Features of managing the adaptation of young specialists: The importance of organizing the process, face-to-face interaction and company values

Aim. The work aimed to systematize the main areas of work of companies and personnel adaptation activities, as well as to highlight priority and specific areas of activity for managing the adaptation of young specialists.

Objectives. The work seeks to identify the factors that create the current features of the youth labor market and employment of university graduates; to summarize the best practices of Russian companies in the field of adaptation of different categories of personnel; to review the trends and promising fields of work of companies to attract and retain young people after the probationary period using the example of students and graduates of economic specialties.

Methods. The authors applied general logical methods of cognition (dialectical, systemic, logical and comparative analysis).

Results. The trends and factors that influence significantly the labor market and employment of young specialists (university graduates) were analyzed. The factors exerting the greatest influence include the demographic trend of declining birth rates; changing employers’ requirements, in particular a decrease in the significance of a diploma as an educational signal and an increase in the significance of established practice-oriented skills; a shortage of labor supply in 2024–2025, prompting organizations to shift the focus of HR management to staff retention; changes in the factors of labor motivation of modern workers, when the choice of activity is influenced not only by the amount of remuneration and advancement prospects, but also by the corporate values and culture of the employer company. The study revealed specifics of taking into account the characteristics of young specialists as a category of workers at different stages of adaptation.

Conclusions. According to the article authors, one of the main factors of successful adaptation and retention of employees in entry-level positions is the value correspondence of the company’s culture and the employee’s attitudes. The study identified key activities for the adaptation of young specialists. In particular, the relationship between the active promotion of the employer brand for a young audience and the prospects for retaining graduates after the probationary period is demonstrated. It is argued that the challenge for companies in connection with earlier employment and the development of the student internship format is the need to adapt the personnel of increasingly younger ages.

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