A professional relationship is like a bridge being built from both sides.

Starting a new job is like starting a new relationship.
You more or less have an idea what you’re getting into, but at the same time, you know there might be some surprises. The challenging part is to make sure that all these surprises are good ones. Therefore the employee life cycle starts long before the actual contract is signed. 

A comprehensive employee life cycle starts with employer branding, as first touch point, to create awareness of the good type! We want people to apply because they are enticed by your company as a brand, not just because you offer the job the candidate is currently looking for. So once the interested professional becomes an applicant, we have to ensure the candidate experience is outstanding and conveys a genuine picture of how the company treats its employees. Because a professional relationship is still a relationship, so, while you’re in this relationship, both should have a marvelous time. Which means you need to put in some effort, time, and love. 

Onboarding is a crucial pillar of the employee life cycle, because it’s the first employee experience, after signing the contract. It sets the tone for the whole relationship and should be the phase when new hires truly fall in love with your company.

After that, the hard part begins because as people fall in love ❤️, they fall out of love 💔. To make sure your new hires convert into loyal employees, you need a well-crafted people strategy, and on the more practical side, you have to train them, develop their skills and maximize their potential. There are many ways to do that, and some main activities should be career plans, mentoring/coaching, performance evaluations & (360°) feedback, and lots of recognition.

But every employee life cycle comes to an end, eventually. And that’s not a bad thing. At some point, it’s time for the employee or the company to move on. The critical part is to make ‘parting ways’ a good experience by having a mindful offboarding process prepared. 

In summary, creating and balancing a well-tailored employee life cycle with a purposeful and vibrant company culture will catapult your employee experience to the next level. Because a better employee experience simply means a more aligned, motivated, and productive workforce, hence business success. 

So now you know several examples of actions every company should have thought of for their employee life cycle. Because if you build an outstanding reputation that is well-known outside your company, you’ll attract more like-minded talent, and you will win a lot of valuable ambassadors that are happy to recommend your company even though they might not be working with you any longer.

Do you have doubts and want more info or a personal consultation? No problem.

I’m always glad to help. Because I know how much thought-through actions within your Employee Life Cycle will contribute to your company and its overall reputation and success.