends on the deadline for completing the task. As soon as one startup closes, a new one is immediately formed, with a different composition of employees. Thus, the new employee does not go through a long adaptation process, but immediately gets to work and gets to know his startup colleagues. When the task changes, the newcomer begins to delve into the specifics of the work of another startup and works with other colleagues. It is quite difficult to accept a structure where there are no instructions for staff, a percentage of sales and penalties. But the results speak for themselves: at Mankiewicz, our average employee tenure is 12 years, and there is no staff turnover that plagues Russian companies. Many stay with us after coming for an internship for the first time as students. This means that the system confirms its effectiveness.”

No tears to kindergarten. Advice and recommendations from psychologists

How to help your child get used to it faster

1. First of all, carefully choose an institution, talk with teachers, read reviews, etc. Be confident in your choice. This is the first and important step to simplify adaptation, since a kind and sympathetic teacher is already half the battle.
2. Start adaptation by changing the regime. Adjust the schedule and daily routine of your child, close to the regime in the garden, this will make it much easier to get used to and will not cause such a shock to the child’s psyche. For example, if you are used to sleeping in the morning until 10-11, then about a month or two in advance you should gradually get up and go to bed earlier in the evening, otherwise you are guaranteed to have morning tantrums due to lack of sleep.
3. The same goes for nutrition. If your diet is significantly different from the menu in the garden, try to at least get a little closer to it. Many children refuse to eat in kindergarten - this makes it very difficult to get used to it.
4. Tell your child about the garden, what it is and why it is needed. When passing by the garden, show this place. Explain that there will be other children there, and the parents will be working at this time. Stick to the golden mean, don’t embellish this establishment or criticize it, speak completely honestly and clearly.
5. From the first days of adaptation, be confident in your decision and calm, maintain balance. This way you convey to your child an understanding of the importance of visiting this establishment and peace of mind. Let him know that everything will be fine. A lot will depend on your emotional background. Bring your child to kindergarten with a smile, talk about good and positive things along the way.
6. Start getting used to it for a few hours, gradually increasing the time spent.
7. There is an opinion that if a child is taken to the garden by his father or another relative in the morning, then the process of separation will be much easier and calmer than with his mother, since men, for example, are more restrained in showing emotions.
8. Before kindergarten, try to teach your child to eat, drink, ask to go to the potty, take off clothes, and ask for help. These skills will make getting used to it much easier, since now the attention to everyone in the group will be limited, the teacher will not physically have time to devote quality time to all the children.
9. On weekends and in the evenings, spend time with your child, be sincerely interested in his successes and activities, new friends and classmates. Don't let him feel abandoned and alone.
10. Give him some toy from home with you. Having a “piece of home” with you, the child will feel calmer.

Advice from a psychologist You can “assign” one of the toys to be on duty in the kindergarten. She will always accompany the child to the garden, “make sure” that everything is fine and in the evening “tell” you about how the day went. To do this, talk to the toy, and the baby will answer for it. So you can do a lot of things that the child himself would not tell you.

What not to do

1. Under no circumstances should you run away or disappear when bringing your child to the group. This way, you risk causing a strong fear that mom has disappeared, and this, in turn, can even provoke neurosis in the little man. Don't be fooled by the fact that you'll be back in a couple of minutes. The child will remember and wait, but you won’t come, and then again there’s fear: what if mom doesn’t come back at all?

   Be sure to inform and assure that you will return in the evening and will not leave your child in the garden, say when you come for him.

2. Patience and calmness. There will be tears and hysterics. Keep your balance. It is strictly forbidden to punish or yell at a child during the adaptation period. This will only make the situation worse.
3. Avoid the other extreme. Don’t delay goodbyes in the morning; excessive care and worries will also negatively affect addiction. This is especially true for parents who, after the first screams and tears, immediately return to the garden and take theirs back home.
4. Never threaten or scare the kindergarten. Never threaten that you will leave your child there and not come for him. So you yourself will create the impression of the garden as the most terrible place, a place of punishment.

