How Recognition Fits into the 6 Stages of the Employee Lifecycle

It’s not enough to hire top talent and then forget about them until a work anniversary or performance review. Every employee experiences a series of moments that shape how they feel about their work, their leaders, and their future with your organization. This journey begins before their first day on the job and continues beyond their last day with you. This is the employee lifecycle.

Within the employee lifecycle there are important opportunities to design an intentional employee experience that will help new hires achieve greater job satisfaction and longevity by incorporating personalized recognition moments. Research also shows that establishing an integrated recognition program for all employees leads to higher rates of retention and significant long-term savings for your organization.

The 6 stages of the employee lifecycle

The employee lifecycle maps the six stages an employee experiences during their time with your company, which starts the moment an employee learns about the organization:

Attraction

The employee lifecycle begins before a resume ever crosses your desk. The attraction phase relies on your organization’s reputation, values, and positive word-of-mouth. You want potential employees to view your company as a great place to work, where they will be valued, and enjoy a positive experience. Employee recognition supports all three. As you take care of current employees and build a strong workplace culture, you will attract top talent to your company.

Recruitment

Recruitment is the first time a potential new employee experiences your company and how it treats people, and it’s incredibly important to get it right. To improve the process, be sure to:

• Center the candidate
• Provide clear communication 
• Operate with established, equitable hiring criteria

Onboarding

Every step of the onboarding process is an opportunity to make a new team member feel valued and cared for, while showing them the great workplace culture they are now a part of. The onboarding experience should include:

• Educating employees about performance expectations
• Giving new hires a feel for team dynamics
• Providing training on tools, systems, and processes that will help them succeed

Development

Development is crucial for any team that wants to remain smart and relevant. Employees want opportunities to learn and grow over time, and ongoing professional development is more essential than ever. When employees can envision a future with personal growth and opportunities for expanding their talents and responsibilities within your company, fulfillment and retention increase.

Retention

It costs much less to retain current employees than it does to recruit new ones. Make sure your employees are happy and challenged as the years go by, or risk losing your best talent. Develop a strong company culture by:

• Communicating openly
• Conducting regular performance reviews 
• Encouraging honest feedback to understand how people feel 
• Intentionally creating morale-boosting experiences

Separation

The final stage of the employee lifecycle is the separation stage. Employees leave for many reasons, and mitigating the disruptive effects of a departure is key. Leverage these moments to learn how employees feel about your culture and understand why someone would leave.

How does recognition fit into the employee lifecycle?

Why does recognition matter in the employee lifecycle? Consistent, thoughtful employee recognition contributes to a thriving work culture, which will improve every stage of the employee lifecycle and bolster your organization’s reputation.

Most companies now see recognition as a fundamental part of their employee experience. Sophisticated employee recognition software has made it easier than ever to create intentional recognition programs centered on meaningful awards that produce real ROI.

Embedding recognition opportunities and experiences throughout the employee lifecycle is not just a “nice to have” aspect of company culture. Recognition is a differentiator for top talent, a key to employee development and retention, and a critical tool for building culture.

Attraction, Recruitment, and Recognition

You can’t make great work without great people. Attracting and recruiting top talent is crucial for any business that wants to grow and last. Today’s brightest workers are looking for work cultures that will recognize and value what they have to offer. 

According to the O.C. Tanner Institute, both leaders (48%) and employees (57%) say “making employees feel valued and appreciated” is the aspect of workplace culture that is most important to them. Recognition is not only a top priority for employees seeking jobs, but for leaders who want to recruit the best talent for their organizations. 

One of the top drivers of candidate attraction is recognition for work. If you want to develop a reputation for being a great place to work, making a commitment to employee recognition is critical.

An employee recognition software platform, such as O.C. Tanner's Culture Cloud®, makes it easy to give and receive employee recognition within the flow of work, with software integrations, a mobile app, and an intuitive user experience. Recognition programs that include leader-to-peer and peer-to-peer recognition help every employee participate in giving and receiving recognition, while social tools help spread a culture of appreciation throughout your organization.

Onboarding and Recognition

Onboarding sets the tone for an employee’s experience with you. Employees are more likely to stay with a company longer when they have a thoughtful onboarding experience. 

