Describe the hire-to-retire process

  • 5 minutes

The hire-to-retire process, or the employee lifecycle, is a business process that includes all employee activities, from recruitment through separation from an organization. In Human Resources, the hire-to-retire process is facilitated and streamlined using human resources features and tools.

The first stage of the process includes the following steps:

  1. Defining the organizational structure

  2. Identifying hiring needs

  3. Planning employee benefits and compensation plans

  4. Sourcing talent acquisition

  5. Recruiting suitable candidates

  6. Onboarding process

Dynamics 365 Human Resources has capabilities to help managers request positions, recruit, and streamline communications between departments. The application includes onboarding features that help automate the onboarding process for new employees.

The next stage of the process is managing the hire-to-retire process. The following are the key steps:

  1. Performance management

  2. Career development

  3. Succession planning

The Performance management module of Human Resources automates the performance appraisal process by enabling managers to set goals, track progress, provide feedback, and conduct performance reviews. The system also includes the learning feature, which enables employees to track their progress toward career goals by being able to access training and learning materials. The Learning management system APIs and tools such as the skill gaps analysis also support the development path.

The final stage of the process is separation. The following are some of the steps. The specific steps may vary among organizations based on their implementation.

  1. Managing employee benefits

  2. Planning retirement

  3. Offboarding

  4. Transitioning

The Benefits management module of Human Resources enables the streamlining of the preceding processes. The nodule includes features to help with the exit interview process and the collection of company properties from departing employees.

The hire-to-retire end-to-end process is broken down into business subprocesses, as presented in the following illustration.

Diagram depicts the hire-to-retire process, with the following subprocesses: • Plan and recruit your workforce • Onboard and manage the employee lifecycle • Manage employee performance and growth • Manage occupational health and safety • Manage employee benefits and compensation • Manage employee time and attendance • Pay employees • Manage employee travel and expense • Resignation or retirement • Offboard employee

The hire-to-retire process differs among organizations. However, a basic outline supporting the components of the recruitment process can be defined for companies implementing Human Resources.

Impact on the organization

A well-implemented hire-to-retire process helps to improve the efficiency, consistency, and employee experience of the organization. An efficiently defined process helps to streamline the hiring, onboarding, training, performance management, and offboarding processes. It also provides information and policies that employees can use as guidelines for their roles and responsibilities. The process creates a standard that can be adhered to.

Stakeholders

The following are some of the stakeholders involved in the implementation of the Human Resources hire-to-retire process:

  • Human resources (HR) team

  • IT team

  • Finance team

  • Managers

  • Employees

  • Legal and compliance team

  • Project managers

Hire-to-retire benefits

Organizations gain multiple benefits once they implement the hire-to-retire process. Organizations need to determine which benefits are helpful and address their business requirements. For example, a recruitment process is driven by various goals and objectives. The hire-to-retire process creates the baselines and metrics to define these goals and objectives.

Improved efficiency and productivity

The components in the hire-to-retire process, such as applicant tracking, onboarding, performance management, and separation, can be automated using Human Resources. This enables HR teams to focus on other essential tasks, thereby improving overall productivity and efficiency.

Increased visibility and transparency

Human Resources provides real-time visibility and transparency into the entire hire-to-retire process. This allows managers and HR teams to track progress, identify bottlenecks, and make data-driven decisions. This in turn improves communication, collaboration, and decision-making across the organization, leading to better outcomes and results.

Enhanced compliance and security

The robust security and compliance features of Human Resources ensure protection of sensitive data. They also make sure that the legal and regulatory requirements of an organization are maintained. This reduces noncompliance issues and data security breaches, protecting the organization’s reputation and security.

Improved employee experience

When Human Resources is implemented together with Dynamics 365 Customer Service, Dynamics 365 Project Operations, Dynamics 365 Sales, and/or Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, organizations can achieve a more customized experience for their employees throughout the hire-to-retire process.

Better data and analytics

Human Resources together with Microsoft Power BI and Azure Data Lake with Azure Synapse provide advanced analytics and reporting capabilities. This in turn facilitates organizations in tracking key HR metrics, such as time-to-hire, retention rates, and employee performance.