What is an Employee Lifecycle and why is it important?
The employee lifecycle is a comprehensive Human Resources model that tracks the journey an employee takes at your nursery from the moment they discover your brand to the point they bid farewell at the end of their employment.
Designed to help understand how an employee engages with your organisation, the lifecycle’s primary aim is to encourage evaluation and improvement of the employee experience at each stage of the model with an emphasis on employee growth and development.
Well-managed lifecycles enhance the reputation of an Early Years setting, making them more attractive to potential candidates as well as reducing staff turnover and increasing engagement.
In this blog, we’ll explore the stages of the employee lifecycle and identify how eyworks seamlessly supports you manage each stage.
The Stages of the Employee Lifecycle
An employee lifecycle can be made up of a varying number of stages depending on the Early Years setting.
For this blog we have grouped the employee lifecycle into six overarching stages but you may choose to combine some of these stages based on the organisational size and structure of your setting.
Attraction:
The first stage of the employee lifecycle is the attraction stage, and this marks the pivotal moment when a potential applicant is first introduced to your brand. Recognising the significance of first impressions, Early Years settings strive to showcase their values, ethos, and unique attributes as an employer. This initial exposure shapes the applicant’s perception of the setting and plays a crucial role in determining whether they feel aligned with the setting’s culture.
Recruitment:
The recruitment stage of the employee lifecycle is the process and experience of how a candidate goes from applicant to employee. This stage is your opportunity to assess the viability of a candidate for your organisation and the role and involves a thorough evaluation of the candidate. The goal is to seamlessly transition the candidate from an applicant to a dedicated employee committed to the well-being and development of the children in their care.
Onboarding:
The onboarding stage of the employee lifecycle focuses on welcoming a new employee to the organisation and helping them acclimate to their new position. A key aspect of onboarding is providing a positive experience to the new employee on their first day, with an emphasis on making the employee feel comfortable, supported, and integrated into the setting’s community. Successful onboarding fosters a sense of belonging and ensures the new staff member is well-prepared to contribute positively to the children’s learning and development.
Development:
The development stage of the employee lifecycle is dedicated to helping the growth of employees within the Early Years organisation. This includes providing opportunities for training and professional advancement, skill enhancement, and career progression to allow the employee to maximise their potential. Recognising that development and retention are intertwined, Early Years settings prioritise creating a supportive environment where staff members are encouraged to continually enhance their skills and contribute to the success of the setting.
Retention:
The retention stage of the employee lifecycle involves encouraging an employee to continue working for your Early Years setting. The focus is on creating a positive and supportive work environment that recognises and values the contributions of each staff member. Strategies for retention may include professional development opportunities, mentorship programs, and a culture that promotes work-life balance. By prioritising retention, Early Years settings aim to create a committed team dedicated to providing the best care and environment for young children.
Separation:
The separation stage of the employee lifecycle is the process and experience of an employee leaving the organisation. While departures are inevitable, the goal is to handle these transitions with sensitivity and professionalism. Early Years settings often have structured exit processes to ensure a smooth transition, minimising disruption for both the departing employee and the team. Additionally, maintaining positive relationships during separation leaves the door open for potential future collaborations and contributes to a positive organisational culture.
How eyworks can help manage the Employee Lifecycle
Now that we understand what the employee lifecycle stages are it is important to identify how eyworks can support Early Years settings in managing each of these stages.
For this blog we have grouped how eyworks can assist with the employee lifecycle into 3 categories:
- Pre-employment – the attraction and recruitment stages of the lifecycle
- Entry and exit of employment – the onboarding and separation stages of the lifecycle
- Employee management – the development and retention stages of the lifecycle
Attraction and Recruitment
eyrecruit and Jobs by eyrecruit play a pivotal role in the attraction and recruitment stages of the employee lifecycle.
Our eyrecruit software provides a customised careers portal on the Early Years settings website, offering a seamless ‘work with us’ experience as part of a wider branded Careers page. This allows an Early Years setting to showcase their organisation and make it easy for candidates to find current open roles. In addition eyrecruit allows for personalised branding on job adverts and application forms to captivate potential candidates as they move through their application process.
eyrecruit also creates a compelling company profile on our dedicated Early Years job board Jobs by eyrecruit to further advertise the Early Years setting and explain who you are, your organisation’s benefits, and the advantages of working for you to attract candidates to apply for your vacancies.
Finally, eyrecruit streamlines the candidate management process into a customisable candidate pipeline, allowing you to manage every step of the candidate journey from application to interview to hired in one place. Supported with automated branded communication, eyrecruit ensures all candidates receive consistent and efficient communication as they move through your defined recruitment process.
Onboarding and Separation
eypeople allows you to manage all aspects of the employee lifecycle onboarding and separation stages in one single HR software.
Customisable employee events help identify and streamline the key paperwork and milestones that make up your onboarding and separation processes. Recording event descriptions and target completion dates ensures everyone is aware of what is required and automated event reminders ensure no part of your employee induction or exit process is missed. Events are colour-coded for easy tracking, and the structured eyworks calendar view ensures that all events across the employee group are visible in one place.
Additionally, eypeople allows you to upload and manage essential documentation associated with onboarding and separation. Document types such as contracts, notice documents, and P45 forms for each employee can be uploaded against their employee file to centralise and organise all essential paperwork, making it readily accessible when needed.
Development and Retention
eypeople and eyengage transform your Early Years HR management by centralising all employee records and communication within one easy-to-use platform to ensure HR compliance.
In the pursuit of employee development and growth, eypeople allows Early Years settings to create, define, and record employees completed and achieved qualification and training records as well as document planned future training courses and qualifications for the employee to complete. With a training matrix report highlighting employee training renewal dates and training gaps Early Years settings can easily plan and easily and simply schedule future employee training with plenty of time to spare before training expiry.
Additionally, eypeople allows you to manage essential events and documentation associated with employee development. Development events such as staff supervisions and reviews can be scheduled in the employee’s diary with the supporting document attached against the event to record and evidence employee progression.
Finally our eyengage software enables you to engage with your employee group. You can share updates, seek feedback, and post polls and discussions to foster communication and collaboration across your employee team. By creating employee groups, you can filter content to specific employees or topics, ensuring targeted engagement. Recognising employee accomplishments and providing rewards and praising these achievements internally can also contribute to their development and retention whilst also helping to create a positive and motivating work environment.
Conclusion
Effectively managing the employee lifecycle is integral to the success of your nursery business. By understanding and engaging employees at each stage, eyworks empowers you to attract and retain top talent, enhance overall performance, and create a committed and driven workforce. Whether it’s attracting applicants, streamlining recruitment, easing onboarding and separation, or supporting employee development and retention, eyworks provides the necessary tools to navigate every aspect of the employee lifecycle. Embrace the employee lifecycle approach with eyworks and unlock the full potential of your nursery.