Onboarding is the time to:

• Connect new hires with a mentor
• Set concrete goals so new employees know what to expect
• Give a welcome gift with meaning
• Provide training on your employee recognition program
• Check in frequently during the first 45 days of employment

Sending an onboarding swag box celebrates new employees and provides a warm welcome before they arrive on Day 1. An onboarding box might include a wearable item, like a company branded shirt, hat, or sweatshirt that helps new employees take pride in your company, along with useful items like a water bottle or coffee mug, food items, and a logo-embossed journal to take notes while they learn the ropes. Some companies also include a pin or other symbolic gift tied to their logo, values, and history.

Encourage leaders to send ecards through your recognition program to welcome new team members. This introduces onboarding employees to your recognition tools, and helps them feel more connected to their team, leaders, and the organization from the very start of their tenure.

Development and Recognition

Highly engaged employees are more productive, loyal, and impactful. And cultivating strong relationships among team members through employee recognition can help people stay motivated.

On top of regular responsibilities, consider assigning special projects to help stretch employees and help them feel valued. When employees participate in special projects they are 50% more likely to learn new skills in their current role.

And when team members complete special projects, make sure they feel recognized for going the extra mile, learning new things, and contributing to the team in a different way. This can be done through everyday recognition, such as sending an eCard with points, or creating an initiative that incentivizes a specific behavior, learning outcome, acquisition of a special skill, or compliance goal, with a points reward.

Encourage your employees to grow and give them the space and means to make that growth happen.

Retention and Recognition

In a climate where change has become the norm, how do you know when an employee might be considering a move? 

Employees will likely tell you when they’re a retention risk. 62% of employees discussed their decision to leave the organization with a manager or coworker prior to leaving. And if they don’t outright tell you, there are some signals you can look for:

• Employees feel they’re not paid fairly
• Employees don’t feel recognized for their work
• Employees don’t feel they have growth opportunities

To improve retention, recognition should be a constant, integrated element of your organization’s culture. This is most effectively accomplished through an intentional employee recognition program, such as Culture Cloud, that allows employees to appreciate great work through the apps they use every day.

Companies with employee recognition programs keep employees 2-4 years longer than companies without a program.

Milestones such as employee anniversaries should be celebrated with other team members and meaningful rewards. Research shows that employees remember intentional rewards and thoughtful moments more than perfunctory appreciation that isn’t personalized or special. And organizations that offer a career milestone program keep employees an average of two years longer than organizations that don’t.

Separation and Recognition

Inevitably, you will have employees who will leave or retire from your company. Recognition still has a part to play, even in the separation phase of the employee lifecycle. 

When an employee departs, either choosing to separate from your company or retiring after a fulfilling career, it’s important for them to leave on a positive note. You want to make sure former employees become ambassadors for your company. 

Celebrate the work a retiring employee has accomplished with a Yearbook™, where colleagues can express their thoughts and feelings about the impact the retiree has had across their career in a keepsake printed book. Some companies also include a memento, such as a company-branded award for retirees. For a Delta Airlines pilot, the plaque he received upon retirement inspired a heartfelt social media post about his gratitude for the opportunities the company had provided.

“I just received this beautiful retirement plaque from Delta Airlines yesterday! I am humbled beyond belief to have been a part of such a tremendous company with Delta’s quality employees. I absolutely loved going to work and flying jets for a living.”
—Greg Art, Retired Captain at Delta Airlines

Zion’s Bancorporation, a banking group with affiliates across the Western USA, has created a culture of recognition that spans the employee lifecycle with their Value You platform, powered by Culture Cloud. It includes milestone recognition on anniversaries with a Yearbook and a customized numeral featuring western landscapes. For retiring employees, they provide a branded retirement box and a generous gift. 

Focus on the employee experience

The employee lifecycle is a journey made up of projects, challenges, achievements, growth, and teamwork. There are many concrete ways to shape the experience an employee has with your organization.

Recognition provides important touchpoints and support within the employee lifecycle, with demonstrable returns on retention and savings. It reinforces purpose, strengthens relationships, and helps employees see the impact of their contributions over time. The result is a culture where people feel appreciated not just for what they do, but for who they are and how they contribute.

Ready to create meaningful moments across the entire employee lifecycle? Check out O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud.