Moments That Matter: Building HR Policies Around the Employee Life Cycle

Senior HR leaders know that MOMENTS MATTER: those pivotal points in an employee’s journey that leave a lasting impression.

In this piece, we explore how to design HR policies and support structures around key stages of the employee life cycle. From a new hire’s first day to a veteran employee’s send-off, every stage offers an opportunity to strengthen engagement and trust.

💡Examples of moments that matter in the employee experience:

- Preboarding
- First day
- Onboarding
- Performance reviews and appraisals
- Promotion
- Resignation and terminating employment
- Exit interview
- Offboarding

And don’t forget personally significant moments too:
- Bereavement
- Maternity / paternity leave
- Illness

Employee experience (EX) models teach us that tending to these critical moments (often called “moments that matter”) can greatly boost morale, retention, and performance.

Gartner research finds 56% of HR leaders are now experimenting with a “moments that matter” approach to craft better employee experiences, and those who have done so report improved employee value propositions and engagement.

As PwC aptly puts it:

“A great employee experience is about paying attention to the moments that matter in an employee’s day, year, and career.”

Adopting this life cycle mindset means treating employees with the same care and intentional design as customers, mapping out their journeys, and using frameworks like journey mapping, design thinking, and agile methodology to continually refine HR practices.

This map visualises those high-stakes moments, shading each stage by both emotional and commercial impact:

In previous pieces, we discussed embracing an employee-first, empathy-led mindset – now we put that into practice.  By walking in our employees’ shoes, we can identify friction points and highlight positive “wow” moments at each stage.

Journey mapping helps visualize every touchpoint from onboarding to exit, revealing where a well-timed policy or extra support can make a big difference.

Design thinking encourages HR to empathize with employees, prototype solutions, gather feedback, and iterate – ensuring policies truly meet people’s needs.

And an agile HR approach allows teams to pilot changes quickly, learn from employee input, and continuously improve the employee experience in short cycles rather than waiting for annual reviews.

Guided by the darker squares in the “Moments Map”, we’ll zoom in on four key life stages: onboarding, leaves/sabbaticals, professional development, and exit/offboarding.

For each, we’ll discuss why the moment matters, highlight research or models to consider, and offer hands-on guidance (including checklists and real-world examples) for building employee-centric policies. Let’s dive in!

Chapters

• #1: Onboarding: Setting the stage for success
• #2: Life Happens: Supporting employees through leave and sabbaticals
• #3: Growth and Development: Fuelling continuous career journeys
• #4: Offboarding: Exiting with dignity and extending the relationship
• Conclusion: A checklist for key life cycle moments

#1. Onboarding: Setting the Stage for Success

For a new employee, the onboarding experience is the first real impression of your organization’s culture and support.

It’s no surprise that it’s often called a “make or break” moment. Done right, onboarding can energize a new hire; done poorly, it can sow doubts from day one.

Unfortunately, many organizations have room to improve. Gallup research revealed that only 1 in 10 employees strongly agree their organization does a great job of onboarding new hires.

This means 90% of us have an opportunity to do better – and the payoff is huge. Studies show that a strong onboarding process can improve new hire retention by 82% and boost productivity by over 70% (​Qualtrics).

Yet a whopping 88% of organizations don’t onboard new hires well​, indicating a widespread gap between what we know is effective and what we actually deliver.

Consider also that as many as 28% of employees leave their new jobs within the first 90 days, often due to poor onboarding or mismatched expectations.

These early days set the tone. As Liz Pavese-Kaplan, Principal EX Consultant at Qualtrics, notes: 

“These early experiences are highly influential to new hires’ overall perceptions of the company and impact future engagement, motivation, and even intentions to stay.”

In short, onboarding is an organization’s first chance to prove to a new hire that they made the right choice – and to equip them for success.

So how can HR teams design onboarding policies that hit the mark?

Empathy and planning are key.

