Key Moments: Best Practices for Smooth Transitions & What Not to Do

An employee's life is not a smooth sailing journey; it is filled with key moments throughout their professional life.

"The common denominator of all these moments is that they have a significant impact on the employee, whether positive or negative, depending on how the company handles them," analyzes Arnaud Weiss, Chief of Staff at LumApps.

In this article, we will explore the most common key moments and best practices for how to handle the key moments in a positive manner for the employee and the company. Each of these key moments represent a real opportunity for employers to make a difference, embody their values through actions, and cultivate the quality of the relationship.

Best practices for top key moments in the employee journey

Key Moment #1: Recruitment Best Practices 

The recruitment process begins from the very first contact between the potential candidate and the Talent Acquisition team. It can be as simple as a message on LinkedIn, a meeting at a forum, a first call after submitting an application, etc. 

According to Romain Echallier, HR Business Partner at LumApps, this is already a key moment: "It's an opportunity to make a good first impression and motivate the talent to go further." 

It is the first step in the employee experience and will leave a lasting impression. In fact, even if the recruitment process doesn't reach its conclusion, a candidate who had a positive experience with the company will be more likely to recommend it to others.

Best practices for the recruitment key moment:

• Establish a concise process with a maximum of 5 steps. 
• Accelerate the time between each step so that the process can be completed within two weeks. 
• Assign a dedicated contact person during the recruitment phase who will handle the candidate's inquiries, answer all their questions, and act as a "coach" by explaining the significance of each step. 
• Involve field teams such as managers and colleagues, in addition to the dedicated recruitment teams, to do a culture fit interview. 
• Ensure that the messaging from all stakeholders is aligned through transparent and honest communication.

"For example, it is very interesting to involve employees who will not necessarily be in the candidate's team and have them conduct the culture fit interview," recommends Romain Echallier. 

Mistakes to avoid:

"It is important not to have too many interviews, and each stage of the recruitment process should evaluate different skills so that it is not exhausting for the candidate," analyzes Romain Echallier. Engaging in a process with 8 or 9 steps only to reject a candidate in the end is offensive to candidates.  

Forgetting that the recruitment stage will influence the success of the candidate's integration. 
Not providing the candidate with sufficient information about the different stages of the recruitment process, the job scope, salary, responsibilities, etc.
 

Focus on key moments to improve your employee experience

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Key Moment #2: Preboarding Best Practices

Preboarding is the period between signing the job offer and the employee's first day at the company. 

"It is a key moment because it can be an anxious period, and it is increasingly common for new hires to not show up on the first day," observes Arnaud Weiss, Chief of Staff at LumApps. 

The objective is to provide a smooth preboarding process so the employee maintains enthusiasm about the company and avoids a first day no-show. 

Best practices for the preboarding key moment:

• Send the contract as early as possible. 
• Take advantage of the preboarding phase to propose meetings with team members, not just the manager, for example, over coffee or lunch, depending on the recruit's preferences and availability. 
• Depending on the duration between the signing of the job offer and the new hire's arrival, establish regular contact every 15 days. 
• Assign a buddy or mentor from the preboarding phase to allow the new hire to have someone to exchange with at their discretion. 
• Distribute information gradually to avoid overwhelming the new hire on their first day. For example, you can provide the opportunity to begin initial onboarding, if that provides some reassurance for the candidate. 

"A newcomer always fears being forgotten," points out Arnaud Weiss. “Moreover, there is a risk that the new hire may feel overwhelmed by an information overload on their first day.”

Here are top mistakes to avoid: 

• Not giving enough attention to the new hire during the preboarding phase, thus creating insecurity on their arrival day. 
• Do not wait until the employee's first day in the company to give them their contract in case they have points of disagreement or misunderstandings. 
• Do not copy and paste the preboarding process for all recruits without adapting it to their specific needs and requirements.

Key Moment #3: Onboarding Best Practices 

"With successful onboarding, companies can foster strong engagement among employees, but they are not always aware of this," asserts Sean Winter, VP Strategy at LumApps. 

The challenge? Ensuring that the new employee experiences real alignment between what they felt during the recruitment process and their first days in the company. 

