The employee journey: 4 keys to engagement and retention in today’s workplace

There are two troubling trends twisting through the HR industry now: First, resignations are still extremely high, with a record 50 million U.S. workers quitting in 2022. Second, employee engagement levels are at all-time lows, with only 32% of employees engaged at work.

While there is no magic solution you can use to avoid these troublesome trends, there is something every organization should do to lessen the impact of them: map the employee journey.

With a planned employee journey for each person at a company, employers can ensure that their employees have the touchpoints, professional development, and recognition they need to stay engaged and happy.

What is the employee journey?

The employee journey starts when potential employees find your company, and the journey ends when they stop working for you. It encompasses every step of their path through the company. It’s commonly broken down into these five pieces:

• Recruitment
• Onboarding
• Retention
• Development, and
• Separation

While these overarching stages apply to every employee, each stage has different facets to consider, and every employee is different. But there are some best practices that every organization should keep in mind when mapping out the employee journey.

By planning and preparing for each of these stages, employers can make sure employees feel valued, rewarded and supported from their first day to their last, which can cut down on turnover and disengagement.

1. Recruitment

The recruitment stage includes a couple key things:

• The employer’s online presence, and
• The interview process

Before anyone at the company even talks with potential employees, those people are going to find the company online. They’ll look up customer reviews, employee reviews and social media posts. What kind of online presence does your company have? Will it impress potential talent?

If so, the next step is the interview process. Do you have a planned and organized process to interview applicants? Are job listings clear, concise and free of errors? Are interviewers prepared to answer questions? Is there a system to contact all applicants in a timely manner before and after they apply/interview?

Employers need to map out this stage to ensure that employees have a good first impression. Without it, you may not have good talent to retain in the first place.

2. Onboarding

The greatest myth of the onboarding stage is that it only lasts for a few weeks after someone is hired. That’s not true! Onboarding should be at least three months — and the longer it goes, the better employees will feel.

Stellar onboarding increases retention by 50% and productivity by 62%, but only if it’s done right. And only 12% of employees think onboarding is done right.

That needs to change. Onboarding needs to be a priority, something employers plan for and strive to improve. Here are some ways to make onboarding better than ever:

• Start thinking of onboarding in terms of months, not weeks. As mentioned above, onboarding should cover at least an employee’s first three months. It’s a process of helping, teaching and supporting new employees, not a single-day event.
• Create a “first day” system. An employee’s first day is vitally important. Do they feel comfortable at work? Do they know where to park and where they sit? Do they have the necessary equipment, knowledge or training to start contributing quickly? Create a system that ensures each new employee has a rewarding and helpful first day.
• Help them know how to succeed. Employees need to know exactly what’s expected of them so that they can confidently succeed. If they struggle to understand unclear expectations from the very beginning, stress, burnout and disengagement will follow.

3. Retention

Retention is the broadest of all the stages because it covers so much. Some of the most important parts of retention include:

• Employee rewards and recognition
• Value-driven work
• Compensation and benefits, and
• Upward growth

Employees need to feel rewarded for the work they do. They need to be recognized for the value they bring. They need to feel invested in their work and know how it contributes to company success. They need to earn enough money to take care of their needs and families. And they need a clear path of progression.

With the above benefits, employees will naturally be more engaged. Retention will rise, too. After all, who doesn’t want to work at a company where they’re recognized, rewarded, compensated and upskilled?

4. Development

Over 90% of employees claim that development opportunities are important to them. People want jobs that allow them to learn new things, grow in their responsibilities and improve themselves professionally and personally.

Technical skill training, soft skill training, promotions, continuing education and subsidized courses are all great examples of professional development opportunities. And 94% of employees who get these opportunities would stay at a company longer.

5. Separation

Whether employees quit, get laid off, are fired or retire, separation is an important step in the employee journey. An employer’s goal is to make sure separation happens in an amicable way, no matter what the circumstances are.

Thoughtful exit interviews are a great way to learn why employees are quitting or to explain why an employer is letting them go. Be open, supportive, and honest. And for those who are retiring, celebrate with them.

One of the greatest benefits of going through the separation stage is learning where you can improve. If people are quitting because of lackluster compensation or not enough flexibility, you know where to put your efforts into improving. These improvements help stop future employees from leaving for the same reasons.

Be an employee journey cartographer

Mapping the employee journey ensures that employees are happy with their time at work. It keeps them engaged from day one and creates a work environment where they want to stay. Start with these five broad stages, then try to customize each for different departments and seniority levels. The more robust and detailed your map, the more employees will enjoy working for you, and the more benefits you’ll see over the long term.