Using a journey-mapping lens, walk through a new hire’s first days and weeks: What information or support would you need at each step?

Common pain points include overwhelming paperwork, technology hiccups, unclear job expectations, and social isolation.

A few concrete best practices emerge from both research and real-world examples:

Start before Day 1 (Pre-boarding)

The employee life cycle journey begins before the official start date. Stay in touch after offer acceptance: send a welcome email, a “what to expect” guide, or even a small welcome package. Providing a dedicated portal for newcomers to ask questions and access resources pre-start can alleviate first-day anxieties​. This ensures new hires feel connected and informed from the get-go.

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Structure the First Day/Week

Remove as many logistical hurdles as possible. Have equipment, accounts, and workspace ready on Day 1. Ensure someone is prepared to greet them (even if virtually) and give a tour. Don’t overload the first day with forms and orientation videos only; balance it with personal touches. For example, that first team lunch or a casual coffee chat with coworkers can be a memorable, positive moment that makes a newcomer feel welcomed. Plan these social introductions intentionally.

Assign a Buddy or Mentor

Pairing the new hire with a friendly “buddy” who can show them the ropes has proven benefits. Google famously implemented a simple onboarding checklist for managers, which included assigning a peer buddy, having a role-and-responsibilities discussion, and scheduling regular check-ins.

The results were striking: new employees whose managers followed this 5-step checklist became fully effective 25% faster than those who didn’t (​Inc.). In other words, a few straightforward actions (like clarifying roles and encouraging open dialogue) can accelerate time-to-productivity by a quarter – an enormous gain for both employee and employer.

Map out 30-60-90 Day Checkpoints

Don’t consider onboarding “done” after the first week. The most successful programs extend onboarding support over several months.

Schedule check-in meetings at the 30, 60, and 90-day marks (at minimum) to discuss how the employee is settling in, clarify any evolving questions, and solicit feedback on their experience.

This reinforces that the organization cares about their growth and comfort. It’s during the first few months that some of the most memorable impressions form, so continuing support through this period can cement a positive perception.

Leverage Technology for Consistency

To ensure nothing falls through the cracks, consider using onboarding software or an employee experience platform (for instance, a solution like Applaud) to automate task reminders, paperwork, and training modules.

This frees HR and managers to focus more on the human side of onboarding – the relationship-building and cultural integration – while tech handles the repetitive workflows.

A platform like Applaud can also provide new hires a one-stop portal for all onboarding resources, from personalized knowledge and tasks to AI instant answers, improving the experience.

Gather Feedback and Iterate

Here’s where an agile mindset comes in. Collect feedback from each batch of new hires, via pulse surveys or informal chats, about what worked well and what could improve in the onboarding process.

Perhaps they wanted more frequent check-ins, or found a particular training module unhelpful.

Use this data to continuously refine your onboarding approach. Agile HR teams treat onboarding design as an iterative process, tweaking the “prototype” with each new hire class to better meet employee needs.

💡By implementing these practices:

HR can transform onboarding from a rushed orientation into a well-crafted journey that integrates the employee culturally, socially, and professionally.

The goal is for new team members to feel welcomed, prepared, and excited to contribute. And the payoff is not just a warm fuzzy feeling – it’s tangible business results.

Effective onboarding drives higher engagement and faster productivity, and dramatically reduces early turnover risk.

Remember, up to 20% of employee turnover occurs within the first 45 days (​Inc.), so preventing early mishaps is critical.

Onboarding is our chance to start the relationship on the right foot, so that each employee can quickly reach their full potential in your organization.

#2. Life Happens: Supporting Employees Through Leave and Sabbaticals

Work is only one part of an employee’s life. At certain junctures, life events will take precedence – whether it’s the birth of a child, a personal health challenge, pursuing further education, or simply needing a sabbatical to recharge.

How an organization supports employees during these inflection points speaks volumes about its culture and values. 