   Moreover, in the presence of children, never say bad things about the teachers or the kindergarten itself, even if they deserve it. In this case, it is better to protect your child, transfer him to another nursery, and not instill in him a feeling of learned helplessness

5. Do not bribe or accustom your child to gifts or surprises for simply going to kindergarten. So you will doom yourself to endless blackmail, as soon as the baby understands what’s what. You can praise for certain successes and completed tasks in the garden.

Stages of adaptation for a new employee

Familiarization

This usually takes place during a probationary period. The employee gets acquainted with the goals and objectives of the company, corporate culture, and team. He analyzes whether his expectations and career goals coincide with what the employer offers, and makes a conclusion whether to stay with the organization.

The employer evaluates potential capabilities and professional competencies to understand whether the employee is suitable for this position. Depending on the decision made, the personnel department prepares documents on the admission of a new employee to the staff or on dismissal.

Device

This stage lasts from a month to a year. Its duration depends on the complexity of the work, the expected level of responsibility, the assistance provided to the employee by colleagues, subordinates, management and the personnel service. Storekeepers adapt the fastest (27 days); for office managers and secretaries, this process takes 46-47 days. Sales managers, accountants and executives get used to a new place of work in 80-82 days. Programmers (102 days) and HR employees (100 days) take the longest to adapt.

Assimilation

The employee is accepted by the team and is well aware of his place in the team. Its effectiveness increases. At this stage, the employee can determine for himself which tasks are important and priority, and which are routine.

Previously, the website Job.ru (now hh.ru) conducted a survey “Who most often helps a newcomer fit into a new team faster, master new tasks” and here is the result:

Conditions for professional adaptation of the team

Professional adaptation of the team depends on certain conditions, which include the following:

• objectivity of employee assessment during selection (for example, the use of competitive personnel selection)}
• setting probationary periods, which are an integral part of the work process in many modern enterprises}
• multi-level system of retraining and training of workers}
• continuous training of employees (once every 5 years or 3 years)}
• organization of work activities of the team, aimed at maximizing the implementation of the employee’s motivational priorities.

In order for professional guidance and labor adaptation of personnel to be effective, management needs to learn to combine a number of certain elements.

1. Structural consolidation of all functions for managing the adaptation process. This is mainly the responsibility of the employee training department. To do this, it is customary to use employees who are specialists - curators (mentors) for young staff.
2. Creation of information support for adaptation, preparation, collection and assessment of the level and duration of the adaptation period. Objective indicators make it possible to characterize the performance of personnel and their activity in a variety of environments.
3. Technology for managing employee adaptation, consisting of organizing seminars at which the problems of the adaptation period will be discussed. They prepare replacements for personnel during their rotation, conduct an individual conversation with a new employee, courses for curators and a manager who is just taking up his position.
4. Attractiveness of the organization, prestige and prospects of the profession.

Correct, successful socio-professional adaptation lies in the mechanism of interaction between an employee and his organizational environment. In addition, the choice of methods for developing the potential of human resources throughout the enterprise plays a major role.

Adaptation of new employees: how to speed up

Hiring an employee is a long and complex procedure. The employee has not yet begun his duties, but financial and time resources have already been invested in him. Any employer is interested in ensuring that the adaptation of new employees takes place as quickly as possible. What you can do for this:

Develop an adaptation plan

This is a manual for the HR department and a new manager, which shows step-by-step measures to introduce the employee to the process. This can include:

• Introductory tour. This should not be neglected; often an employee is embarrassed to ask where the canteen or break room is located.
• Internal rules and regulations: work and rest hours, rules for using a mobile phone during working hours, schedule of meetings and team building events, dress code adopted by the company.
• Hiring an employee: signing an employment contract, issuing a hiring order, making an entry in the work book.
• Introducing the employee to how information is exchanged in the company: through instant messengers, email or using a CRM system, as well as issuing a login and password for corporate mail.

