The employee lifecycle, commonly referred to as the HR lifecycle or HR cycle, outlines the diverse stages an employee experiences within an organization, underscoring HR's crucial role in optimizing this journey. This structure empowers employers to evaluate the employee experience, with the goal of reducing turnover and improving key elements such as engagement, productivity, and satisfaction. Essentially, the employee lifecycle encompasses the entirety of an employee's tenure with the company, with specific stages aligning with fundamental HR tasks and the potential incorporation of talent management software.

The employee lifecycle, a comprehensive framework spanning seven integral stages, initiates with recruitment and culminates in resignation, termination, or retirement.

1. Attraction and Recruitment : This phase marks the inception of the employer-employee relationship, emphasizing the employer's brand and enticing potential applicants with a glimpse into the organizational culture, career opportunities, and compensation packages.

2. Recruitment : Encompassing processes leading up to hiring, this stage often leverages talent acquisition software and cloud-based HR technologies. Applicant tracking systems, pre-employment screening, and interview scheduling are seamlessly integrated for an efficient hiring process.

3. Onboarding : As employees accept offers, the onboarding process equips them with information and tools essential for efficient assimilation into the company's culture. Training covers company policies, procedures, and job duties, with the duration of this phase termed as ramp time. Identity and access management systems are employed to control access to critical information.

4. Employee Development : Focused on professional growth, this stage incorporates processes for employee feedback, including performance reviews and one-on-one check-ins. Learning management systems, performance management software, and personality profile tools are often utilized to manage employee activities, set goals, and provide timely feedback.

5. Retention : Once integrated, the challenge shifts to retaining employees through continuous evaluation, recognition, and training. Talent management software aids in monitoring continued learning and succession planning for potential promotions.

6. Offboarding : Occurring when an employee departs due to various reasons, HR follows precise procedures and documentation to inform about final pay and benefits. Offboarding is crucial for maintaining a positive corporate brand and gathering valuable feedback to enhance HR processes.

7. Continued Support : The final stage underscores post-employment relationships, recognizing that a positive exit experience influences former employees to recommend the organization. Conversely, mishandled departures can tarnish the employer's brand and reputation. Thus, ongoing support is paramount in shaping the post-employment perception of the organization.

Employee lifecycle management stands as a pivotal function within the HR department, recognizing employees as the organization's most valuable asset. A well-structured lifecycle program provides employees with a consistent series of steps throughout their career, allowing employers to analyze data for continuous improvement. This approach not only enhances employee motivation, well-being, and longevity but also contributes to optimizing overall performance within the organization.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) play a crucial role in assessing an organization's progress toward achieving its goals. Various measurable KPIs exist for each stage in the employee lifecycle, with relevance depending on how an organization defines its objectives. The following KPIs are categorized into three groups: recruitment and onboarding, employee engagement and retention, and offboarding.

In addition to monitoring company ratings on platforms like Glassdoor or Indeed, and tracking social media interactions, organizations can gauge their performance using the following metrics:

- Cost per Hire : Evaluates the average resources expended per hired employee.

- Time to Hire : Measures the average time taken by the recruitment team to fill a position.

- Pre-hire Surveys : Tracks candidates' experiences with the recruitment process.

- Training Surveys : Identifies the ease or difficulty new employees face during the hiring process.

- Time to Productivity : Shows the duration for a new employee to reach productivity in their new role.

- New Hire Satisfaction : Measures the success of HR's recruitment process.

- Employee Retention Rate : Gauges the percentage of employees staying with the company for at least one year.

- Internal Promotion Rates : Measures the number of employees progressing within the company.

- Training Return on Investment : Evaluates the impact of training versus its cost.

- Employee Promotion Progression : Tracks new hires' career progression within the company.

- Turnover : Measures the percentage of employees leaving the organization voluntarily.

- Churnover : Tracks internal employee movement across the organization.

- Satisfaction with Benefits : Measures employee happiness with the company's offered benefits.

- Exit Interviews : Assesses and tracks reasons for employee departures.

- Offboarding Score : Measures the effectiveness of the offboarding process and departing employees' overall experience.

- Retirement Rate : Measures the number of individuals approaching retirement age and its impact on the organization.

- Status Change Processing : Measures the time taken for termination processing.