Mapping the employee journey to improve workplace outcomes
IBM research found that a positive employee experience—how an employee experiences your organization throughout their tenure—is associated with improved employee outcomes, including better job performance, increased effort, and higher retention.
Since the employee experience (EX) is influenced by everything from an employee’s pay and benefits to how they’re communicated with, it’s important to understand their potential experience and how they may feel at each stage of their journey with your organization.
Learning how to map the employee journey can help you positively influence their experience to improve metrics like engagement and retention.
What is the employee journey?
The employee journey, or employee life cycle, is the sum of all interactions an employee experiences during their tenure at a company, from the first time they see a job posting to their eventual exit.
What’s the benefit of employee journey mapping for HR and communication teams?
Communicating throughout the employee journey heavily influences an employee’s experience at an organization. An employee should feel welcomed throughout their onboarding process and appreciated throughout their tenure. Internal comms and HR messaging should also build trust and foster loyalty. Taking time to understand the employee journey—so you can send the right communications at the right time to the right people—is critical.
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What are the key stages of an employee journey?
The employee journey is often divided into six stages. Ideally, here’s what’s involved in each stage:
- Attraction — an employer accurately communicates what it’s like to work at the organization through their branding and communications
- Recruitment and hiring — the employer writes an engaging job description and manages a fair and objective hiring process
- Onboarding — the employer helps new hires socialize with their team, learn the organization’s purpose and values, and understand how they can excel in their role
- Development — the employee receives opportunities to gain new skills and greater autonomy
- Engagement — the employee receives fair and comprehensive feedback, recognition, and benefits
- Departure and off-boarding — the employee leaves the organization
What is employee journey mapping?
Employee journey mapping is a process used by an organization to identify key touchpoints across the employee life cycle and the emotions employees may experience at each stage. Equipped with an employee journey map, an organization can pinpoint key communication points and consider how to improve the employee experience.
For example, a company might map the experience of a new hire’s first 90 days. The map could reveal that employees typically feel excited when they accept the job, overwhelmed during onboarding, frustrated when learning new systems, and more confident after regular manager check-ins.
What is an employee journey map?
An employee journey map is the tangible outcome of the employee journey mapping process. It’s a text-based, visual document that brings together the concepts of the employee journey and EX by visually charting EX at each stage of the employee life cycle. It’s essentially a visual representation of the typical employee experience from start to finish. (You can use the example at the end of this blog as an employee journey mapping template.)
Why map internal emails to the employee journey?
Internal comms can leverage an employee journey map to determine which messages employees should receive at each stage of their life cycle with the company. Consider what communications an employee should receive in the following situations:
- On their first day (e.g., welcome email, tutorials, introductions)
- If they are promoted (e.g., internal promotion announcement, external/client notice)
- If they submit a letter of resignation (e.g., acknowledgment, team announcement)
While some of these comms may be sent by HR, the internal comms team plays an essential role in communicating with employees throughout their journey.
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How to create a successful employee journey map
Your employee journey map should account for two primary elements: tenure-based stages and tenure-agnostic career moments.
- Tenure-based stages: new hires (first 30 days) and post-onboarding new hires (first 60-90 days), along with early-stage, tenured, and departing employees.
- Career moments: career growth (e.g., promotions, new credentials), learning and development (e.g., training, mentorship), recognition and appreciation, feedback (e.g., sentiment surveys, focus groups), and key anniversaries and milestones.
Accounting for these elements, consider the typical employee experience, including their potential emotions, questions, or concerns. Then you can layer in the relevant communications they should receive at each stage or career moment.
Employee journey mapping template
You can get creative with the design of your employee journey map, but below is an example of one in its simplest form, along with relevant communications that internal comms, HR, IT, or another department may send to support an employee during their tenure.
| Employee Stage or Career Moment | Employee Emotions, Questions, or Concerns | Relevant Communications |
|---|---|---|
| First 30 days | Excited, overwhelmed, eager to prove themselves and connect. Wondering: “Did I make the right choice?” “Who do I go to for help?” | Welcome messages, onboarding schedule, manager check-ins, benefits reminders, culture and values communications, IT guides, introductions, first-month expectations. |
| First 60–90 days | Settling in, but still comparing expectations to reality. May feel more confident or have unanswered questions. Wondering: “Am I doing well?” “How do decisions get made?” | 60/90-day check-ins, pulse surveys, role-clarity messages, employee resource group/community invitations, learning and development resources. |
| 1-year anniversary | Reflective, more established, possibly proud or quietly questioning growth. Wondering: “What have I accomplished?” “Is this still a good fit?” | Anniversary recognition, career-pathing resources, performance-review communications, benefits reminders, development-planning messages. |
| First promotion | Motivated, validated, nervous about new expectations. Wondering: “How do I succeed at the next level?” “What changes now?” “Will I get the support I need?” | Promotion announcement, new role expectations, training, benefits updates, mentoring resources, communications about decision-making. |
| 3–5 years | Experienced, capable, but possibly restless or under-recognized. Wondering: “Am I still growing?” “Is there a future for me here?” | Internal job postings, leadership development opportunities, recognition campaigns, skills training, engagement survey, manager conversation guides. |
| 5-year anniversary | Loyal, knowledgeable, possibly proud, burned out, or considering other jobs. Wondering: “Does the company still value me?” “What’s my next challenge?” “Am I rewarded fairly?” | Milestone recognition, tenure awards, compensation and benefits education, advanced development opportunities. |
| Departure | Mixed emotions: relief, sadness, frustration, excitement, or uncertainty. Wondering: “How do I leave on good terms?” “What will happen to my benefits?” “Should I provide feedback—and does it matter?” | Exit process instructions, benefits/COBRA or final pay information, knowledge transfer guidance, exit survey/interview, farewell announcement. |