Any company develops, and regulations change along with it, so the plan needs to be periodically updated: remove unnecessary things and supplement with new information.

Conduct training or education

These could be events designed to train new employees or general sessions for all employees. They can be individual or group, for example, a ready-made introductory video course in a corporate training system.

Attach a mentor

It is to the mentor that the new employee can ask any questions about the organization of work, communication with other departments and other important nuances.

Establish communication with your immediate supervisor

A newbie should receive feedback from his boss. It may be worth setting aside a special time for this where you can ask all questions and get feedback on your work. It is important for a manager to pay attention to signs of maladaptation in an employee’s behavior:

• decreased performance recently;
• poor relationships with the team;
• disregard for corporate culture norms;
• violations of discipline;
• dependence on a mentor or leader;
• decreased motivation.

Include a newcomer into the life of the team

It is necessary to introduce the employee to the team, tell him what his duties will be, and what questions he can be contacted about. If the organization is large, it is better to duplicate this information in an email newsletter.

Team building events are also suitable for this. A beginner can prove himself in sports or creative projects. Not everyone is ready to immediately become actively involved in corporate life, but if a person shows initiative, we need to give him this opportunity.

Anna Leonova , employee of the personnel motivation and adaptation department of ICL Services:

“A new job is always stressful, whether you are a senior specialist or an intern. A new team, office, responsibilities or processes are all a potential risk that the newcomer will not like it and will leave for another company. That's why organizations do everything they can to minimize these risks. At ICL Services, the adaptation of new employees is worked out to the smallest detail. We understand that the less time a newcomer spends on entering a position, the faster and more efficiently he will begin to work and benefit the business. The first thing a new employee sees after HR in a company is his mentor. The mentoring program lasts 3 months and helps to socialize in a team. There is always someone nearby who can tell you: how to use the internal portal, how to apply for training, who to contact on a work issue, or where the canteen is located. ICL Services received the prestigious IT HR Awards for this program. The portal has been studied, the recruiter's kit is on the table, the equipment has been received, and now the first letter arrives in the mail. In it, the employee sees that he was expected at a new place. By the way, all colleagues also receive a newsletter with a photo of the newcomer, so that they understand which team he works for. The introductory training talks about the work of all departments of the company, social responsibility, processes and projects. Department heads and top executives come here to talk live about the company’s mission, what’s here and why. Such training is carried out as the group is recruited. To make it easier to understand the unofficial rules of behavior in open space, the company has developed a comic where it explains what is good and what is not so good. We also have an electronic adaptation course. In it, the employee sees what trainings he must undergo and what information he must study so that the work becomes clearer and easier. After the probationary period, the employee undergoes a “360” assessment, which is designed to assess his success during this period. The employee is assessed by his manager, colleagues with whom he worked, and, of course, himself. You should always remember that there are two parties involved in hiring and onboarding. And a newcomer also evaluates the company when he comes here. And if he couldn’t adapt, that’s a question for the company.”

The best age to send your child to kindergarten

Most psychologists believe that the optimal age for getting used to kindergarten is 3 years.

The thing is that by the age of three, the child approaches the “3-year crisis” - a period when the level of independence is activated, now the baby declares that he wants to do everything himself, and most importantly, psychological dependence and connection with his mother decreases.

Now the child slowly, but often unconsciously, begins to understand his isolation. He is no longer one with his mother, but a separate person. This means that parting with her will no longer cause such pain, and the fear will not be as enormous as, for example, at a year and a half.

Also, there is no need to rush because at the age of 1-3 years, a child-parent relationship is established, and an attachment to the mother is formed. This is necessary for the correct establishment of family ties. Therefore, a long separation from mom can even cause a nervous breakdown and destroy basic trust in the world as a whole.

