The employee lifecycle and what HR does

HR (human resources) helps an organisation get, grow and keep the right people while treating them fairly and staying compliant. Modern HR is less about paperwork and more about employee experience and business outcomes.

The employee lifecycle

1. Workforce planning: how many people with which skills, when, and at what cost.
2. Attraction and recruitment: employer brand, job descriptions, sourcing, selection.
3. Onboarding: paperwork, setup, orientation, the first 90 days.
4. Development: training, career paths, performance management.
5. Retention and engagement: culture, recognition, compensation and benefits, well-being.
6. Separation: resignation, exit interviews, full and final settlement, alumni relations.

HR roles

• Talent acquisition / recruiter: hiring.
• HR generalist / executive: a bit of everything in smaller companies.
• HR operations: records, HRMS, payroll inputs, compliance, policies.
• Compensation and benefits (C&B): salary structures, benchmarking, benefits.
• Learning and development (L&D): training programmes.
• HR business partner (HRBP): works with a business unit's leaders on people strategy.
• Employee relations / engagement: grievances, culture, communication.

The skills that matter

Communication, confidentiality, empathy with fairness, organisation, Excel and HRMS tools, knowledge of labour laws, business understanding, and data skills (HR analytics is growing quickly).

Check yourself

• Name the six stages of the employee lifecycle.
• What does an HRBP do differently from an HR operations executive?