Map your current HR cycle. From the first job interview to the end of an employment contract. By being structurally involved with your employees you take care of them. You also ensure the future-proofing of the entire organization. But what is an HR cycle and how do you, as an employer, use it effectively?
The HR cycle or HRM cycle is a self-repeating operational process in the field of HR management. Put more simply, an HR cycle contains all the fixed moments when you as an employer talk with your employees. These conversations are mainly about goals, performance, development and ambitions. But it is of course also an opportunity to catch up and hear how someone is doing on all fronts.
The annual HR cycle already begins with the job interview and the hiring of a new employee. According to the standard pattern, three annually recurring contact moments then follow in the HR cycle, namely the planning meeting, the performance meeting and the appraisal meeting:
This is held at the beginning of the year. Together you agree which goals must be achieved in the coming year and what is needed for that.
Halfway through the year follow the performance review meeting. You then discuss how everything is going, where adjustments need to be made and whether extra support is needed.
This logically takes place at the end of the year. You look at how the past year has gone, whether goals have been achieved, and assess and reward the employee's performance.
The modern HR cycle is increasingly applied in organizations. After all, quite a lot has changed in organizations in recent years: we all think much less in terms of tasks but more in roles. Employees get more freedom and personal responsibility and not everything has to be assessed in detail by an employer.
That this development was indeed underway already became clear in 2018 from the seven-year study by Human Resources Management lecturer Kilian Wawoe of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The outcome: the traditional annual evaluation of employees by managers is demotivating and has no single positive effect on performance or on the HRM cycle.
The HR cycle therefore deserves a major shift and a new definition. You no longer look at how an employee performs at three fixed moments, but much more at the ambitions and needs of employees and how you can meet them. Your role as employer in a modern HR cycle changes from directive to service-oriented, with continuous coaching of employees and motivating, targeted feedback for their development.
Do youyou want to modernize your old HR-cycle model, but don't know how best to tackle it? With the following tips you'll go a long way:
Replace planning, performance and appraisal conversations with development conversations. Many employees find it very unpleasant to be assessed (or 'condemned'). By focusing much more on talent and personal development you give the conversations a positive spin.
No longer the standard three times a year at the table, but choosing multiple contact moments throughout the year. These don't have to be official conversations, but can also be organized differently. By opting for a tailored approach you bring about a change from ‘must’ to ‘want’ and only discuss things with each other when there really is something to share.
A shift to a new and improved HR cycle model naturally starts with input from the people it concerns: your employees. Talk to them, draw up a questionnaire or an employee satisfaction survey and ask for feedback: that way you'll find out fastest which changes will be important and meaningful.
