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Editor's Note: This article was updated on April 19, 2024 to reflect new information and data.
One of the lessons we can take away from the pandemic is the importance of every stage of the employee experience lifecycle. Delivering an excellent employee experience at these moments that matter can help organizations mitigate the unpredictability of the workforce.
Think about it: In December 2021, a staggering 4.5 million people quit their jobs. While the quit rate has since decreased, with 3.4 million workers voluntarily leaving their jobs in January 2024, it's a good reminder of how volatile and unpredictable the workforce can be.
Understanding the intricacies of the EX lifecycle is essential in today’s dynamic work landscape. It extends far beyond retention and cost-saving measures, and directly impacts every facet of an organization. Ultimately, a thriving workplace culture and engaged, productive workforce are fundamental drivers of organizational success.
But what is the employee lifecycle, and how do organizations use it to produce strategic outcomes? Keep reading to explore the seven stages of the employee lifecycle and learn about the impact and benefit on customer experience.
What Is the Employee Lifecycle?
The employee lifecycle consists of all of the interactions an employee has with an organization leading up to, during and following their employment. It begins with attraction and recruitment, and continues through onboarding, development and engagement, and ends with an employee's departure and transition from the company.
The employee lifecycle model depicts the interactions, perceptions and experiences an employee has with their employer, colleagues, work environment and job responsibilities. The employee journey is crucial for organizations to understand and manage effectively, as it directly influences the employee experience, including worker satisfaction, engagement, productivity and retention.
Why Design an Employee Lifecycle Strategy?
A well-implemented employee lifecycle strategy helps to sustain a thriving workplace culture and an engaged workforce. By focusing on the employee experience, organizations can enhance workplace appeal, boost productivity, retain top talent and gather valuable feedback that can further improve operations and the experience of other team members within the organization.
Creating an employee lifecycle strategy can create a positive work environment that leaves your employees feeling valued, engaged and motivated to contribute their best.
7 Stages of the Employee Experience Lifecycle
Once you have a high-level overview of employee experience, delve into the details. There are seven crucial stages throughout the employment lifecycle: the attraction and recruitment process, onboarding, development, retention, exit and advocacy.
Below is a breakdown of the employee lifecycle stages and questions to ask at each touchpoint.
1. Attraction
The initial stage of the employee lifecycle begins with attraction. Organizations must create a compelling employer brand and provide a positive candidate experience to attract potential candidates. It’s important for a company to identify and embody the goals, missions and values exhibited as a part of their branding and organizational focus. Building a great image through branding efforts will attract the best candidates to your business.
When evaluating attraction strategies and assessing their effectiveness, consider asking the following questions:
- Are potential candidates aware of your organization and its reputation as an employer?
- How well does our employer brand resonate with the target audience and align with their values?
- Are your job postings and recruitment materials compelling and engaging to potential candidates?
- How do candidates perceive your organization's culture, values and workplace environment?
Key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics for the attraction stage measure how effectively organizations attract and engage top talent. This can include include:
- Brand Tracking.
- Online Presence.
- Employer Reputation.
- Networking and Outreach.
2. Recruitment
A prospective employee's first impression of a company will likely be your online presence. As such, make sure the quality of the corporate website, social media and job ads align with output and expectations. It's the first chance to differentiate from competitors and give candidates a taste of what they can expect working with the company.
During the recruitment process, treat potential employees like clients as opposed to subordinates. Make sure the entire experience is smooth and streamlined so it appeals to the most organized and efficient prospects.
There are a number of questions to ask when surveying candidates — both successful and unsuccessful. Examples could include:
- Did you feel like you were treated with dignity and respect?
- Was the process fair and balanced?
- Do you think the interviewers represented the company values they explained to you?
- Was your experience positive in relation to the following: technology, meeting place and company culture?
Recruitment KPIs and metrics evaluate the effectiveness of the hiring process. It can be essential to track various metrics such as:
- Quality of hire.
- Cost per hire.
- Recruiting yield metrics.
- Offer acceptance rate.
3. Onboarding
A strong onboarding process is crucial for any company looking to maximize an employee's journey. As the old saying goes, people should start as they mean to go on. This is the chance to immerse newcomers in company culture and mold them into a way of working. New employees will carry the habits they learn at this crucial stage throughout their career at a company.
During this process, share the company's mission, vision and core value statements with new employees. Other necessary documents include a code of conduct, detailed job description, company hierarchy overview and onboarding training program. By letting future employees know exactly what is expected from them, you set them up for success.