In fact, a parental leave or extended break can be a significant “moment that matters” in the employee experience. One study noted that taking maternity or paternity leave is a test of a company’s EX strategy – making it a positive experience shows the organization truly cares about employees’ personal lives, which in turn boosts morale and loyalty (​LiveTiles).

The basics (complying with laws for maternity/paternity leave, for example) are just the starting point. Leading HR teams go further, designing leave policies and support structures that are human-centric and flexible.

Why?

Because the data is clear: organizations with robust, empathetic leave policies see improvements in retention and engagement.

In a recent survey, 84% of US employers said they plan to enhance their paid leave benefits in the next two years as a strategy to attract and retain talent (​HR Brew).

It’s not just about generosity for its own sake; it’s driven by results. Research from WTW (Willis Towers Watson) found companies with strong leave programs have higher employee retention and productivity.

In the same survey, 73% of employers cited improving retention as the number one reason they are expanding leave benefits​. In short, supporting employees during “life happens” moments isn’t an HR distraction – it’s a core retention strategy.

Let’s talk specifics. Parental leave is one of the most common major life events. Whether it’s maternity, paternity, adoption, or fostering, welcoming a new child is a joyful and challenging time. HR’s role is twofold: make the leave process smooth, and pave the way for a successful return.

Currently, most organizations do offer something – 86% provide maternity leave, 82% provide paternity leave, according to HR Brew. However, it’s the quality of that support that counts. A few best practices:

Create a Clear, Compassionate Leave Policy

Ensure your parental leave policies (and other leave types) are easy to understand and communicate.

Beyond the legal minimum, consider what would actually help employees. How many weeks of paid leave can you offer?

Can you provide options to extend with part-time phases or unpaid leave without penalizing their career?

Be as generous as feasible: first-time mothers who use some form of paid leave are 32% less likely to quit their jobs around childbirth (​Best Place for Working Parents).

Providing paid leave dramatically increases the likelihood that new parents return to work and stay with the company post-leave.

Keep in Touch (But Respect Boundaries)

One anxiety for employees on extended leave is feeling “out of sight, out of mind.”

HR can set up optional check-ins – for example, a monthly update or a buddy who keeps them in the loop on workplace happenings if they desire.

Some companies create a “parent liaison” role in HR to periodically touch base with employees on maternity/paternity leave, simply offering support or updates at the employee’s comfort level.

The key is to let the person on leave set the tone; some may want total radio silence to focus on family, others might appreciate an occasional friendly update.

Plan a Thoughtful Re-onboarding

Treat an employee’s return from leave almost like a second onboarding. Update them on any major changes, ease them back into their responsibilities, and perhaps offer a flex schedule initially.

According to a Great Place to Work survey, working parents are 65% more likely to stay with an employer that doesn’t rush them back to work after having a baby.

In practice, this could mean allowing a gradual return (e.g. part-time for a few weeks, or remote days) or simply assuring them that it’s okay to take time to readjust. This flexibility and empathy will pay off in renewed loyalty.

Consider “Leave Buddies” or Support Groups

Some organizations pair expectant parents with colleagues who have been through the leave process, to act as a support resource. Others have parenting Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) that connect new parents for peer support. Knowing that “someone at work has my back while I’m out” is immensely reassuring. It also helps when the employee returns because they have a peer who understands what it’s like to balance new parenthood and work, and who can mentor them through that transition.

Sabbaticals and Extended Breaks

Beyond parental leave, consider longer service-based sabbaticals or career breaks.

An increasing number of companies now offer sabbatical leave as a benefit for long-tenured employees (e.g., a 4-6 week paid sabbatical every 5 years, as seen in some tech firms and banks).

Sabbaticals allow employees to recharge, pursue personal projects, or even gain new skills, ultimately benefiting the company when they return refreshed.

Designing a sabbatical policy requires clear criteria (such as tenure, purpose, duration) and ensuring roles are covered temporarily. But the goodwill and renewal it generates can be immense.

