If you have any trouble finding, hiring, developing or keeping people—you should care about the Employee Lifecycle.
Why it matters
The construction industry quit rate was at a ten-year high in the first half of 2023. This is on top of an ongoing, possibly permanent, labor shortage. Construction companies are competing for a smaller and smaller talent pool.
Your company is always making an impression on current and potential employees, for better or for worse. The Employee Lifecycle helps you become aware of all the different impacts you’re having, and take back control of those impacts so you can attract and retain top talent.
What it is
The Employee Lifecycle has eight phases. Some are sequential, and some overlap. Think of each phase as a different way people experience your company. These are eight distinct opportunities to either positively or negatively impact a current or prospective employee.
- Recruitment: how prospective employees view your public brand and experience the hiring process
- Onboarding: how employees are brought into your company after accepting a job offer
- Performance: role clarity, performance feedback, and being given needed tools for success
- Development: opportunities for personal growth, upskilling, and career advancement
- Engagement: forging strong, personal, lasting connections with others, beyond just a job
- Leadership & Support: a healthy, reciprocal relationship with leaders who create trust and are open to feedback
- Recognition & Rewards: feeling satisfied with compensation, benefits, and recognition
- Offboarding: effective transition plans, exit interviews and leaving with a positive experience
How this can work for you
Take a moment and think about your company through each of those eight stages. What’s going well for you? What’s not going well? Consider writing down three specific actions and doing them—or assigning them—over the next few weeks.
In general, investing in the people you already have will produce the highest ROI, assuming they’re people you want to keep. That’s stages 3-7. Within that, you might sort your employees into buckets according to which stage of the lifecycle you think would help them most.
- Do they need role clarity, better accountability, and more resources to be successful? That’s stage 3.
- Do they want opportunities to develop new skills? That’s stage 4.
- Do you think the team could benefit from deeper relationship and trust? Create opportunities for them to build with each other – that’s stage 5.
- Do your managers know how to lead in a way that makes people want to keep working for them? If not, start developing them – that’s stage 6.
The most important thing is for you to pick something and start improving it. Even the smallest improvements send a signal that you’re listening, you care and you are willing to take action.
Contact one of our experts today to learn how we can help with your employee lifecycle.
