From Newcomer to Productive Consultant : A Qualitative Case Study of Onboarding in Virtual IT Consulting Projects

Sammanfattning

This study examines which onboarding factors influence the time it takes for information technology (IT) consultants to become productive, and how virtual project settings shape these factors. While onboarding in the IT industry has often been studied in relation to internal employees, less attention has been given to IT consultants entering client projects as external members. Based on this gap, the study addresses the following research question: “Which onboarding factors influence IT consultants’ time to become productive, and how do virtual project settings shape these factors?” The research is based on a qualitative case study of a Swedish IT consulting firm. Data were collected through nine semi-structured interviews exploring consultants’ onboarding experiences in virtual project settings and were analyzed thematically, resulting in five themes. The findings show that IT consultants’ time to become productive is shaped mainly by three factors: curated initial tasks, social support, and structure, which support the other two. In virtual settings, onboarding becomes more dependent on structure, as informal access to colleagues is reduced, requiring more actively organized information and guidance. The study contributes to the information systems (IS) field by highlighting key requirements for successful onboarding in virtual IT consulting projects.