Employees often return from sabbatical with higher engagement and gratitude for the organization’s support. Even unpaid sabbaticals or “personal leaves of absence” can be structured in a way that top performers know they won’t derail their career if they take a needed break.

This can prevent burnout and signal that you value them as whole persons, not just cogs in a machine.

Cover All Life Events

Don’t forget other leave types that matter: caregiving leave, bereavement leave, medical leave, etc.

A comprehensive approach to “life event support” should encompass the full spectrum. For instance, with an aging population, many employees face elder care responsibilities.

Yet only 25% of employers have a paid caregiver leave policy, even though 73% of employees have caregiving responsibilities.

Forward-thinking HR policies are expanding benefits here as well, knowing that supporting employees through any serious life event builds immense trust and loyalty.

In shaping these policies, design thinking can be a useful approach...

Empathize with employees’ challenges during these life moments, define what they need most (e.g., time, flexibility, job security, emotional support), ideate solutions (like phased returns, resource groups, coaching for managers on how to handle team members on leave), prototype perhaps with a pilot group, and then refine.

The below flow illustrates this iterative process: an HR Agile Loop you can use across any employee life cycle moment:

Some organizations pilot extended parental leave with one department before scaling it, for example.

Finally, foster a culture that normalizes taking leave.

Leaders should encourage employees to utilize their benefits without fear.

When people do take parental or sabbatical leave, celebrate it rather than treating it as an inconvenience.

This cultural tone is set at the top. If managers openly support team members during leave (“We’ve got things covered: focus on your family, and we’ll be excited to have you back!”), it removes stigma.

The outcome: employees return to work feeling valued and supported, rather than guilty or anxious. They’re then more likely to pay that support forward to the next person, creating a virtuous cycle of empathy.

💡 The bottom line:

Life happens, and when it does, employees will always remember how their employer responded.

By crafting leave policies that are generous, flexible, and compassionate, HR can turn these challenging moments into trust-building experiences.

This not only retains talent, it creates grateful, motivated employees who learn their organization cares.

In a very real sense, these policies demonstrate that we see our employees as PEOPLE-FIRST, WORKERS SECOND.

That’s the crux of an employee-centric culture.

#3. Growth and Development: Fuelling Continuous Career Journeys

After the basics are in place (a good start and support for life events), one of the most critical ongoing “moments” in an employee’s journey is their growth and professional development.

Technically, this isn’t a single moment but a continuous stage that’s peppered with mini-moments like a promotion, a training completion, a stretch assignment, or even a tough performance review.

How we nurture an employee’s development can make the difference between a long, engaged tenure and a premature exit.

Survey after survey shows that lack of career growth is often the #1 reason employees leave an organization (​MIT Sloan research). To underscore this: a Pew Research study found 63% of workers who quit cited lack of advancement opportunities as a reason for leaving.

Similarly, a McKinsey study identified lack of career development as the most common reason people quit their jobs​.

On the flip side, when employees do see a path forward and feel supported in learning new skills, their loyalty soars.

LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning Report famously noted that 94% of employees would stay at a company longer if it invested in their career development (​Forbes). These numbers paint a clear picture: if you want to attract and retain top talent, help them grow.

Designing HR practices around development means moving from a passive, laissez-faire approach (“We’ll offer some training, and employees can figure out their careers”) to an active, structured, and personalized approach (“We have a plan and resources to grow you, and we’re in this journey together”).

Here are some strategies and frameworks HR leaders can deploy to create a development-centric employee experience:

Individual Development Plans (IDPs)

Encourage every employee (starting from their first year) to create an Individual Development Plan in partnership with their manager.

This plan outlines the employee’s career goals, key skills or competencies to develop, and specific actions (courses, projects, mentoring) to get there. It should be a living document, revisited at least annually, and tied into performance discussions.

