The key to proper engagement: Understanding the colleague lifecycle

23 Jul 2024, posted in Blogs

Business progression and success take more than knowing your customer. It takes attracting and retaining talent whilst keeping them happy, motivated, and productive to drive value for your business.

That means you need to maintain high levels of engagement at every stage of the colleague lifecycle. Why? Because colleague engagement isn’t a one-time thing. Whether it’s someone’s first day on the job, their last, or anything in between, engaging people across the entire colleague lifecycle is key to enabling your people to thrive.

Engaging across the colleague lifecycle

The journey of a colleague is marked by several stages, each demanding unique strategies and focus areas. Here’s an insight into how they contribute to building a successful workforce.

1. Attraction

Attracting the right candidates is the foundation of building a strong team. Creating a magnetic employer brand is important. And doing it effectively means you can showcase the company’s culture, values, and opportunities in a way that appeals to top talent. Companies can draw in candidates who are not only qualified but who are also aligned with the company’s ethos, ensuring a better fit.

2. Recruitment

Once the right candidates are attracted, you need to maintain their interest. That’s where a streamlined and engaging recruitment process comes into play. Recruitment marks the first time your potential recruit will properly engage with your business, so you need to make sure you’re engaging new recruits before they walk through the door. In the long run, it’ll create a happier workforce and reduce the cost of recruitment and time to hire.

Nearly a third of new hires quit within three months. But by having a smarter strategy that focuses on all the right things means you’ll attract a more diverse and skilled workforce and help improve the overall performance and productivity of your company.

3. Onboarding

Effective onboarding is crucial for integrating new hires into your business smoothly. A well-structured onboarding process can boost confidence, improve productivity, and foster early engagement and loyalty. Simply by making your hires feel welcome, you set them up for success, and ensure a smooth and productive start.

With specialised engagement tools like the Engage platform, you can enable new hires to build relationships from day one, deliver role-specific training and resources, and streamline and personalise the pre- and onboarding processes. Done poorly however, it can leave people disconnected from your culture, leading to reduced satisfaction and poor retention rates. That’s why on average, 25% of new hires leave within 90 days and 50% of staff leave within 18 months.

4. Development

Creating a culture of continuous learning and development is vital for long-term satisfaction and growth. Providing ample opportunities for professional development can enhance their skills, drive innovation, and maintain a motivated and competent workforce. It’s not something to gloss over. A lack of investment in career development and training can increase turnover by as much as 28%.

If you fail to deliver, you’ll end up losing your talent. 89% of people would stay with their current employer if offered development opportunities yet only 15% say their employer is investing in them.

5. Retention

Retaining talent is just as important as attracting it. Ongoing engagement keeps people happy and motivated. By addressing your people’s needs and fostering a supportive environment, companies can reduce turnover rates and build a loyal team. Our colleague engagement platform helps you to reach and support them wherever they are and create a culture of appreciation.

Keeping your people isn’t just a surefire way to avoid the hassle of recruiting someone new. There’s financial benefit too. The cost of replacing your people range from one-half to two times their annual salary, however 52% of exiting staff say a manager or employer could have made them stay.

6. Separation

Even when colleagues depart, keeping a positive relationship will reap future benefits. Providing them with channels to stay connected, make referrals, and potentially return in the future leaves a positive last impression and creates a network of brand advocates who can contribute to the company’s reputation and success. Without a positive offboarding experience colleagues are three times less likely to be open to being rehired. It can make a massive difference, and if you’re unsuccessful in maintaining positive relationships with departing staff, it can damage your organisation’s brand reputation while increasing recruitment and training costs.

Prioritising engagement isn’t a luxury

Maintaining proper engagement with your people should be the bread and butter to your strategy to attract the best talent and keep them happy, motivated and sticky. Built for mobile, Engage is a consumer-grade engagement platform that is enabling businesses in Greater Manchester and beyond to create thriving colleague communities. It effectively engages and communicates with colleagues across the lifecycle, helping to attract and retain your top talent and enhance the productivity of your people, boosting your bottom line.

Learn more about Engage: https://www.engagesolutionsgroup.com/employee/