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Turnover plays a significant role in the productivity of any organization and is especially vital within the initial adjustment period of new hires. Organizations seek to develop strategies to reduce turnover to help solve this issue, but these strategies require knowledge of what influences the retention and satisfaction of the employees. The objective of this research is to identify the factors that managers perceive to affect the retention and the satisfaction of newly hired aerospace engineers so that managers or employers can create strategies to reduce turnover within this group. While research has been conducted on general retention and satisfaction, no research has been specific to the aerospace engineering field and its newly hired employees. These aspects are important because unique factors can arise within specific fields. The current study used qualitative research methods to analyze seven semi-structured interviews with experienced managers of newly hired aerospace engineers. These interviews were analyzed to find key factors that managers consider to affect retention and satisfaction. This research identified six themes for retention factors: local and national economic trends, personal factors unique to each newcomer, the quality of work assigned to the newcomer, the social environment of the workgroup, benefits offered to employees, and the newcomer’s role and how it fits in with the workgroup. This study also identified six themes for satisfaction factors: the quality of work assigned to the newcomer, management styles and actions, general work environment, benefits, fit with a mentor, and expectations for the aerospace industry. 

Research suggests that engineers generally undergo socialization through two sets of socialization processes when they are newly hired to an organization: (1) initiating proactive behaviors and (2) participating in company-initiated actions, called organizational tactics. This study provides a first-look at socialization in the U.S. aerospace and defense (A&D) industry by examining how newly-hired engineers at A&D organizations initiate proactive behaviors and participate in organizational tactics to adjust to their new jobs and organizations. First, the relationships between two sets of socialization processes and socialization outcomes of new engineers were examined. Second, holistic profiles that best characterize newly hired engineers’ socialization processes, and whether engineers with different types of profiles present varying socialization outcomes were identified. A total of 86 new engineers who had less than two years of working experience in their A&D organizations were included in this study. Multiple regression and Latent Profile Analyses (LPA) were employed. Study findings show that newly-hired engineers in the A&D industry frequently rely on social interactions to adjust to their job position and organization, and they often participate in organizational tactics more than proactive socialization behaviors. Implications of these findings in the context of A&D workplaces and aerospace engineering education settings are discussed.