In addition, it is worth noting that at the age of 3 years, the child is much more independent in everyday life. He is already familiar with the toilet, knows how to use cutlery, and some can already dress and undress quite well, albeit a little awkwardly.

Adaptation in a nursery

Sending a 3-4 year old child to kindergarten is very difficult and exciting - the whole family is worried. But sending a baby a year or two to a nursery is even more difficult, a thousand times more difficult. Because before this, mother and child most likely were not separated for more than a few hours.

No matter how difficult this decision may be, most often it is due to serious life circumstances, such as an urgent return to work, financial difficulties, emotional burnout, maternal depression or other situations.

Pass

test for postpartum depression

You need to start preparing in advance, preferably a couple or three months in advance. First of all, you need to start with your mother.

It’s simple, at the age of one or one and a half, a child absolutely does not need either a group of children or urgent socialization, he does not at all strive to be with his peers, he only needs his mother. Therefore, first you need to firmly understand the fact that kindergarten is needed by the mother, not the child.

But you shouldn’t make a terrible tragedy out of this, blame yourself for betrayal and then suffer from it: situations are different and sometimes a nursery is the only way out.

Mom needs to be calm, confident and balanced. To do this, you can perform a simple task. Take a piece of paper with a pen and write down all the pros and cons of sending your child to a nursery. It is quite possible that in this way you will make the right decision, having weighed and considered everything.

A mother should radiate calm and confidence in her decision, and not torment herself, her family and, most importantly, the child with doubts.

The following actions are aimed at preparing the child. It is worth finishing breastfeeding or leaving it only at night.

Then you need to tackle one of the most important organizational issues: choosing a kindergarten and a teacher. It is important to understand that a competent, educated and loving teacher is the best thing you can do for your small and defenseless child. A teacher by vocation is your goal.

Read reviews about the gardens and their workers, go to meet them, talk, discuss all the important points that interest you, from the daily routine, menu, education, to means of communication. It will be great if you manage to go on a trial day with your baby, make sure that the environment, teachers and everything else suits you.

Next, be patient, adaptation is different for all children, where one will get used to it in a week, the second may take three months to get used to it, be patient.

In this case, the best advice is that it says that mom needs to go to work a little later, in a couple of months, when the picture of getting used to the garden will be more or less clear. And if your child is sick or unwell, you can stay at home with him without depriving him of your love and care.

Ideally, it would be to arrange a soft adaptation, that is, you spend the first day with the child in a group, fully participating and watching what is happening, then you can sit on the sidelines and just watch, and the baby will see you and seek help if necessary.

Next, try going out the door, and gradually increase the time you are away. Well, the teacher must monitor this process; it is she who will have to win the trust and affection of her little friend.

In your free time from the garden, try to pay attention to your child, spending quality weekends without being distracted by gadgets and other things, and set aside at least a few hours a day for playing together. And finally, you can come up with your own farewell rituals, for example, the famous “palm” or “pocket” kiss, which will remind you of your love all day.

Psychologist's advice Kiss in the pocket - when saying goodbye to your baby, you send a lot of air kisses into his pocket, and tell him that if he gets bored, uncomfortable or sad, he can always “get” one of your kisses from his pocket and cheer himself up.

Adaptation at 2 years

At 2 years old, a child’s adaptation to kindergarten is even more difficult and acute. There are enough reasons for this.

• Firstly, children at this age perceive separation from their mother, new acquaintances and a change of environment with fear and distrust.
• Secondly, the baby does not yet know how to take care of himself, most often he does not yet know how to eat himself, the skills of rules and methods of hygiene, culture are still very poorly developed, and accordingly, in a group where independence is encouraged, it will be difficult for him.
• Thirdly, many children do not speak very well yet, they cannot formulate their thoughts, and, therefore, it will be difficult for them to ask for help or complain to you if something goes wrong.

