Employee Cycle Starts When another One Ends
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The lifecycle of some employees may progress very slowly, while others develop more rapidly. But so long as the company assists the employee, there will be an increase in productivity.

Every employee undergoes a series of events as they climb up the career ladder. These series of events is what human resource experts call the lifecycle of employee development. It is imperative that employers control, and consider the stages from finding potential workers, hiring, training to task assigning, working, and separation. As the company works on this development, HR managers play a key role in finding the best activities that fit their stage. Since not all employees in the company are in the same stage, the attention must be employee specific. Furthermore, the stages of employee development does not also correlate with age. One employee may be in the production and growth stage, while another employee of the same age could still be in the training stage.

The initial stages of employee development take place usually within the first three months of the employee’s stay in the company. This stage is what HR experts call the orientation stage. Surprisingly, it covers the searching, screening, interviewing, to hiring the employee. Even during the employee search period, potential workers have already made a good grasp about the company through the job description. During the screening and interview phase, the candidate increases his knowledge about the company and prepares himself mentally and emotionally in case he gets the job.

After hiring, the new employee learns to fit in. He expects more involvement with the supervisor as against with other co-workers. During this phase, the newly hired employee now creates an image in his mind about how he will perform in the new job. The HR manager must allow an environment where the new employee can be dependent to others in getting direction, information, and inspiration for decision-making.

Depending on the nature of business, the company can extend the orientation stage from three months to ten months. In the case of call centers, where trainings can last as long as five months, HR managers must maximize the time spent for such activity. The training phase brings out the performance characteristics of the new employee.

Within six months after the training, the initial production stage of the employee takes place. Human resources experts call this the exploration and trail period. Most managers, though, refer to this stage as the “reality”. This is when the employee demonstrates his skills and competency. There is now little managerial involvement in this phase, although work starts to become a routine. The employee still asks for help during this phase, so HR managers must give ample allowance for improvement.

From sixth month onwards, the production growth stage takes place. By this time, workers are now confident with their work. It is also during this time, that employees begin to resist on additional tasks not stated in the job description. Trivial conversations, absenteeism, and undecided leaves occur. HR managers should now impose company rules and be stringent in following policies.

The final stage is the disengagement. By this time, the employee feels either fulfillment or dissatisfaction from his job. At this point, he is already an asset in the company. However, the company should allow him to accept a different role or let him go. Separation may mean retirement, resignation, or termination.

There is no definite period for each stage in the employee development. Some workers tend to traverse from one stage to another more rapidly than others. The lifecycle of an employee starts when another one ends. The progression may be slow, but just as long as the manager is there for the employee, the company can expect productivity.