Having a formal plan signals to employees that the company cares about their future and has a roadmap to help them advance.

Continuous Learning Culture

Make learning a normal part of work, not a once-a-year event. This can include offering a certain number of training hours or a stipend each year that employees can use for courses or conferences.

Some companies, for example, give each employee a fixed budget (say $1,000) annually for professional development of their choice, whether that’s an online course, books, or attending a workshop.

Others have built internal learning platforms (or use providers) with a vast library of on-demand courses. The idea is to bake learning into the flow of work.

As an HR leader, you could set the tone by encouraging “learning days” or by having senior leaders share what they’re learning (model the behavior).

Career Pathing and Internal Mobility

A powerful way to show employees their growth potential is to provide clear career pathways and opportunities for internal mobility.

Map out possible progression routes within functions (e.g., from junior analyst to senior analyst to team lead) and communicate what it takes to get there. Even better, facilitate lateral moves and cross-functional projects.

If someone aspires to transition from, say, marketing to product management, can you create a job rotation or a mentorship with a product team?

According to MIT Sloan research, companies should help employees find and prepare for new internal opportunities as a systematic practice.

This could involve internal career fairs, an internal job board that is actively promoted, or talent reviews where managers identify folks ready for new challenges.

The message to employees: you don’t have to leave to grow – we want you to grow here, and we’ll help you do it.

Mentorship and Coaching

Setting up mentorship programs can provide employees with guidance and advocacy for their development.

These can be formal (matching every new hire with a seasoned mentor outside their chain of command, for instance) or informal (creating opportunities for people to network internally and seek mentors).

Training managers to be better coaches is another high-impact move. Often, the quality of an employee’s growth is tied to the quality of feedback and coaching their manager provides.

Sadly, nearly half of employees say a lack of good career advice has hurt their trajectory​. We can fix that by training leaders on how to have career conversations, giving them tools to advise employees on growth, and even measuring managers on how well they develop their teams.

Some organizations include “people development” as a performance metric for managers (eg, part of a manager’s evaluation is how many people they promoted or how they supported team development plans).

Recognition and New Challenges

Development is more than training, it’s about experiences.

Identify “moments that matter” in development such as receiving recognition for good work, being given a stretch assignment, or even navigating a failure with support. For example, being assigned as the lead on a high-profile project can be a pivotal growth moment for an employee.

HR can facilitate this by working with leadership to intentionally give high-potential employees stretch opportunities. Likewise, celebrate developmental milestones: completion of a certification, acquisition of a new skill, or great feedback from a client can be recognized in company communications.

This reinforces a growth mindset culture where learning and improving are valued.

Feedback Loop and Agile Adjustment

Borrowing from agile principles, treat your development programs as something to continuously improve via feedback.

Use employee engagement surveys or stay interviews to ask how employees feel about their growth opportunities. Are they finding what they need? Do they feel stuck?

Also monitor usage of development resources (eg, who is taking courses, who isn’t, and why). If an approach isn’t resonating, for instance, low participation in a mentorship program, iterate on it; maybe employees prefer peer mentorship circles over one-on-one pairings, etc.

Keep experimenting and fine-tuning your learning and development (L&D) offerings to match what employees actually want and need.

Real-World Example: Internal Gig Marketplaces

Some innovative companies have implemented internal “gig” platforms where employees can take on short-term projects in other departments (on top of their regular role or as a rotation).

This practice, inspired by agile and project-based work, allows employees to develop new skills and networks without leaving the firm. It’s an example of designing around the employee’s desire for continuous growth.

If setting up a full platform is too much initially, you can start smaller: encourage managers to advertise cross-team collaboration opportunities or form multi-disciplinary “tiger teams” for special initiatives.

The goal is to weave development into the fabric of the employee’s entire life cycle...

Instead of thinking of training as an isolated HR program, think of it as part of every stage: onboarding (learning the ropes), mid-career (upskilling, reskilling, leadership development), and even preparing for future roles (succession planning).