"They must quickly understand what is expected of them and be able to identify the mission of each member in their team," highlights Romain Echallier, HR Business Partner at LumApps. 

At the same time, it's important not to rush them into operational tasks too quickly! The new hire should have the opportunity to settle in gradually during this phase, or else they may feel overwhelmed with information and pressure, leading to stress and negative memories of their initial days.

Best practices for the onboarding key moment:

• Make the new hire feel welcome by organizing a welcoming breakfast on their first day. 
• Debrief the new hire on the reasons why the company chose them over others. This is a good way to build their confidence. 
• Create groups for new hires to foster connections with other members outside their team. 
• Schedule question-and-answer sessions a few weeks after integration. 
• Enable the new hire to identify the scope of action of the people they will be working with and show them who their main contacts will be. 
• Set clear objectives during the probationary period (at 30, 60, 90 days) so that the new hire knows precisely what they will be evaluated on.
• Schedule a call in the first month to have a specific review of the first thirty days and assess the situation. This allows for providing any missing information if necessary.

Here are the top mistakes to avoid:

• Not conducting onboarding! 
• Focusing solely on administrative tasks on the first day and neglecting social moments. 
• Over-reliance on digitalizing the onboarding process with e-learning alone. 
• Not providing a clear job description. 
• Assuming that the new hire will naturally meet their new colleagues. 
• Onboarding the new hire solely from a macro perspective of the company or, conversely, solely focusing on the team.

Key Moment #4: Best Practices for Year-end Reviews

Even though year-end reviews are increasingly criticized, they remain a crucial moment in the majority of organizations. 

"It's important to assess the past year and plan for the next one," notes Romain Echallier. 

While your team may do semi-annual or quarterly reviews, the end of the year review is particularly important because this is when the People and HR teams can plan the budgets for salary increases. It's also a time to discuss skill needs, training (for oneself and the team), and internal mobility. 

Best practices for the year-end reviews moment:

• Have a solid review framework that will be filled out in advance by the manager and the employee (main and secondary objectives, future aspirations, areas of development, etc.). 
• Co-create the development plan with the employee. 
• Celebrate achievements and focus on areas for improvement rather than weaknesses. 
• Establish non-operational "HR" check-ins at other times of the year to discuss important topics. This prevents surprises and unnecessary stress during year-end reviews.

Here are the top mistakes to avoid:

• Insufficiently preparing for the year-end review and turning it into an "obligation" rather than a privileged time for discussion. 
• Adopting a top-down attitude and not collecting feedback from the employee. 
• Not allocating enough time for this moment. A year-end review cannot be done in 30 minutes! 
• Failing to establish ongoing feedback throughout the year.

Key Moment #5: Best Practices for Internal mobility or Promotion 

Receiving a promotion or obtaining internal mobility is a significant milestone in an employee's life. However, it's important to note that the most important aspect of a promotion is not the new salary or title. Many companies often miss the "easiest" part of the event: the celebration! 

For the person being promoted, this moment allows them to strengthen their sense of belonging to the company. "The challenge is also to create a company culture that encourages employees to try new things and develop additional skills," adds Sean Winter.

Best practices for the promotion key moment:

Before deciding on the promotion, ensure that the person involved genuinely wants the position. Some companies make the mistake of turning good technicians into managers without asking for their opinion. It's essential! 

If two people were competing for the position, start by having a one-on-one discussion with the employee who was not chosen and objectively discuss the selection criteria. Then announce it to the chosen individual by highlighting the qualities identified in them that led to the decision.

Have a structured process for announcing the promotion to the rest of the team and the company. A timeline can be useful to avoid any unexpected leaks, which are often poorly received. Encourage colleagues to congratulate the person who received the promotion and celebrate it with a small event within the company.

Here are the top mistakes to avoid: 

• Taking too long to announce the promotion to the rest of the team (risk of leakage). 
• Being unable to justify the promotion with objective criteria. 
• Not taking enough time to communicate and celebrate the promotion.

Key Moment #6: Best Practices for Parental Leave

"When we decide to become parents, our professional life shouldn't influence our personal life," says Céline Breger, a young mother and recruitment officer for Action Logement. "It's a moment where the company must genuinely listen and show appreciation for its employees." 

