What is an Employee Journey?

This journey includes pre-boarding for new hires, cultural campaigns designed to reinforce company values, and upskilling pathways that promote professional development. By understanding the employee journey, organizations can design strategies to enhance employee engagement, satisfaction and retention.

One way to think about it is in contrast to the employee lifecycle, which is often presented in a linear way like this: 

1. Attraction
2. Recruitment
3. Onboarding
4. Retention
5. Development
6. Separation

While the employee lifecycle provides a structured view of these stages, the employee journey emphasizes the quality of experiences at each touchpoint. It involves continuous engagement and feedback loops, where employees actively participate in shaping their experience. This means that rather than moving through a fixed series of stages, employees are encouraged to provide input and share their perspectives throughout their time with the organization.

Why is the employee journey important?

An effective employee journey is crucial for fostering a positive work environment and enhancing organizational success. By mapping out each stage of the employee experience, organizations can identify pain points and opportunities for improvement, leading to increased employee satisfaction and engagement.

Therefore, a well-defined employee journey can help the organization in the following ways: 

• Improved employee engagement: A well-defined employee journey enhances employee engagement. Organizations that focus on creating a positive experience throughout the employee lifecycle see marked improvements in engagement levels. According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2022 Report, companies with high employee engagement experience 23% higher profitability compared to those with lower engagement.
• Employee turnover rates drop: Research from the Work Institute in 2021 found that organizations with strong onboarding processes and well-defined employee journeys see a 25% reduction in turnover. This leads to improved overall performance and success.
• Employee satisfaction increases: By mapping out the employee journey and integrating learning and development opportunities, organizations can create an environment where employees feel valued. This not only boosts morale but also enhances productivity, as satisfied employees are more likely to be engaged in their work.
• Positive company culture: According to Deloitte’s 2021 Global Human Capital Trends report, 94% of executives and 88% of employees believe a distinct workplace culture is important to business success. This culture encourages open communication, collaboration, and continuous feedback, leading to stronger relationships among team members and a shared commitment to organizational goals.

What is employee journey mapping?

Employee journey mapping is a strategic process that visualizes the key stages and emotional experiences an employee encounters throughout their time with an organization. Similar to a customer journey map, it involves identifying critical phases such as recruitment, onboarding, development, and offboarding while also examining how each stage affects employee productivity, satisfaction, and overall engagement.

This process highlights the practical steps involved in each phase and considers the emotional states employees may experience, such as excitement during onboarding or frustration during performance reviews. 

Therefore, by mapping out this journey, you can pinpoint areas for improvement, ensuring that employees feel valued and supported at each stage.

Five stages of the employee journey

The employee journey mapping involves five crucial stages that outline the experience an employee has within an organization, from recruitment to offboarding.

Here are the following five stages of the employee journey that you must know: 

Hire: Pick the right stars

Selecting the right candidates is essential for organizational success. According to a study by LinkedIn, 83% of talent professionals say that hiring the right people is their top priority.

However, many organizations struggle with high turnover rates due to poor hiring decisions. A common pain point is the lack of a structured recruitment process, which can lead to mismatches between candidates and company culture. Additionally, unconscious biases during the recruitment process can inadvertently affect the diversity of hires, limiting the pool of skills and perspectives within the company. 

Strategies to attract and hire the top talent

• Create clear job descriptions: Start with creating clear and concised job descriptions that highlight the key performance indicators (KPIs), required skills, and qualifications for each role. This ensures that candidates have a realistic understanding of what the job entails and helps attract those who are genuinely suited for the position.
• Use applicant tracking systems (ATS): Implement an ATS to streamline the recruitment process. This technology helps manage applications, track candidates, and improve communication, ensuring a more efficient hiring experience.
• Conduct structured interviews: Conduct structured interviews with standardized questions to ensure consistency and fairness. You can also involve different team members during the decision-making process to get a diverse perspective on the candidate.

Onboarding

Onboarding is a critical stage in the employee journey that significantly impacts retention and productivity. Research by Brandon Hall Group found that organizations with a strong onboarding process improve new hire retention by 82% and productivity by over 70%. 

Effective onboarding not only helps new employees acclimate to their roles but also embeds them in the company culture from day one. However, many organizations face challenges such as inconsistent onboarding experiences and a lack of structured processes.

Strategies to onboard new hires seamlessly

• Orientation: Conduct a formal orientation session to introduce new hires to the company’s vision, mission, and values. This helps them understand the organizational culture and aligns their goals with those of the company.
• Assign a buddy: Pair new hires with a current employee who will serve as a mentor or buddy during their transition. This personal connection can enhance engagement and help new employees navigate the company culture more effectively.
• Training programs: Implement comprehensive and customized training programs tailored to the specific roles of new hires. Also, make sure employees have the right training materials at their disposal.

Development: Coach a career path

In this stage of the employee journey, organizations focus on fostering growth and career advancement for their employees. According to a LinkedIn Learning report, 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career development. Therefore, it is essential for organizations to invest in employee development programs that provide clear career paths and ongoing support.

Strategies to integrate employee development programs

• Learning: Offer a variety of learning opportunities, including workshops, online courses, and certifications tailored to employees’ roles and aspirations.
• Mentorship programs: Pair employees with experienced leaders for guidance and support.
• Regular feedback: Please don’t wait for annual performance reviews to share their feedback. Ongoing feedback helps employees understand their strengths and areas for improvement, promoting continuous growth.
• Internal mobility: Promote job openings within the organization to allow employees to explore different roles, enhance their skills and keep them engaged.