When employees see that the company is investing in them holistically, they invest back. They apply their new skills, they bring fresh ideas, and they feel a sense of progression that keeps them motivated.

Focusing on growth has a ripple effect on morale and culture. It creates an environment where managers are talent builders, not talent hoarders, and where employees feel safe to evolve and even make mistakes on the path to mastery (growth often involves some stumbles!).

In a positive development culture, the dreaded performance review becomes less of a scary “verdict” and more of a collaborative check-in on how the development journey is going and what support is needed next.

Remember: careers today are not as linear as they once were. People might make several pivots in a lifetime. Embrace that reality by helping employees map out what a rich career with your organization could look like, even as their interests evolve.

When HR policies and leadership actions consistently reinforce “we want you to learn and advance here,” employees are far less likely to look for that growth elsewhere. As the saying goes:

“The only thing worse than training your employees and losing them is not training them and keeping them”.

By investing in your people’s growth, you create a win-win: a more skilled workforce and a more loyal workforce.

💡 Remember:

Careers today are not as linear as they once were. People might make several pivots in a lifetime. Embrace that reality by helping employees map out what a rich career with your organization could look like, even as their interests evolve.

When HR policies and leadership actions consistently reinforce “we want you to learn and advance here,” employees are far less likely to look for that growth elsewhere.

As the saying goes:
“The only thing worse than training your employees and losing them is not training them and keeping them”.

By investing in your people’s growth, you create a win-win: a more skilled workforce and a more loyal workforce.

#4. Offboarding: Exiting with Dignity and Extending the Relationship

All good things eventually come to an end and employment is no exception. Whether an employee is retiring after decades or pursuing a new opportunity elsewhere, how we handle their exit (offboarding) is another moment of truth.

It’s tempting for organizations to see offboarding as a perfunctory, transactional process (collect the badge, conduct an exit interview, say goodbye). But in an employee-centric approach, offboarding is treated as carefully as onboarding because it’s not just an ending: it can also be a beginning of a new relationship (think: brand ambassador, future client, or even a boomerang employee who might return). 

The way you treat people on the way out the door deeply influences what they say about your company afterwards and whether they’d ever consider coming back. Plus, it’s simply the right thing to do.

As Harvard Business Review notes, organizations should ensure that departing employees are treated with respect and gratitude during the offboarding process​. After all, these individuals have contributed to your organization so deserve a positive conclusion to their tenure.

Gallup research similarly emphasizes that exiting employees should feel heard and appreciated for their contributions, rather than feeling like they’re being shown the door.

So what does a best-in-class offboarding policy look like in practice? Here are some components and tips:

Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews (and Actually Use the Feedback)

An exit interview isn’t merely an item on a checklist, it’s a golden opportunity to get candid feedback on the employee’s experience.

Make it a safe, blame-free conversation ideally with a neutral HR partner (not the direct manager) so the employee will open up about their true reasons for leaving and any suggestions for improvement.

Ask open questions such as:

• “What prompted your decision to move on?”
• “What could we have done better to support your career?”
• “Would you consider returning in the future under different circumstances?” 
  
  

Show Appreciation Publicly

When appropriate, celebrate the employee’s contributions to give closure. This could be a team send-off gathering, a department-wide email highlighting their achievements, or a small farewell gift as a token of thanks. The goal is to make the person feel that their time with you was valued. A positive last day experience (heartfelt goodbyes, maybe a signed card from colleagues) turns a potentially bittersweet moment into one of mutual appreciation. It also sets the tone for colleagues who remain: they see that people are respected even in departure, which boosts overall morale and trust in leadership.

Smooth the Logistics

Ensure all the practical aspects (final paycheck, benefit rollovers, retrieving company equipment, etc.) are handled seamlessly and respectfully.

