If we think of an employee’s tenure like a cycle of life, it follows that at the start of the life is when the most support is required. If you nurture and teach an infant and toddler, they are well-equipped to fit in to the community as they get older. They know what is expected and have been taught how to behave and trained in what to do in their household. We all know someone who has allowed a young child to behave outside the parameters of expectation and ended up with a terrible tween, disengaged teen, and a young adult who is not community-minded.
In a work context, it is helpful to consider the cyclical nature of the employee cycle and how well each aspect is managed will impact others. The level of engagement that is developed with a new employee has a direct impact on the attraction of future employees as people can look at the reviews of companies online, on forums like Glassdoor and Seek.
The way that an employee is exited from the business impacts how the next person succeeds in the role. When there is a strong hand over, the next person will be set up for success. The ability to attract and retain employees is highly dependent on being able to engage employees at all points of the life cycle.
Attraction – the key to attracting the best candidates is having a good reputation in the market. If your employees are engaged, they are more likely to recommend quality candidates to your organisation.
Selection – Agreement to hire and effective management of probation period to confirm decision. According to Gallup, when managers play an active role in on-boarding, employees are 2.5 times more likely to strongly agree their on-boarding was exceptional.
Train – Improve performance to the level required for the job and align expectations between the employee and the leader. Only 2 in 10 employees strongly agree that their performance is managed in a way that motivates them to do outstanding work.
Develop – Managers account for an astounding 70% of the variance in their team's engagement. When managers are actively supportive of their team improving, providing opportunities and feedback, the team members are more engaged.
Depart – open communication and beneficial use of notice period to set replacement up for success.
The Australian retail giant, Woolworths, have a saying within their Talent Acquisition department "A candidate for a day – a customer for life,” but I suggest that we would do well to take this one step further. Employee for a season, raving fan for life. We can achieve this when we are open and transparent through the life cycle. When the expectations and processes are fair and communicated effectively, it is easier to have courageous conversations and be confident in the decisions that need to be made.
It may be helpful to look through the lens of a Sherpa, they give feedback because it may ultimately save the person on the side of the mountain. While mountaineering at altitude, the smallest difference in your technique or being aware that something could be unsafe or slow you down on the summit push can influence not only if you summit but if you survive.
Employee engagement doesn’t come from only telling employees what is nice to hear, it comes from being genuinely interested in their development and supporting them to achieve what they desire in their career. Honesty and transparency will get you respectful and engaged employees that sugar coating never will. Only 26% of employees strongly agree that the feedback that they receive helps them do their work better. If you would like your team to have better engagement, start by investing early in their development, having regular meaningful conversations will start a productive employee life cycle that will reap excellent returns.