The employee lifecycle tends to include a series of common stages, such as recruiting, hiring, onboarding, and offboarding. But no two journeys happen in the exact same way or even at the exact same pace. Employee journey mapping is a method for visualizing that journey for different groups of employees, so you can identify important moments along the way and the timeline for reaching each touchpoint.
Here’s what HR teams need to know about employee journey mapping, including how to use it to improve the employee experience at different journey stages.
Employee journey mapping, or employee experience journey mapping, is the process of creating a visual representation of key moments in the employee lifecycle, such as onboarding, performance management, and the employee exit process.
It’s similar to customer journey mapping, in which a business defines key touchpoints that drive engagement or influence the customer experience. Journey mapping makes it easier for you to consider a customer or employee’s perspective, understand their pain points, and improve their day-to-day experience.
Of course, no two employees are alike, and the speed and direction of the journey will differ for, say, an entry-level sales rep and an IT specialist. By using employee personas — hypothetical employee profiles — you can customize your journey map to represent multiple employee experiences and account for a range of employee needs.
Employee journey mapping can be a useful tool for human resources teams trying to improve employee satisfaction and increase retention. Here are three ways journey mapping benefits HR teams and helps you retain more engaged employees:
Every step in the employee journey matters — from how you issue new hire paperwork to how you conduct exit interviews. But having a one-size-fits-all process can give new employees the impression that they’re just another face in the crowd.
Journey mapping enables you to create custom journeys for different segments of your workforce. For example, RapidBee helps you create custom onboarding journeys and training journeys tailored to individual team members or demographics.
Even personal milestones, such as an employee’s birthday or their first year at your organization, can be reflected in your employee journey.
Since different members of your HR team may be responsible for different stages of the employee lifecycle, the employee experience can vary widely. Similarly, different teams may use their own metrics to measure employee satisfaction or performance.
Employee journey mapping allows you to get a more consistent picture of the employee experience and present a cohesive image that aligns with company values.
Use standardized performance review templates and employee surveys to ensure that the information you’re getting at each stage of the journey is accurate.
Good or bad experiences shape how your employees feel about your brand. Whether it’s feeling welcomed on their first day on the job or appreciated for their hard work, emphasizing key moments in the employee journey makes a difference.
Employee journey mapping helps you respond to employee feedback, prioritize their well-being, and maintain a positive work environment.
By extending that positive experience through the exit process, you can ensure that even former employees have good things to say about your organization.
Every organization’s employee journey will look slightly different. Some companies put more focus on attracting top talent, while others prioritize employee development and retaining existing employees. Let’s take a look at five examples of how you can use employee journey mapping at each stage of the employee lifecycle.
The recruiting and hiring process includes some of the most important touchpoints in an employee’s journey: the first time an employee learns about your company, views your job posting, and engages with your hiring team.
Do job seekers find it easy to fill out your job application? Do they get a personalized response? How long does it take for candidates to respond to a job offer?
With employee journey mapping, you can consider each of these milestones and make better decisions about how to engage with prospective candidates — such as by using AI recruiting tools or or shortening your recruiting timeline.
The employee onboarding experience is your next chance to make a good impression and welcome new hires to your organization. Onboarding should start well before the new hire’s first day at work and last well into their first year on the job.
Key touchpoints include a tour of the workplace, provisioning of user accounts and ID badges, and the submission of new hire paperwork. By establishing a timeline for the onboarding process, you can automatically trigger key parts of the journey.
RapidBee makes it easy to customize the employee journey with personalized training and onboarding experiences. Use automated workflows to generate documents, keep stakeholders informed, monitor employee progress, and get alerts for any delays.
The next stage of employee journey mapping involves monitoring their progress within your organization. How soon will they be eligible for promotions? How often can they expect performance reviews? What opportunities are there for upskilling?
Again, the employee journey will vary depending on their role and department, and some employees may expect a faster progression than others.
With RapidBee, you can track certifications in order to maintain compliance and remind employees when their credentials are about to expire. Plus, you can use predictive HR analytics to anticipate departures and prepare employees to step into new roles.
Employee retention includes cultivating relationships with your employees so they feel like part of a team and in alignment with your company’s values. Employee retention strategies include company retreats, team-building exercises, employee recognition programs, and employee benefits like paid sabbaticals and parental leave.
Mapping the employee journey allows you to take a data-driven approach to retention by identifying common employee relations issues and proactively addressing them to improve employee engagement.
RapidBee’s AI-driven chat and ticket management system can provide instant answers to common questions about company policies, employee benefits, and more. Manage inquiries from multiple sources — including forms, email, and SMS — and route more complex cases to a member of your HR team.
For many companies, offboarding is an afterthought, but it’s an important opportunity to get employee feedback and find out why employees are leaving your company. Some of the most important touchpoints include conducting exit surveys, revoking access to company systems, and ensuring a smooth hand-off of any ongoing projects.
By making the exit process a more pleasant experience, you can stay on good terms with departing employees and keep in touch for networking and referrals.
The typical employee journey begins with recruiting and continues through offboarding — but different team members will need varying levels of training, access, and support along the way. With employee journey mapping, you can create a map of that journey for one or more employee personas and provide a more personalized experience.
RapidBee’s AI-powered platform allows HR teams to customize the employee journey for each employee, with personalized training, onboarding, and offboarding programs. Use it to monitor their progress, track certifications, and streamline routine tasks with automated document management, form conversions, and journey integrations.
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