There’s nothing worse for an exiting employee than having to chase down their last pay or find out their healthcare got cut off too early.

HR should provide a clear offboarding pack or meeting that explains how benefits transition, any post-employment resources (e.g., alumni networks, career services if applicable), and so on.

If the employee is open to it, you might also offer help like resume reviewing or networking assistance via alumni channels. These little touches can surprise and delight, turning a departing employee into a lifelong fan of the company.

Maintain Connections (Alumni Networks)

Just because someone’s no longer on your payroll doesn’t mean they stop being an ambassador for your brand.

Many forward-thinking organizations cultivate an alumni network – a community of former employees.

This can be as informal as a LinkedIn alumni group or as structured as organized alumni events, newsletters, or an online portal for alumni to stay engaged.

Former employees can become clients, refer candidates, or even return as “boomerang” hires in the future. Keeping in touch is mutually beneficial. Some companies even invite notable alumni to speak at company events or involve them in mentorship (leveraging their external experience).

The underlying principle is that employment isn’t a one-time transaction; it can be an ongoing relationship. As one HR expert quips, “your best former employees can be your best future employees.”

A recent survey found 48% of people would consider going back to a previous employer, up significantly from a year prior (​Workable). That means nearly half of your leavers might boomerang if the circumstances and feelings are right.

How you offboard them will influence that decision.

Knowledge Transfer

Before the employee walks out with all their hard-earned knowledge, arrange for a knowledge transfer process.

Have them document key processes or train a colleague who will take over their duties. This not only protects the organization, but it also makes the exiting employee feel their legacy is being honored and their projects will live on.

Frame it positively: “We’d love your help to ensure a smooth continuation of your great work.”

Handle Involuntary Exits with Dignity

Not all exits are voluntary or happy. Layoffs, terminations for performance, or other involuntary separations are tough moments.

Even in these cases (perhaps especially in these cases), treating the individual with dignity is paramount. Be clear and compassionate in the communication, offer whatever support you can (outplacement services, references where appropriate, etc.), and keep the process private and respectful.

Other employees are watching how their peers are treated in bad times and it will affect their trust.

A layoff done with humanity (transparent explanation, decent severance, and empathy) can actually strengthen remaining employees’ loyalty, because they see the company tried to do right by people.

The opposite – a callous or chaotic layoff – destroys trust fast.

Designing the offboarding experience also benefits from design thinking and journey mapping...

It sounds odd to “design” for an ending, but it’s about being intentional. Map out the steps of an exit from the employee’s perspective: they give notice (or are notified), they wrap up work, they say goodbyes, their accounts are closed, etc.

Think about what the employee might be feeling at each step – anxiety, sadness, maybe excitement for their new path – and how the company can respond constructively.

For example, on their last day, an employee might feel conflicted. A manager taking them to lunch to reminisce about successes can leave them feeling proud and positive. Small design choices like that turn an average offboarding into a memorable one.

One more consideration: leveraging insights from exits to improve the overall employee life cycle. Offboarding is effectively the “final exam” of how your organization performed in all previous stages. If someone leaves because they felt onboarding promised things that reality didn’t deliver, or because the culture during tough times (like a leave or a conflict) let them down, those are clues for where to improve earlier stages.

Smart HR teams feed exit data back into their continuous improvement loop: it’s like getting customer feedback at the end of a customer journey – incredibly valuable for refining the product (in this case, the workplace).

This is where an agile approach helps; use each exit as a learning sprint.

💡 In summary:

Exit with grace.

As the saying goes, people may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.

At the end of an employee’s journey, making them feel respected, appreciated, and supported is beyond a nice gesture: it’s a strategic imperative.

It protects your employer brand, it may convert an ex-employee into a future ally, and it reinforces to current employees that your organization lives its values at every step of the employee life cycle, not just when things are rosy.