The more refined this process, the better a company will be at retaining excellent staff members. Survey questions for new hires at the onboarding stage could include:
- Did you feel comfortable using the technology and tools provided during onboarding?
- Do you know where you can get support if you need it?
- Are you clear on what's expected from you in your job role?
- Have you been made to feel welcome and part of the team?
Onboarding KPIs and metrics evaluate the effectiveness of the onboarding process and ensure new employees have a seamless transition into their roles. These can include:
- Time-to-productivity.
- New hire turnover.
- Onboarding survey.
- New employee engagement.
- Training completion rate.
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Related Article: Your Onboarding Is Great. But What Are You Doing After?
4. Development
One process valued highly by workers is employee development. Learning new skills and building on the strengths of existing employees is one of the most rewarding elements of a person's work day. Staff can use what they've learned in their home life, hobbies or future career.
This might be why training is valued so highly. It's not just an investment in their tenure at a company but a personal investment that can benefit them in other ways. When staff feel like coming to work helps them improve on a personal level, there's a good chance you're delivering an excellent employee experience.
The benefits to a company from developing a team's knowledge and skills are evident. People who know more about their job perform better, work more efficiently and have more confidence and enthusiasm.
Survey questions for the development stage might include:
- Do you feel like development opportunities are easy to access?
- Do you have the same access level to learning and development as your colleagues?
- Are the technology and toolkit provided sufficient for your development goals?
Employee development KPIs and metrics assess the effectiveness of an organization's learning and development initiatives and ensure employees have the resources and support they need to grow and succeed in their roles. These are to include:
- Training ROI.
- Productivity.
- Employee feedback.
- Promotion rates.
5. Retention
Although development is one of the most effective ways to retain top-performing employees, there's more to it. Retention and career development should be highly customized to each employee's unique characteristics and preferences. By the time they're at this lifecycle stage, they've demonstrated commitment and dedication to a company.
Retaining employees is about making them feel seen, valued and understood. Companies might offer rewards for notable milestones, such as a gift or free lunch for every year of service. Another idea is increasing benefits by providing a stipend to long-serving staff members. Providing opportunities for growth within the company is another important aspect of retaining top workers.
Survey questions for this stage include:
- What are the top three reasons you've stayed with us for [insert timeframe]?
- How could we improve your workday?
- Do you feel the technology and tools we provide are up to date?
Retention KPIs and metrics gauge an organizations effectiveness in retaining top talent and ensure increased employee satisfaction and loyalty:
- Employee satisfaction.
- Average length of employment.
- Employee retention rate.
- Absence rate.
Related Article: Want to Keep Your Best Employees? Value Their Expertise
6. Exit
No matter how great you are as an employer, most employees will leave at some point. While it's a shame to lose people you've invested in, knowing that you've added value to their life is a huge reward. Plus, the exit stage is when you're likely to get the most brutal, honest assessment of your workplace. Instead of shying away from this, embrace it and use the honest feedback to improve future employee experiences.
Questions to ask on an exit survey could include:
- Why did you decide to leave the organization?
- Did you feel valued throughout your time at the company?
- Did the company live and breathe its core values? If not, why?
- Have you grown personally as a result of working with us?
In addition to providing valuable insights into the reasons behind employee departures, exit KPIs and metrics help organizations gauge the effectiveness of its initiative taken throughout the employee lifecycle. Key metrics to track include:
- Reasons for departing employees.
- Exit survey.
- Employee satisfaction.
7. Advocacy
As a final stage, advocacy in the employee lifecycle model reflects the level of satisfaction and engagement within the workplace. Employees who leave with a positive experience are more likely to be advocates for their company. Positive feedback from former employees can enhance employer branding and the ability to recruit top talent.
Questions to ask on an advocacy survey could include:
- How satisfied are you with the overall employee experience?
- What aspects of the work environment make this organization stand out as a desirable employer?
- Would you recommend job seekers based on your current experience? Why or why not?
To measure advocacy and its impact on the organization, companies can utilize various KPIs and metrics:
- Employee Referral Rate
- Social Media Engagement
- Advocacy Surveys
Encouraging employees to become advocates can lead to increased employee retention, lower employee turnover, job satisfaction, improved employer branding and, ultimately, business success.
