Stages Of The Employee Life Cycle: An Easy Overview (2021)

Introduction

The “Employment Life Cycle” means the steps an employee undergoes during their time within the organization, from their first contacts with the recruiter to their departure. It covers the relationship between an employee and the organization they work for.

In a small company, the owner usually looks after the recruitment process, and he is called the “Full Life Cycle Recruiter”. In medium and large organizations, there is usually an HR department that specializes in the recruitment process.

1. What is the Employee Life Cycle Model?
2. Advantages of Implementing an Employee Life Cycle Strategy
3. List of stages

1. What is the Employee Life Cycle Model?

Employee Life Cycle is the employees’ steps from the time they enter a company until they leave. The Human Resource personnel plays a major role in implementing the Employee Life Cycle Process. Mostly the Human Resources professionals focus their attention on selecting the appropriate candidate for the job at a minimal cost. Their goal is to reduce the company’s cost per employee hired. Under this process, a brief introduction about the company and its rules & regulations is conveyed to the employee during the induction process. Thereafter, the employee is placed on the job for live working, where he/she interacts with the existing employees.

2. Advantages of Implementing an Employee Life Cycle Strategy

Some of the benefits of implementing an Employee Life Cycle are illustrated below:-

• The ELC helps to align employee performance with business performance. Engaged employees are excited about their role in the company and guide other employees in the transition process.
• With the ELC model’s help, companies that recognize employees continuously and acknowledge their peers see a higher level of engagement. In this way, an employee’s personal ambitions are achieved at the same time the business’s needs are met.
• Employees to whom companies provide learning opportunities tend to think out of the box, innovate new ideas, which can be beneficial for the company’s growth and survival in the long run. 

3. List of stages

There are six stages an organization interacts with an employee in the Employee Life Cycle (ELC)Model. These are briefly summarized below:-

• Attraction: A good organization always wants to break the benchmark and provide quality products/services to users. To do that, they need to employ top talents. This is the reason attracting the right person is crucial for organizations for the fulfilment of their objectives. This stage happens before there is an open position, also referred to as the employer brand. Organizations skillfully brand themselves as an opportunity provider, as a place where any individual would like to associate themselves. This can be done by proclaiming information about work culture, growth, etc.  
• Recruitment: Recruitment is hiring a suitable candidate in the company to render a specific job. Recruitment involves numerous steps such as determining the vacancy’s nature, creating the job description, posting for the job vacancy, searching for candidates, conducting interviews, shortlisting, and selecting an Individual. Earlier recruitment was limited to fill the vacancy. Now the task is much more meticulous, the recruiters or the HR personals needs to look that they not only hire the right candidate who is capable of performing the assigned task but also has the ability to adapt to the company culture and stays with the organization for a longer period thereby reducing the employee turnover cost.
• Onboarding: Post onboarding, the HR needs to conduct an induction program for the recruits. Proper training needs to be imparted to the new employees to get accustomed to the company culture. Making employees aware of disciplinary rules and regulations. The new employees should feel part of the team from the beginning.
• Development: They also need to conduct programs aimed at increasing the core competency skills of employees. It’s important to discuss career objectives in the interviewing process to make sure that the person’s goals are realistic and align with their company’s goals.
• Reward, Recognition & Benefits: They need to assess the employee’s skills, motivate them to learn new things, acquire other knowledge outside their work domain to make them more comprehensive. Reward employees who are willing to upgrade their skills. The people who perform well need to reward and recognition should show up from the top hierarchy. Rewards or compensation might be in the form of pay-hike, perks, recognition, learning opportunity, or others.
• Retention/ Separation: The Retention stage is considered a critical step in the Employee Life Cycle Model. Employee turnover is one of the key areas to be delved into. It is important to listen carefully to the employee grievances, the problems they are facing and adopt measures to mitigate with a solution that will be beneficial for both the organization and the employees. 

At last, there comes a time when the life cycle does come to an end. Employees may leave an organization on retirement, or for better opportunities, or other personal reasons. Employee Life Cycle Process also includes activities related to the completion of exit formalities, conducting exit interviews. However, the main task after completing the Exit formalities is to analyse the Exit Interview responses to identify the inconsistencies in the organizational practices.

Conclusion

It might look like a tedious job but keeping the work organized is the key. The HR manager should seek support from upper management within the company. The role of HR is to see that interactions are more consistent. They need to invest in technology and employ engaging platforms for junior employees’ interactive participation with senior management.

Are you interested in learning more about Analytics in Workforce Management? Take a look at our People Analytics and Digital HR program, in collaboration with IIM Indore. This is a 3-month long program with instructor-led sessions by IIM-I faculty.

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