Conclusion: A Checklist for Key Life Cycle Moments

Before we wrap up, it’s helpful to step back and assess where your organization sits today. Are you responding reactively to moments that matter, or designing policies that adapt in real time? The figure below offers a maturity ladder to help HR teams plot their current and target state in building employee-centric policies across the lifecycle: 

Designing HR policies around the employee life cycle isn’t a one-time project, it’s an ongoing commitment to being employee-first and experience-driven at every turn.

We’ve covered a lot of ground, so let’s recap the core practices in a handy checklist. HR leaders can use this as a quick reference to evaluate and enhance their support for the “moments that matter”:

• ✅ Pre-Boarding & Onboarding: Ensure a structured, warm welcome for new hires. Communicate before Day 1, have clear checklists for managers (e.g., assign buddy, clarify role, set up meetings), and extend onboarding through the first 90 days. Remember, effective onboarding can boost retention by over 80% (​Qualtrics) – invest time here.
  
  
• ✅ Life Event Leave Support: Develop compassionate policies for parental leave, medical leave, sabbaticals, and more. Go beyond minimum legal requirements and offer flexibility like phased returns or extended leave options. Keep in touch with employees on leave (at their comfort level) and re-onboard them thoughtfully when they return. Pro tip: don’t rush new parents back: giving them breathing room can increase their likelihood of staying by 65%​.
  
  
• ✅ Continuous Development Opportunities: Make growth part of the employee’s journey from day one. Implement Individual Development Plans, mentorship programs, and regular career conversations. Provide access to training and encourage internal mobility. Employees who see a future with you will stay; lack of growth is the top reason people quit​, so proactively combat it with robust development pathways.
  
  
• ✅ Regular Check-Ins & Feedback: Across all stages, create feedback loops. Pulse surveys after onboarding, stay interviews during the engagement phase, and exit interviews at offboarding all provide insights. Use journey mapping to visualize employee touchpoints and pain points, and apply design thinking to and apply design thinking to empathize, prototype, test, and iterate (like a new mentorship program or a revamped leave policy). An agile HR mindset of continuous improvement will keep your life cycle practices fresh and effective.
  
  
• ✅ Offboarding & Alumni Relations: Treat departures with the same care as arrivals. Conduct respectful exit meetings, celebrate contributions, and make the exit process smooth. Then, keep the door open. Invite alumni to stay connected via networks or events. A positive offboarding means former employees become ambassadors (and maybe even return one day). Nearly half of employees would consider boomeranging back to a past employer… if the parting experience was positive.
  
  

By focusing on these areas, HR leaders can architect an employee experience that truly supports people throughout their journey – not just when they’re new or high-performing, but through every twist and turn.

This life cycle approach ensures no employee falls through the cracks during critical moments. It builds a culture of trust, where people know that when it comes to their career and life milestones, HR “has their back.”

In closing, remember that consistency and authenticity are key.

Policies on paper mean little if not backed by genuine care in practice.

Empower managers with training and tools to implement these life cycle supports day-to-day.

After all, they are the front-line experience creators for their teams. And measure what matters: track onboarding satisfaction, leave utilization and return rates, learning participation, retention stats, etc., to gauge impact.

With the right mix of data-driven insight and human-centered design, and a clear view of where you are on the maturity ladder, HR can continuously fine-tune the employee journey. The result? Employees who feel heard, valued, and supported at every stage, and who are motivated to give their best in return. That’s the ultimate win-win.

Let’s make every moment that matters an opportunity to strengthen the bond between employee and employer. After all, when we invest in our people across their entire life cycle, we’re not just creating better policies, we’re creating a better place to work.

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About the Author

Duncan Casemore is Co-Founder and CTO of Applaud, an award-winning HR platform built entirely around employees. Formerly at Oracle and a global HR consultant, Duncan is known for championing more human, intuitive HR tech. Regularly featured in top publications, he collaborates with thought leaders like Josh Bersin, speaks at major events, and continues to help organizations create truly people-first workplaces.