As a continuation of the "BWB:konkret" project, "ALL:konkret" also strives for an inductive description of the reality of in-company continuing education. In ethnographic company visits lasting several weeks, data, documents and information not pre-structured by hypotheses are collected, for example through work shadowing, participatory observations, individual and group interviews or the analysis of documents. The data collected is analyzed in joint research workshops and fed into further phases of data collection and evaluation. The results of this circular research process are case-specific organizational analyses that reveal the individual specifics of an organization's in-company continuing education reality and make them open to discussion both for research and for the personnel and organizational development of the organizations under investigation. The organizational analyses are also reflected upon in joint workshops with the organizations studied. The objectives are as follows:

• Reconstruction of structures, strategies, organizational forms, technologies of corporate learning (system perspective)
• Reconstruction of meaningful motives, effective theories, contradictory requirements for action and cooperation in the practice of continuing education in the workplace (actor perspective)
• Reconstruction of historical lines of development, of conditional cycles, decision-making processes and the interlocking of in-company continuing education with external and societal processes (process perspective)
• Extraction of criteria for quality and professionalism of non-formal continuing education in company contexts
• Organizational and professional theoretical classification of in-company continuing education
• Development of a scheme for surveying company learning cultures and educational practice
• Development of conceptual approaches and action strategies for the further development of an innovative continuing education policy
• Didactic preparation of the case studies for teaching purposes in the scientific education and training of educational staff

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Skilled workers are crucial for the performance and innovative strength of companies. Currently and in the future, it is becoming increasingly difficult for SMEs in particular not only to find experienced specialists and trainees, but also to retain them in the medium and long term. The induction phase, also known as onboarding, plays an important role here: in the first few months of employment, new hires will contribute and develop their knowledge and skills, integrate themselves into the social fabric of the organization, discover the organizational culture and complete numerous administrative tasks. Digitalization and systematization of the onboarding process, which takes individual needs into account, offers the opportunity to structure and facilitate the onboarding process. The new specialists and trainees can experience the induction and familiarization period effectively and develop their potential during the initial phase.

The aim of the project is to design, test and evaluate a digitally supported onboarding approach. Three phases - preparation, orientation and integration - are taken into account. At the personal level, the focus is on professional and social aspects. As part of the project work, a series of structured kick-off, support and feedback meetings, a comprehensive diagnostic inventory and a digital platform for integrating and documenting the entire process are being developed. Their implementation and conditions for success are being researched in parallel.
This text was translated with DeepL on10/11/2025

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