The employee lifecycle refers to the important stages and employee goes through whilst with your organisation. But what exactly is the employee lifecycle? Why is it important to pay attention to the employee lifecycle, and what are the benefits of doing this?
What is the employee lifecycle?
The employee lifecycle refers to all stages of an employee’s journey through their organisation – from initial attraction and recruitment right through to the point they leave the company.
The five key stages of the employee lifecycle are: attraction, recruitment, onboarding, development, and exit – but there are other moments that matter throughout.
Why is the employee lifecycle important?
Paying close attention to the key stages of the employee lifecycle will encourage your organisation to evaluate and improve the employee experience for everyone. By providing employees with a better experience at your company, you’re more likely to attract and retain talent.
What are the benefits of paying attention to the employee lifecycle?
Once you understand the employee lifecycle, your organisation can focus on improving the employee experience at each stage. You’ll see increased engagement across your business by making your employees feel heard.
What are the outcomes of not paying attention to the employee lifecycle?
Poor engagement at any one of the stages in the employee lifecycle can quickly lead to employee turnover, as failure to pay attention to what your people expect from a modern-day workplace will result in highly unsatisfied staff.
High turnover can become a vicious cycle. You may begin to see low morale amongst the rest of your workforce, which may then lead them to look for work elsewhere.
What are the key employee lifecycle moments?
There are multiple opportunities to improve your workplace culture across the employee lifecycle. Here are some of the questions you should be asking at each stage, to plan and design the employee experience you want to provide:
Attraction – Are you highlighting the best of the company and its culture, to attract the best candidates? Do you have a strong, intentional employer brand and employee value proposition (EVP)?
Recruitment – What is the current candidate experience, and is it fair and transparent? Does the recruitment process produce the best employees for the roles advertised?
Onboarding – How do you enable and empower new starters to deliver, and are you providing them with the tools and skills to be able to do the job with clear expectations? How do you affirm the individual’s decision to join the organisation?
Connection – Organisations can’t force engagement – it’s an individual choice. How can you create an environment where people feel they belong, understand how they contribute to the end goals, and feel part of something, where they’re willing to contribute more than is asked?
Development – Does the organisation offer development opportunities, career paths and personal growth?
Perform – Do leaders ensure that all employees are supported and able to perform at their best?
Life Events – How do you manage and support employees through life events, from personal ones that may impact their mental health, to internal, corporate events such as promotion or greater people management responsibilities?
Exit – Why do employees leave? Does the offboarding process create a positive experience and create advocates who could one day return.
Related content:
[RESEARCH] The State of Employee Engagement 2022
[VIDEO] Winning the talent war: Using ‘the moments that matter’ to attract and retain staff
[ARTICLE] What are the moments that matter across the employee lifecycle?
[ARTICLE] 6 actionable tips to improve retention and recruitment
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