FCB #019: How to Have Happy, Satisfied Employees

If you're a professional services business owner, your largest expense is your labor cost for your employees and contractors.

The cost of employee turnover can range from 25% to 200% of the departing employee’s annual salary for such things as retirement, training, onboarding, lost productivity, and potential customer impact.

Disengaged employees cost businesses up to 35% of their annual salary due to decreased productivity and performance.

Companies with low employee engagement experience a 35% decline in operating income and a 15% drop in earnings growth compared to companies with high employee engagement levels.

Every employee goes through 7 stages from first exposure to departure and after. Learn how you can improve each of these employee life cycle stages below.

These will help you improve your employee satisfaction, productivity, retention and, ultimately, you company’s profitability.

The ultimate goal is to have happy, satisfied employees. They'll make your life as a business owner a lot easier, and your business much more profitable!

The 7 Stages of Your Employee Life Cycle

The 7 stages of your employee life cycle are:

1. 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: They must notice you and realize you’re a good employer.
2. 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 & 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠: Get a large pool so you can be selective.
3. 𝐎𝐧𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: Help your team reach full productivity & high satisfaction.
4. 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Team development improves their skills & satisfaction.
5. 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: High turnover is disruptive and slows down productivity.
6. 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: Treat them well when they depart. Show you care.
7. 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: Create positive employees & brand ambassadors.

Why Does This Matter?

If you can improve your employee’s experience, it will lead to higher levels of employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention. Having happy, satisfied employees makes it easier for your company to grow, scale, and be more profitable.

Happy, satisfied employees also help you attract top talent, building recruiting momentum and the flywheel effect inherent in all good-to-great business transformations.

Below, we summarize specific activities you can focus on to improve each of these 7 stages of your employee life cycle.

Stage 1: Attraction

How to Improve Your Company’s Reputation

• Make a good first impression.
• Focus on improving your company culture.
• Optimize your work environment.
• Provide opportunities for growth and advancement.

Do these and you'll make it easy for job candidates to continue through your recruiting process.

Your existing employees will become recruiting ambassadors for you and will refer great job candidates through their professional networking circles.

How to Grow Brand Awareness

• Do this in person and online.
• Strengthen your branding.
• Showcase your company’s core values.
• Highlight your unique qualities.

Your branding should help draw positive attention to you and your firm.

Social media, like LinkedIn & Twitter, are easy ways to connect with candidates.

Stage 2: Recruiting & Interviewing

How to Improve Recruiting

• Create concise job descriptions with accurate info on job duties. Expand recruitment options. Use employee referrals, social media posts and professional organizations.
• Demonstrate what you have to offer job seekers. Include competitive salary & benefits. Highlight meaningful work, advancement opportunities, and a positive culture.
• Simplify your application process. Ask top candidates to do additional screening if they’re a good match.
• Demonstrate great communication with candidates throughout the process. Be transparent about their status. Don't leave them hanging. Don't withhold information.

How to Improve Interviewing

• Use automated screening methods. Narrow down the applicants quickly. Have clear criteria before you start screening. Review the applicants fairly and consistently.
• Establish consistent interviewing. Create structured interview questions. Help interviewees feel comfortable. Reduce their stress. Make your interviews a positive experience.
• Make the interview process efficient. Applicants should hear back from you quickly.

Stage 3: Onboarding

How to Improve Onboarding

• Have a detailed onboarding checklist.
• Make it easy for new hires to go through this process smoothly.
• Keep the onboarding process flexible. Everyone learns at a different pace.
• Make your onboarding more meaningful and educational.
• Provide weekly one-on-ones with a supervisor.
• Assign a mentor.
• Provide a role-specific training manual.
• Listen for feedback from new & existing employees.

Make sure every new hire feels welcome. Introduce them to their colleagues. Include them in team activities. Check in frequently with them. Show them you care.

Stage 4: Development

How to Improve Professional Development

• Create a training and development policy.
• Include opportunities for internal and external training.
• Offer tuition reimbursement.

How to Improve Career Mapping

• Encourage your employees to consider their career goals.
• Help them make a plan for reaching them.
• Identify new skills and knowledge they need to advance.
• Meet regularly to check their progress toward their career goals

Stage 5: Retention

How to Improve Employee Retention

• Understand how your team works best and what motivates them.
• Ask for and listen to feedback from your staff.
• Be transparent about your company goals, challenges and projects.
• Give employees autonomy with their workload. Don't micromanage!
• Provide the technology and support employees need to do their job well.
• Constantly work on improving your company culture.
• Offer flexible work options, such as remote work or flexible scheduling.
• Create a formal recognition program.
• Give employees the opportunity to try new things and advance.

Stage 6: Offboarding

How to Improve Offboarding

• Conduct exit interviews.
• Keep the departure positive.
• Express your gratitude for the employee’s contributions.
• Wish them luck in their new endeavors.
• Anticipating staff departures makes it easier to smooth the transition.
• Always-on recruiting can speed up the hiring process.
• Keep the remaining team informed.
• Keep them updated on progress during the transition period.

Stage 7: After Departure Relationship

• Make all of the previous stages positive and memorable.
• Stay in touch with previous employees.
• Show interest in them & what they're doing now.
• They might refer other candidates or clients to you.
• They might give you or your firm a positive testimonial!

Conclusion

Successfully managing and improving the 7 stages of the employee life cycle benefits you, your employees, your clients, and your company as a whole.

Remember, focus on how you can improve your company's:

• Reputation
• Brand Awareness
• Recruiting
• Interviewing
• Onboarding
• Professional Development
• Career Mapping
• Retention
• Offboarding
• After Departure Relationship

If you work on improving these various employee processes, make sure employees leave on good terms, and stay in touch with them after departure, these will go a long way in helping you create a world-class company.

Ultimately, your clients are better served, your company grows faster, and your revenues and profits improve substantially.

Reviewing what you’re doing currently at each stage and making small changes can improve the overall employee experience and your reputation as an employer.

At the end of the day, you want your employees to be as happy and satisfied as possible. Make this a priority and good things are in store for you and your company!

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