TASK ONE – BRIEFING PAPER

Employee lifecycle can be defined as the critical stage’s employees go through as they engage with a particular organisation (Persion.com 2021; SpriggHR 2020). There are six distinct stages of employee engagement with a particular organisation. These stages are attraction, recruitment, onboarding, development, retention, and separation (See Fig. 1). According to Persion.com (2021), these stages are passed chronologically. The publication also adds that every stage of the employee lifecycle matters and thus should not be ignored. Now shifting our attention to the attraction (first stage), the process starts immediately after an employee is exposed to a particular brand. This is the key reason that instilling a positive corporate culture is critical.

 Doing that enables potential employees to identify and choose your organisation. The next employee lifecycle is recruitment. During this stage, employers advertise job positions on different platforms to attract their desired talents. A good advertisement entices potential candidates to your employer’s brand (Persion.com 2021). Frameworks such as flexible working, medical cover and retirement benefits are critical to a successful advertisement programme. Regarding onboarding, the stage entails helping new employees blend into organisational culture and truly become successful members of the team. One critical way to achieve this is by identifying and communicating company core values. In summary, onboarding entails showing employees a clear path to success by sharing the organisation’s core values, vision, and mission. Regarding retention, which is one of the most critical stages, the stage entails helping employees achieve their goals. Human resource managers can achieve this by keeping accurate records of the employees’ ambitions, progress, and success (Sandhya and Kumar 2011). These actions help employees become happier and more motivated.

Now shifting our attention to career development, once employees are settled and happy, employers can consider how strategic professional development can help get the best out of their employees. This can be achieved through learning and development and sharing knowledge with junior employees (CIPD Factsheet 2021). The last stage is known as separation. The stage occurs when employees part ways with their employers for various reasons such as retirement, seeking personal opportunities, or enticement from rival companies. The people professions are involved in every stage of the employee lifecycle. The key roles of HR practitioners in employees’ lifecycle include; ensuring organisations follow structure, values, and culture in every employee lifecycle process. Another key role is developing an effective recruitment policy. Additionally, HR practitioners ensure hired individuals have similar values as those of their companies. Another critical role of the HR practitioner is interacting with employees and identifying their needs as well as identifying key reasons for employees leaving the organisation.