A reliable and effective employee lifecycle is essential for any leadership team who are looking to maximise success and profitability. Employees are the backbone of any organisation; without their contributions, businesses would become obsolete.
Encouraging employee productivity and engagement is only possible when employers master the employee lifecycle. Knowing the benefits of the employee lifecycle model and the steps involved in a successful model is critical to sustaining your business. This article will explore the employee lifecycle, why it matters, and the benefits of using this model to enhance the overall employee experience.
What is the employee lifecycle?
Employers use the employee lifecycle model to understand and analyse the employee experience. This human resources (HR) model chronicles the different stages a worker goes through with a company, from the initial advertising of the job position to the individual's final day with the organisation.
This model prioritises the individual's experience to understand engagement strategies and enhance well-being. Built on customer journey mapping principles, the employee lifecycle places the employee on equal footing with customers to examine issues and solutions to understand how an employee engages with the business.
Steps in the employee lifecycle.
The employee lifecycle model typically follows seven stages. While this number might differ depending on your business, the following is generally accepted as the standard for an employee lifecycle model:
1. initial brand attraction
The first step in any employee lifecycle is the attraction stage, which encompasses advertising open positions and engaging with potential workers to convince them to work for your business. You can locate dedicated candidates by making potential employees aware of your company. Promoting brand awareness and presenting your organisation in a positive light is critical to this step.
2. recruitment
This stage begins when the individual interacts with the business, actively engaging to discover more about the company and the open position before deciding whether to move forward. This step is successful when businesses promote a seamless and comprehensive process that presents the company as a desirable workplace.
3. onboarding
The onboarding process begins on the employee’s first day with a business and requires the employer to provide essential resources. This process prepares employees for what comes next and helps them adapt to their new environment. This step often entails training and other support to make the employee comfortable.
4. development
A successful career is all about progress and development. This stage of the employee lifecycle model encourages professional growth to help employees reach their ultimate goals. The development stage often includes processes like external learning, continuous training, performance reviews, and other helpful feedback to promote further growth.
5. retention
The fifth step of the employee lifecycle is about engagement strategies to encourage workers to stick with a company. Retention strategies ensure the workforce feel valued and appreciated when they perform well, fully integrating them into the company’s structure. Retaining your top talent is crucial for your company’s longevity.
6. exit
No matter how well you treat your employees, sometimes they leave. This is a natural part of the employee lifecycle. Whether they’re leaving for a new position, retiring, or moving, businesses need to put in the effort to make the exit process seamless and straightforward. Once the employee provides notice, the employer must work alongside them to develop a handover process and train colleagues to take over the former employee’s responsibilities.
7. alumni
The final stage in the employee lifecycle begins after the individual leaves an organisation. A positive employer experience fosters a positive impression of a business. Employers can create a helpful alumni network with an effective lifecycle to promote a sustainable and successful brand image.
Benefits of the employee lifecycle model.
The employee lifecycle matters for several reasons. Below are some of the primary benefits of the employee lifecycle model to consider when implementing this strategy to enhance the employee experience.
improved employee engagement
Employee engagement is essential to helping your workforce feel appreciated, valued, and welcome in your business. The lifecycle model keeps employees engaged and interested in helping your business grow and succeed, resulting in higher productivity and better overall performance. Engagement is possible when employers ensure they meet employees during every stage of the employee lifecycle.
reduced employee turnover
A high turnover rate is a problem for organisations without a proper employee lifecycle model. This model allows organisations to determine the best retention strategies, making meeting needs easier and encouraging employees to stick with a business for a significant period.
optimised employee experience
An employee lifecycle model enhances and optimises the employee experience by encouraging better performance and building secure, dedicated teams to help your organisation thrive. By improving the employee experience with a lifecycle model, you ensure that, even when workers leave, they have positive things to say about their experience to convince future candidates to apply.
enhanced training and development
Knowing how to effectively train your workers to succeed is vital to the future of your business. By understanding the employee lifecycle model, your organisation can appropriately adjust its training and development processes to provide employees with everything they need to succeed. Enhancing your training and development processes also guarantees that employees feel valued, appreciated, and motivated to excel.
encouragement to evolve
The employee lifecycle is significant because it prioritises well-being while encouraging you to evolve as a leader. Analysing the employee lifecycle helps you identify weaknesses in your current business structure, providing you with abundant ideas to improve experiences with your company at every stage. By understanding where your organisation is falling short, you can transform your business into something greater than before.
improve your employer brand.
Improving the employee experience with an effective lifecycle model is crucial to your overall organisational growth. Enhancing your employer brand through tailored recruitment solutions is possible with Randstad.
Randstad has helped job seekers and employers succeed by providing the top recruitment services in the UK for over 60 years.
- Contact Randstad today for all your hiring needs and start thriving with your new and improved employee lifecycle model.