The employee experience begins before an individual’s first day on the job and continues throughout their time at your company. Therefore, it’s crucial to ensure your employee experience strategy is cyclical in nature and aligned with each stage of the employee lifecycle.

The Stages of the Employee Lifecycle

The employee lifecycle involves the following stages:

• Attraction & Recruitment: During this stage, potential new employees are looking to be wooed by employers.
• Onboarding: Once an individual officially becomes a new hire, they enter the onboarding stage, during which they’re introduced to what life is like as your employee.
• Development: When an employee has settled in but is still early in their experience with your organization, they are in the development phase.
• Engagement & Retention: As time goes on, the employee enters the engagement and retention phase when they consider whether they will stay at your organization long-term or seek other opportunities.
• Offboarding: Whether an employee retires or pursues employment elsewhere, offboarding marks the conclusion of their lifecycle at your company.

Aligning Your Employee Experience Strategy with the Employee Lifecycle

Attraction & Recruitment

A strong employee experience can serve as an impactful value proposition for your organization as you strive to attract and recruit new talent. Competitive compensation and benefits paired with a positive workplace culture in which individuals are supported, celebrated and encouraged to grow can tip the scales in your favor during this crucial stage.

Onboarding

The onboarding process kicks off your employees’ introduction to the reality of working at your organization. However, it’s rarely done right. A Gallup study found that only 12% of employees strongly agree that their organization does a great job of onboarding. If an employee’s onboarding experience is chaotic, disorganized or different from what was advertised to them, it can jeopardize your ability to retain them long-term.

Get more onboarding guidance in BIZTips Episode 18: Out with the Old, in with the New — Increase Retention with Innovative Onboarding.

Development

In the development phase, employees begin to get a true sense of their potential future at your organization. Throughout this stage of the employee journey, ample opportunities for continual learning and internal advancement are key to showing your employees that you’re committed to growing their career.

Engagement & Retention

Once employees have progressed to the engagement and retention phase, it’s essential to ensure that their experience continues to be a positive one that reinforces the value they bring to your organization. Don’t take long-tenured employees for granted; they serve as signals to candidates and new hires that they’re joining a company where retention is prioritized.

During this vital stage, continue to leverage everything your organization has to offer to enhance employee engagement, including compensation, employee benefits, growth and development opportunities and more.

Offboarding

When an employee retires or pursues an opportunity elsewhere, their employee experience should not abruptly end. The offboarding stage presents a valuable opportunity to gather feedback on what went right and what could have gone better during their time at your organization. Don’t underestimate the power of an effective exit interview.

CBIZ Employee Benefits’ 2023 Employee Experience Guide

As retaining and attracting top talent becomes increasingly challenging, the importance of offering a solid, positive employee experience that is aligned with the employee lifecycle grows. Developing an employee journey that allows individuals to grow, make connections and thrive mentally, physically and financially will ultimately help you reduce turnover and strengthen long-term loyalty.

Looking for guidance on how you can improve your employee experience strategy? Stay tuned for the release of our 2023 Employee Experience Guide — an employer’s comprehensive guide to optimizing the employee journey from hire to retire.