How to Create an Effective Employee Lifecycle Strategy
According to findings from the Pew Research Center, the majority of US employees quit their job because they feel dissatisfied at work. Top reasons are low pay, lack of advancement opportunities and feeling disrespected.
Companies might not be able to offer everyone a pay raise after developing an EX lifecycle strategy, but they should quickly see bottom line results. Eventually, this might translate to higher pay across the board. However, you can immediately focus on opportunities for development and ensuring staff feel respected. Building an employee experience lifecycle strategy is the best way to do it.
1. Build EX Into Company Culture
Instead of looking at employee experience as a footnote to a business model, build it into every element, including company objectives. Company culture and core values should be people-centric and encourage leaders to treat customers and clients interchangeably. By positioning employees as the biggest and most valuable asset, you develop a foundation for excellent EX.
2. Analyze Current Employee-Focused Strategies
Before implementing any changes, first mine for employee feedback and data-driven insights. Assess current practices and evaluate the experience at present across three critical workplace environments:
- Mission: Values, mission and culture create an emotional attachment between an employee and their job. If they are personally invested in business outcomes, they’ll work that much harder.
- Workspace: The physical work environment has a knock on effect on experience and performance. The right workspace design can inspire focus, inspiration and creativity.
- Technology: Workers expect the tools they use for work to be as intuitive and easy to use as the technology they use in their personal lives. Investing in workplace technology is therefore a direct investment in employee performance.
Design surveys and arrange individual and group meetings to get honest answers about the company's mission, technology and physical environment. Use a mixture of tech, performance and engagement analytics and direct communication to ensure you reach every worker within the organization.
3. Establish and Customize Organizational Needs
Customize the employee lifecycle to adhere to the specific needs of the organization. By using insights into what directly impacts employee experience, you can identify gaps and set goals for improvement. Aim to gather feedback over three to six months for a realistic overview of where you are.
Examples of objectives for improvement might include:
- Communicating core values to workers at every level.
- Eliminating cross-departmental silos.
- Training managers to deliver praise and feedback effectively.
- Giving opportunities for employees to provide feedback.
- Implementing new learning and development initiatives.
- Taking a more personalized approach to employee management.
4. Define Employee Personas
Business leaders probably understand the concept of buyer personas. The concept translates perfectly into the workforce. In today's multigenerational, multicultural world, you must understand different personas to deliver an excellent EX across the board.
To define personas, gather detailed feedback from a cross-section of the team. Be careful to choose people from different backgrounds, age groups and levels of seniority — and refresh personas every year. Use them to offer a more personalized employee experience.
5. Create an Employee Journey Map
Use design thinking to create an employee journey map through each stage of the employee lifecycle. Define touchpoints, develop a consistent process and design surveys for each step. Over time, you'll find ways to simplify processes and improve engagement, productivity and employee performance.
6. Learn What Matters Most
Never see feedback mining as a check-the-box exercise. Pay close attention to every answer from every employee and look out for patterns. Additionally, use surveys to find out which rewards employees' value most. You can't underestimate the power of delivering a customized employee experience based on actively listening to each team member's needs and preferences.
7. Personalize
People don't want to feel like a number. If there's one thing modern science has uncovered, it's the extreme amount of variation between people's minds. What drives one person might be totally off-putting to another. By learning about what makes each employee tick, you can deliver an experience to suit them specifically.
There's no better way to make workers feel seen and valued than knowing them on a deeper, more personal level.
8. Encourage Internal Mobility
Allowing employees to explore different roles and departments within the organization can enhance employee engagement, motivation and growth opportunities. This strategy benefits both the employee and company, allowing for learning and professional development to take place, while reassuring employees that they are considered and valued as the company, and its needs, evolve.
9. Continually Request Employee Feedback
Improving your employee experience lifecycle strategy isn't a one and done process. The job market, technology and workplace best practices are evolving at a record rate. To continually deliver exceptional EX, continually mine for feedback and implement what you've learned.
Related Article: The Action Is the Message: Why You Need Employee Engagement Data
The Connection Between Customer Experience and Employee Experience
The connection between EX and CX might be the biggest reason companies sing the praises of developing an effective employee experience lifecycle strategy. Employees are consumers; they should reflect your target audience and be valued as your company's biggest asset.
What's more, employee satisfaction shines through in their performance, directly impacting customers. Fulfilled and engaged employees who feel sufficiently challenged and supported make a better impression on clients. As such, investing in employee experience is an investment in customer experience and future success.