This becomes even more important because new parents face an exhausting pace and are susceptible to professional burnout. 

Best practices for the parental leave key moment:

• Greet the announcement as good news.
• Have a comprehensive handover document in both directions (departure and reintegration).
• If possible, hire temporary replacements during the leave to avoid penalizing other employees. Do this as early as possible for a smooth transition.
• Reestablish contact 1 to 2 weeks before the re-onboarding to propose an exchange and check in with the employee. 
• Celebrate the new arrival with a welcome gathering to show the employee that they are anticipated.
• Design a re-onboarding process to familiarize the employee with any changes in the company (strategy, tools, departures, arrivals, etc.).
• Gradually assign the employee new responsibilities to allow them to regain a sense of leadership without immediate operational pressure.

Here are the top mistakes to avoid:

• Mishandling the announcement and making the employee feel like a burden.
• Neglecting to consider parenthood when assigning workload.  
• Failing to plan a formal offboarding and re-onboarding phase.  
• Shifting the burden of the absent employee onto others, creating guilt for the new parent.
• Neglecting to evolve the company culture regarding parenthood (presenteeism, inadequate schedules for young parents, lack of flexibility, etc.).
• Not providing salary increases to new parents due to their parental leave.

Focus on key moments to improve your employee experience

Download the free white paper on how you can transform key moments at your company. 

Key Moment #7: Best Practices for Long-term Sick Leave

Long-term sick leave is, for obvious reasons, one of the most challenging experiences for an employee. Illness is an intimate issue that people usually don’t want to discuss in the workplace. However, it affects numerous companies, making the topic neither taboo nor avoidable.

"It's an opportunity to test the company's values and potentially emerge stronger. It's difficult to determine how far a company should go in supporting its employees, but what's evident is that work is a community of life, and an ethic of care is essential," analyzes Nathalie Vallet-Renart, founder of the association "Entreprise et cancer" (Enterprise and Cancer).

Best Practices for the long-term sick leave key moment:

Ask the individual if they would like to be contacted while they are on sick leave, and in what manner. For example, SMS, email, phone call? Do they wish to receive meeting minutes or the company newsletter? Who can reach out to them? 

Prior to the employee’s first day back, determine if they will need an adjusted work schedule or any accommodations to their workstation. 

Consider hosting a welcome back breakfast.  But, the most important thing to remember is to always be available and receptive to their return-to-work needs. 

Here are the top mistakes to avoid:

• Assuming the needs of the employee without consulting them.
• Underestimating the fatigue that certain treatments can cause, even long after the sick leave period; physical and mental exhaustion can be long-lasting.
• Tiptoeing around and not daring to approach the employee who has gone through a difficult time.
• Failing to acknowledge their return to the company.
• Not adapting the employee's position upon their return, if needed.

Key Moment #8: Best Practice for Offboarding

There are many reasons why an employee may leave a company: the end of a trial period, the completion of a fixed-term contract, resignation, mutual termination, and so on. It can be initiated by the employee or the employer, voluntarily or involuntarily. 

Offboarding is particularly important in an era where information circulates on social networks, whether positive or negative. 

Additionally, "the phenomenon of boomerang employees is booming, with employees leaving and returning five years later. Leaving because one feels unhappy in their company is not the same as leaving for a better opportunity elsewhere," said Sean Winter, VP of Strategy at LumApps.

Best practices for the offboarding key moment:

Ensure a smooth knowledge transfer. Prepare an exit interview with a questionnaire to understand why the employee is leaving. 

As the company conducts exit interviews, it allows for mapping the reasons why people leave the organization, and looking for areas of improvement.  

If the employee wants to stay, be transparent about the reasons for the separation and do not shift the blame between HR and the manager. It is also important not to wait until the last minute to discuss it. 

Here are the top mistakes to avoid:

• Letting an employee leave with resentments and unspoken issues. 
• Considering the time spent on offboarding as a loss of money. 
• Not leveraging the departing employee's feedback to improve. 
• Neglecting to cultivate relationships with former employees.

An employee's journey within a company is an adventure in itself. It is punctuated by key moments that follow an unpredictable trajectory, as eventful as life itself. These pivotal moments require the company to closely support its employees.

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