The employee life cycle is a procedural method used to conceptualize how every individual employee engages with the organization that they are a part of. It shows the stages involved in the employee’s life right from being attracted to the company to separating from it.
ELC greatly resembles a customer journey as the companies want the employees to know that they are as important as their customers! By drafting an employee life cycle map like a customer life cycle map the companies will see two key advantages- better talent attraction and retention.
In order to understand what the employee life cycle consists of, let’s have a look at each of the stages in detail.
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1. Attraction
The first and foremost stage of an employee’s life cycle is the talent attraction stage. No matter how strong and innovative your product or service is, without the attraction of top-skilled candidates who are perfect for the job role, your company will keep suffering losses. Ergo, attracting candidates is of the most crucial stages of any company’s success strategy. This stage is the sole stage that occurs even before a company has a vacant job role. Also known as the employer brand, it is the projection of the image portrayed of a company. They try to portray their brand positively and show the potential candidates why it would be an amazing place to work. In order to attract skilled candidates, there are certain tips that every company must follow, such as-
- Raising brand awareness– Making people aware of what your brand entails is very crucial. Ask your managers and employees to be active on seminars and social media to let people know about your brand and what kind of services you provide.
- Work culture– Nowadays, having a good work culture is very important for every company as the workforce is dominated by millennials and they will not settle for a strict work-culture. Thus by creating a fantastic work-culture, not only will your retention rate increase, but also the existing employees will let their friend know what an amazing work-environment you work in.
Also Read: 4 Quick Ways to Reach Out and Recruit the Best Talent
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2. Recruitment
The second stage of the ELC is the hiring process. This is the process when the HRs peruse and recruit the ideal candidate for their company. Recruiting can either be for an existing vacant job role or creating a new position altogether if the candidate is worth it. There are a few tips that companies should follow for ensuring successful recruitment such as creating a robust referral program. One of the best ways to find an idyllic candidate is to ask for references from your existing employees. As they know the company and its culture in and out, they will know who is best suited for the particular job role. Having said that, obviously, no one would do this for free, thus the company should create a referral program where the employees get a cut if their referred candidate gets selected.
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3. Onboarding
The third stage of the employee life cycle is onboarding. This a process where the newly hired employees are trained to learn about the company, its goals, policies, and working. It is very crucial to make sure that the employee’s values and targets are aligned with those of the company. The onboarding stage is very important as in this stage employees get to know what exactly they will be working as and how much they are valued, which in turn helps the company in retaining them.
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4. Development
The next stage of the employee life cycle is the development phase. It is during this time that the employers encourage the new employees to be a part of the team and work efficiently and productively. They also help employees with career progression and skill development.
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5. Retention
The second-last stage of the employee life cycle is retaining the best employees. It is in this phase that the companies try their best to retain the employees that are a valuable asset to them. An employee will only stay within a company as long as they feel that they are being valued and their career is progressing. This, it is very crucial that the companies take efforts to retain their best employees. This can be done when the managers know the needs of every employee and try to fulfil them. As long as an employee is satisfied with their job, they will surely stay in the company for the long haul.
Also Read: 7 Effective Tips to increase employee retention rate
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6. Separation
The last stage of the employee life cycle is their separation from the company. For many employees, there comes a point when their employee life cycle comes to an end, whether from new employment, retirement, or other personal reasons. It is very important that the companies should treat the separation stage as equally as the onboarding stage as it sets a good example for the existing employees. The managers should always try to retain the employee if the reason is dissatisfaction with the job. If not, then they should let them go in the most positive way possible. This increases the credibility of the company immensely.
Takeaway
The employee life cycle is one of the best ways for companies to conceptualize and plan each stage of an employee successfully. By giving importance to every stage of the employee life cycle, the company will surely reach the peak of success.
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