A guide to creating employee life-cycle

Tips and Benefits of designing an effective employee life cycle

Anyone who has read fairy tales, especially the ones with princes and princesses, knows that the story ends with a ‘And they lived happily ever after…’

Those people also know that to get to happily ever after, the prince and his swarm of the army has to fight the bad guy, slay some dragons and then find the princess or the reward.

Now, you must be wondering why a human resource blog is talking about fairy tales. What If you were told that this fairy tale is hypothetically your life in your organization?

Organizations (or recruiters), always wish to hire candidates that accompany them in their growth journey towards a ‘happily ever after’. But from the above snippet, you would have realized that it takes a lot to make that happen!

Let us look at how you can understand and contribute to a candidate’s well-being and success so they want to retire from the organization.

What is an employee lifecycle?

Employee lifecycle (ELC) is the relationship between the employee and the organization – right from the moment they apply for the job till they leave.

The employee lifecycle has several chronological stages and there is constant interaction between the employee and the company, whether purposeful or implicit. Every interaction creates an impression for the employee about the organization (and vice versa).

The experience of a candidate or employee determines whether they would want to take the professional relationship ahead. Also, at every stage lies an expectation that is expected to be met (or at least managed) by the supervisor or the organization.

Key takeaways

At one glance, it does seem like a lot to do, doesn’t it?

If you have your strategy or game plan in place, you will be able to cruise through the stages and be able to provide a wonderful experience quite effortlessly.

As a moral of the story, if you understand the employee, you will realize that they need:

work that is satisfying, challenging, and/or rewarding
have their significant needs met, even if in the long run
positive experiences, outweighing the others
overall comfort and well-being

To effortlessly offer these to the employee, you (as in, the organization) will need:

a clear vision and organizational strategy for business and the workforce
a strong value system to guide the leadership
open communication channels
the ability to adapt and improve

Remember that creating and managing a smooth employee experience needs the contribution of the entire organization, including the employees themselves. It is important to encourage employees to take shared responsibility for their development as well as maintain a good work culture.

Employee engagement is not to be used only as a fix for low morale or as a retention technique. ELC helps in creating consistent engagement in the long run.

What are the benefits of designing an employee lifecycle?

Every organization has a business strategy; however, companies that have an employee lifecycle strategy end up being more successful. Just as we remind ourselves that hard work pays off, it is worthwhile to note the benefits of creating an ELC strategy.

On the business side, an effective ELC design will:

#1 Create a reliable and productive workforce

By creating a strategy, various interventions can be put in place for commonly encountered scenarios viz. performance management systems, training feedback, coaching, etc. This will optimize performance to achieve business outcomes.

#2 Reduce turnover costs through talent retention

By helping the employee develop and providing positive experiences, employees can be retained and turnover and rehiring costs can be reduced considerably.

#3 Improve brand reputation

A productive and satisfied workforce will lead to positive customer experiences which, in turn, will improve brand image.

On the employee engagement side, an effective ELC strategy will:

#4 Help track and plan the employee’s growth and well-being

Today, organizations invest a lot in employee development and may consider employee needs such as work-life balance, flexible work modes, etc.

#5 Help in consciously creating positive talent experiences

ELC provides the opportunity to gather employee feedback and create positive experiences, at every stage of the life cycle.

#6 Improve employer reputation

A satisfied workforce will advocate your brand, as an employer.

If you have had an ‘aha’ moment after reading through so far and wish to create an ELC strategy, you need to follow these steps:

The first step is always to set a vision and goals for talent acquisition, development, and retention – in fact, for every aspect where employees are concerned.
The next step is to define lifecycle stages and sub-stages. Although some common stages are defined, organizations can choose to define sub-stages. For example, rewards and recognition can be defined as sub-stage within development or retention.
Taking this further, involve departments in various stages of the life cycle. Best practices can be shared with leadership, encouraging them to create positive experiences for their teams.
When you start implementing your ELC process, review it periodically and realign it, if necessary. Of course, reviewing employee feedback will prompt you to make the necessary changes.

What are the stages of the employee lifecycle?

Dividing the employee lifecycle into stages helps you track employee satisfaction and measure the effectiveness of your processes. Following are some stages that are universally defined as a part of an ELC:

Stage 1: Attracting the right talent

The first interaction with prospective candidates begins much before they apply for a role in your organization. It starts when a candidate comes across your brand name, job posting, or website. The way you communicate your brand is subtly responsible for the talent you attract. Experienced candidates often scour through your website to understand if being a part of your organization will benefit them. Several companies present their work culture, employee testimonials, and their success stories.

Once the candidate applies for a job, engagement begins and so does the perception of the organization through the interactions. The experience of the candidate serves as Moments of Truth (MoT) for them.