The Employee Life Cycle (Part 2 of 4)

Written by: Craig Twombly

Published: December 2010

As we move into the second article in the employee life cycle, let's review what the employee life cycle is.

There is an employee life cycle that all employees travel through, while employed at a job. This cycle can last for decades, years, or even days. It is the path every individual while being employed takes. Inside this cycle each person is at a different place at a different time. It is important to note that not all people are the same and they will not be at the same place at the same time. The interesting part is the employee life cycle is not held to just hourly employees. If you are a manager or a leader you are working inside this cycle also. Although it is not on a piece of paper in an employee training manual and not in the forefront of a leaders mind while looking at their staff, it is important to understand where they are. The employee's success and happiness revolves around how well managers and leaders help employees inside the cycle. When an individual does not "make it" or "leaves" an organization, the reasoning can be observed in one of the four parts to the employee life cycle. The cycle consists of Hire, Train, Lead, and Support:

There is the old catch phrase about the difference between managers and leaders "a manager does things right" and "a leader does the right thing" although it is a nice phrase it is also very true. You have management responsibilities you must deal with deadlines, schedules, and so on. At the same time you must also lead the people inside the organization. It is important to think about the difference between the two. As we discussed in a previous article, people go to work to feel appreciated and to also participate. This is where leading comes into focus, it does not matter if an employee has been with the organization for six months or six years employees will look for inspiration and leadership. When you think of the new employee that has been with the organization for six months, we will often stop and will review the current performance and offer suggestions and ideas. I recently had a conversation on the phone with a manager that worked for me in a restaurant years ago. The individual was smart, focused on his career, and the goals he wanted to accomplish. He had called to let me know that he had given his letter of resignation and asked me for a letter of recommendation.

The restaurant business, like most other business has felt the crunch of the economic down turn over the past few years. In our conversation I asked him if he had a new job or scheduled interviews. To my surprise, he did not have a job lined up. This is quite commendable or risky to leave a job and not be sure around the future. Like all other business, the corporate restaurant world has frozen spending cut labor (hourly & salaried) and so on. He stated that he had not, but was confident in his options and informed me he had spent some time thinking about the decision before he made it. As with all great mysteries I asked why? He had worked for the organization for 10 years and was a go-getter. In the last few years he had taken a transfer to a very remote location knowing he would be there for some time. His answer was quite simple and to the point. "When my boss comes here to visit he is always late and focuses on the negative he never stops to ask how I am, what I might need or my plans for the future of the restaurant. We never talk about what is going on or what he sees with me in the future, it is always about the issues he sees today! During my most recent review he informed me I was doing a great job, keep it up but there is a freeze on raises. I do not feel like I am part of something and I no longer connect with my boss."

As managers and leaders, we put out fires and constantly look to improve our business. One of the most important pieces of the employee life cycle is to lead. "Leadership" is an often-overused word. In the case of the manager, he was looking for leadership. Some of the key components are:

Inspire:

As leader you are tasked with managing and inspiring your employees. Every business has a vision or goal they are trying to attain. How you get there is another story. When you think back as a child about playing on a bicycle, you probably found yourself at some point pushing a friend on their bike up a hill. As you might recall, it's not as easy as it sounds. Pushing is hard work. At some point we are taught the magical lesson that if you pull it is less effort and faster. As a leader it is left up to you to inspire and engage people to move towards their goals. If you push, it is much more effort than pulling, or guiding and inspiring people to participate and own the direction the organization is going.

Do as I say and as I do:

I often laughed at a manager I worked with that would say; "do as I say and not as I do." It is important to note people watch and observe how their managers and leaders act. They way you act will have a direct impact on the way employees will also act. If timeliness is important it is important that you are timely. When you enter a room and are quite and deep in thought the people around will wonder what is going. If customer relations are important we must lead from the front.

Own everything and give away all the credit:

As a leader, this can sometimes be a daunting challenge. As a young kitchen manager I was in the restaurant during a corporate tour. During these events you would have 10 or so individuals from the CEO to culinary directors come in a critique everything from kitchen designs to food preparation. Although the event is nerve raking, it is also a great opportunity to shine. While the group sat down to have lunch, the culinary director called me to the table. He called me to the table to ask why a dressing was prepared the way it was. There was in fact a mistake and it was served incorrectly (A customer would not know the difference). After a few futile moments of trying to explain why the cook had made the mistake, I was excused and went back to the kitchen. The next day after reporting out on the visit my director pulled me aside and we had a conversation that was worth its weight in gold. We discussed the error from the previous day and he offered me advice. He explained to me that as a leader, it was my responsibility and it was a mistake on my watch. Therefore, I should own it.  At the same time, when I received compliments around the cleanliness of the kitchen, it was a great opportunity to advocate for my employees. This translates to own everything and give away all the credit. Employees want to work for someone they can trust. Employees need to feel they can trust you. This is the basis to high levels of communication.