What’s the Best Business ROI? Supporting Your People

Your people are essential to the success and reputation of your business. So, it is only right that you do your best to support them, no matter where they are in life. 

When hiring a team you will be looking for the right skill set, the best attitude and a great culture fit. But, what about when these employees have been with your company for 3, 5 or 10+ years?

How do you continue supporting them as they move through different stages of their life? A lot can change in a few years, the business will evolve and your people will go through the cycles of life.

They might have bought their first home, started a family or entered semi-retirement. Maybe they are experiencing great personal achievements or struggling with change.

Either way, it is vital to understand where your employees are at in their life and what they could be facing.

You can learn how to support your people in the most genuine and effective way possible. Learning about your team's wins and challenges outside of work means that you can also create a culture of care and respect. This can benefit your staff retention rates, which are essential for business development. Employee turnover is now increased to 34% in the UK, so your people need to be a priority (1).

What is the Life Career Cycle?

The Life Career Cycle model by psychologist Donald E. Super aims to help you better understand where your employees are at in their lives (2).

This model details each life stage of an employee, listing different requirements they might need during each stage. It helps employers better understand their people and enables individuals to re-centre priorities (3).

Super identified five main life stages. It starts with Growth when you are aged 0-14, to Exploration, Establishment, Maintenance and finally Disengagement when you are over 65.

The main groups you’ll find in your teams are Exploration, Establishment and Maintenance. The model is a generalisation but offers a great scope on the ways you can support your teams.

Exploration (14-35)

The first stage of career exploration will happen during this stage, although people do come back to this later in life. It is a time when your employees will be figuring out what career direction to follow and will focus on professional development (3). You could offer training courses, goal-setting practices and coaching to support them.

Your 20s are a time when people are at completely different stages. Make sure you offer 1:1 catch-ups and take an interest in their goals and aspirations both inside and outside of the workplace.

Establishment (26-45)

The Life Career model suggests that ages 25-45 are when people have found their feet and established a career. They may have started a family and are settling down (3).

It's important to support new parents during this new season of life. Aside from standard workplace maternity/paternity arrangements, small gestures can be a huge help.

Why not offer food shop vouchers or discounted fuel? At Each Person, we give you employee benefits packages that support your whole team and show how these little gestures can go a long way.

Maintenance (46-65)

During the Maintenance stage, job security is most important (3). People are less likely to switch careers at this stage and instead focus on working within their role until their retirement. As an employer, it is vital that you make these employees feel appreciated and secure within their roles.

At this stage, women are also dealing with menopause which is more taboo within the scope of employee wellbeing. Most women experience menopause between the ages of 45 and 55, affecting hormones and impacting mood, energy levels and sleep (4). Take the time to educate yourself and others about the topic of menopause to help employees that are going through this.

This also serves as a reminder that these different life cycles bring varied health and wellbeing challenges and should be considered when managing teams.

Support your team at all stages of life and let Each Person help you do it.

Find out about how we transform employee wellbeing and improve staff retention rates. Get in touch with the team today at support@eachperson.com.

Sources:

1. HR Review - Employee Turnover Rates - https://www.hrreview.co.uk/hr-news/recruitment/employee-turnover-rates-have-increased-by-9-since-2019/150788#:~:text=Employee%20turnover%20rates%20are%20set,UK%20is%20hitting%2035.6%20percent. 

2. Mind Tools - Life Career https://www.mindtools.com/anzcujb/the-life-career-rainbow

3. World Of Work - Life Career - https://careers.myworldofwork.co.uk/career-advice/achieve-a-work-life-balance/life-career-rainbow 

4. WHO - Menopause - https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/menopause

By Ellie Pinder, Published May, 2023