Who Do I Ask? Relational Capital, Hybrid Onboarding, and How Leaders Can Help Newcomers Belong and Perform Faster

Abstract: Hybrid and AI-enabled workplaces have made the informational side of onboarding easier while making its relational side harder. New qualitative research at a multinational financial services firm suggests that remote work erodes relational capital, the informal knowledge of whom to ask, comfort in asking, and colleagues' willingness to help, with new hires feeling the loss most acutely. This article integrates that work with research on organizational socialization, collaboration networks, workplace proximity, and generative AI to explain why newcomers struggle to build connections and what this costs in ramp-up time, early turnover, knowledge flow, and wellbeing. It reviews evidence on five responses: structured and identity-affirming onboarding, buddies and manager ownership, deliberate connection beyond the team, honest preboarding, and incentives that make helping count alongside AI tools that answer the what but not the who. Documented examples from technology, IT services, healthcare, banking, retail, manufacturing, higher education, and the public sector illustrate each response.