Retaining 

Most organizations hold employee retention quite dear. Retention focuses on maintaining a stable workforce by keeping talented and experienced employees within the organization for as long as possible. This involves implementing strategies and practices that foster employee loyalty and reduce turnover rates. 

However, organizations face several pain points when it comes to retention. One significant challenge is employee disengagement, which often arises from a lack of career development opportunities, inadequate recognition, or a poor work-life balance. Another issue is the competitive job market, where skilled employees may be lured away by better offers from other companies. Therefore, organizations need to implement some effective and innovative retention strategies to overcome these challenges.

Strategies to retain your employees

• Offer competitive salary and benefits: Offer competitive salary packages and benefits to retain top talent.
• Reward and recognition: Recognize employees for work well done by celebrating their achievements and contributions publicly. Acknowledging hard work fosters a positive work environment and motivates employees to perform at their best.

• Work-life balance initiatives: Implement flexible work arrangements and wellness programs to support employees’ personal lives. Encouraging a healthy work-life balance can significantly enhance job satisfaction and retention.
• Open communication: Maintain open communication and inclusivity between management and team members. Additionally, tap into employee sentiment and satisfaction levels by using employee engagement surveys to gather insights on their experiences and concerns. Regularly analyze the feedback to identify areas for improvement and take actionable steps based on the results.

Offboarding

This is the final stage of the employee journey when an employee leaves the organization. This stage includes exit interviews, knowledge transfer, and ensuring a smooth transition. A positive offboarding experience can leave a lasting impression and potentially turn former employees into advocates for the company.

Strategies to foster a positive employee departure

• Exit interviews: Conduct exit interviews with departing employees to gather valuable feedback about their experiences within the organization. This insight can help identify areas for improvement and enhance the overall employee experience for current and future employees.
• Knowledge transfer: Ensure a smooth and structured knowledge transfer process is implemented where critical information and insights with their teams are shared. This can include documenting workflows, training the new hire, and ensuring that essential tasks are covered to maintain continuity after their departure.

How can technology improve employee journeys?

Technology has fundamentally transformed the employee journey, reshaping traditional practices across the entire talent lifecycle. From recruitment to ongoing development and retention, technological solutions streamline processes, enhance engagement, and facilitate data-driven decision-making.

For example, applicant tracking systems (ATS) efficiently manage candidate applications, while artificial intelligence (AI) effectively matches candidates to suitable roles. Onboarding platforms provide new hires with essential information and training materials, eliminating confusion during their initial days. This technological transformation also includes the use of an intranet, which serves as a centralized hub for resources, communication and collaboration across the organization.

Furthermore, employee management systems enable organizations to identify high performers and address skill gaps through targeted training initiatives. This approach not only enhances employee development but also boosts engagement levels. Thus, technology enhances the employee journey by fostering a more efficient, informed, and engaged workforce.

Create an employee journey map with a modern intranet

Creating an employee journey map with a modern intranet involves visualizing and understanding the experience of employees as they navigate through various stages of their career within an organization. A modern intranet enhances the overall employee experience by centralizing information and providing easy access to tools from when employees join the organization until their departure.

• Create a centralized digital workplace: To enhance the efficiency and productivity of your employees, create a centralized digital work hub that contains important documents, policies, and training materials, making it easy for your employees to access the information they need to succeed.

• Improves communication: Utilize the intranet to facilitate clear and consistent communication across the organization. It serves as a platform for announcements, updates, and feedback, ensuring that employees are informed and engaged throughout their journey.

Read our case study on how Sammons Enterprises saw over 80% adoption with more than 60,000 total content views

• Seamless onboarding: New hires can easily find onboarding resources, training programs, and company guidelines through the intranet, streamlining their transition into the organization. This centralized platform acts as a comprehensive hub for all onboarding activities, enabling new hires to acclimate more rapidly and effectively to their roles.

• Use AI-empowered search: Finding what you need and when you need it can’t be overstated! A smart search feature is vital to give employees a personalized learning experience as it scans all your organization’s knowledge bases to provide only the information employees need.

• Personalization: Delivers tailor-made content recommendations and serves up relevant information automatically, learning user preferences over time to finetune their intranet experience — fostering a high level of engagement.

Read case study on a multinational automotive service provider connects 18,000 distributed, deskless employees

• Listen to your employees: Actively listen to your employees. Collect valuable insights using assessment tools and surveys, feedback forms, and anonymous suggestion channels to promote an open-door policy. Leverage the intranet to gather candid responses and gauge employee sentiment on a larger scale. 

• Publicly reward and recognize your employees: Don’t shy away from publicly celebrating employee efforts, achievements and milestones through the company feed. Customize awards and badges to acknowledge individual contributions and team successes.

Read our case study on how Agero’s Employee Recognition sparked 22x engagement in the digital workplace

How Simpplr can help – Putting it all together

Simpplr is the #1 employee intranet platform that helps employees work more efficiently in one place with less friction and frustration. With a centralized repository, it allows employees to have access to various types of content. Offers intuitive user engagement analytics to uncover hidden employee sentiments and emotions to help leaders understand employee emotions and recommend for them to take action. Additionally, easy app integration into your EX tech stack eliminates the cost of additional point solutions. And most importantly, it’s secure.

Ready to see Simpplr in action? Watch a quick demo to discover how Simpplr can create a positive employee experience by streamlining the employee journey.