Children at 2 years old also do not yet need to communicate with peers, and interaction with their mother and close relatives is quite enough for him. Strong attachment to the mother does not allow relaxation and the baby experiences constant tension and stress.

It is also important that the regime and daily routine in kindergarten are often very different from those at home, and this is another stress for a small organism.

A noticeable decrease in attention to the child also affects, because now there is only one teacher for 15-20 children and it is unrealistic to devote time to everyone.

Well, without diseases, infections and other things, few people have undergone adaptation. The child gets sick a lot, and this also complicates the process of getting used to it, since visits are irregular.

Everyone gets used to new conditions differently. It happens that a child enters the group calmly and without tears, however, then after a while he begins to cry and worry. At home, parents may notice the same changes and disturbances, in the form of poor sleep or appetite, apathy or aggression, decreased interest in new things, and, of course, frequent colds and viral diseases.

There is an opinion that the sooner you send your child to kindergarten, the easier and faster he will get used to and adapt to new conditions. However, there are many objections here. At the age of 2 years, the child is still not independent and often does not even know how to talk, as a result of which the fear and anxiety experienced may not even be noticed or understood by the parents, which subsequently leads to not the best situations, the baby may become withdrawn, and the consequences of stress may have consequences in the distant future.

Adaptation at 3 years

It should be repeated that, according to psychologists, this age is ideal for adaptation to children's institutions. By the age of three, your little child gradually begins to turn into a separate personality, independent, protesting, denying and contradicting. Character and temperament emerge, he begins to defend his “I”.

At this age, as a rule, the walls of one’s home and beloved mother are no longer enough. There is a need for a team, communication with peers, joint games and a desire to learn and learn everything new. Knowledge about the world increases and is enriched, and contacts with children of a similar age and development bring pleasure and joy.

Experience of interacting with different people is gained, the child learns to build relationships, get out of conflicts, and a personality is formed. This person simply craves communication, asks his parents to play various games, read fairy tales, and so on. It is at this stage that preparation for public life begins.

It is worth noting that even at the age of 3, adaptation can take place differently; some children will calmly fall asleep and have dinner in a group within a week, while others will tearfully beg their mother not to go to kindergarten.

However, during this period, in front of you is no longer a baby, but a completely independent person, and therefore the addiction will take place with less psychological stress and consequences.

Let's summarize

Onboarding should not be viewed as a process of learning a new job. It involves immersing an employee in a new environment, understanding the rules of behavior, interacting in a team, accepting corporate norms, and establishing relationships with colleagues and partners.

The adaptation process is mutual: the organization evaluates the employee, and the employee evaluates the organization. A lot of time is spent searching for a suitable specialist, especially a highly qualified one, so every employer is interested in ensuring that the employee starts working with maximum efficiency and benefit as quickly as possible.

Adaptation of new employees can go in different ways: somewhere a newcomer is thrown into the thick of things, hoping that he will figure it out on his own; somewhere they are treated with care so that the stress experienced by the employee is minimal.

It is important to understand that the duration of adaptation does not coincide with the duration of the probationary period; it can take up to four months or more. A developed adaptation plan, the assignment of a mentor, and a system of training and corporate education will help speed it up.

The main problems of beginners

What can make life difficult for a person in his first days at a new job? What should specialists dealing with personnel adaptation problems pay attention to first? Research shows that the predominant negative aspects that prevent new employees from feeling “in their place” are:

• lack of organizational knowledge;
• inability to navigate in a new environment;
• constraint in front of management and colleagues;
• lack of practical experience.

To these objective factors are added subjective experiences that further complicate adaptation, such as:

• fear of appearing incompetent and failing to cope with one’s responsibilities;
• fear of losing a job (or a passionate desire to “promote” as quickly as possible);
• fear of not becoming respected in the team;
• lack of contact with superiors (antipathetic manager or, conversely, fear of not liking him);
• inability to “fit in” with the team (fear of being rejected or not wanting to get closer on your own initiative), etc.