Reinventing Hire to Retire with Next-Gen Automation

The “Hire to Retire” (HTR) strategy is a cornerstone of comprehensive talent management. ManpowerGroup reports that 77% of employers across various industries struggle to fill positions. Once roles are filled, maintaining employee engagement becomes an immediate challenge. According to Gallup, only 13% of European employees were engaged in 2023, the lowest regional percentage of engaged employees.

The HTR strategy goes beyond traditional HR practices, creating a seamless journey from the initial handshake to the farewell celebration. By creatively implementing this strategic approach, organizations enhance staff productivity, financial performance, and customer satisfaction. HTR embodies a cohesive method for managing an employee’s entire lifecycle within a company, ensuring all stages are interconnected and efficient.

1. Effective talent sourcing

The hiring process is not only about filling a role; it is about setting the stage for a compelling story. The key elements of a perfect introduction include:

• Narrative-driven recruitment: Developing job descriptions that tell a story, emphasizing the company’s mission and the role’s significance.
• Cultural alignment: Seeking individuals who align with the company’s values and vision, ensuring they fit seamlessly into the team.
• Innovative sourcing: Utilizing creative platforms and methods to uncover hidden talent.

Technological input and Cognizant expertise: Application Tracking Systems infused with AI- powered tools and capabilities to help streamline the potential employee screening, scheduling, and checks. Agentic AI empowers HR departments to enhance efficiency and improve employee experiences across key functions.

2. Onboarding with ease

A memorable onboarding experience includes:

• Immersive orientation: Designing an engaging orientation program that deeply integrates new hires into the company’s culture and values.
• Experience-based mentorship: Connecting new employees with mentors who share their personal experiences and insights, helping new employees to find their way
• Interactive learning: Using gamification and interactive tools to make learning about the company enjoyable and engaging.

Technological input and Cognizant expertise: Digital Onboarding platforms with AI powered digital assistants allow for a seamless transition for new hires, with centralized documentation, training, and access to induction material.

3. Purpose-led development by nurturing growth and potential

An employee’s character and career development in the workplace translates to continuous growth and learning opportunities through:

• Personalized learning paths: Providing customized development programs that match individual career goals and strengths.
• Hands-on workshops: Provide access to workshops and seminars that inspire creative thinking and innovation.
• Feedback: Cultivating a culture of open communication where feedback is reciprocal, encouraging mutual growth and understanding.

Technological input and Cognizant expertise: Integrated Performance and Learning Management Software with AI agents for goal tracking, continuous feedback, reviews, reports highlighting achievements and improvement areas (performance analytics). The learning management accounts for personalized learning paths to align with the goals that allow career development.

4. Engagement and performance

• Recognition rituals: Honoring achievements with distinctive recognition practices that make employees feel valued and appreciated.
• Work-life harmony: Encouraging a balanced work-life dynamic through flexible schedules and wellness programs.
• Inclusive practices: Making sure every employee feels included and heard, fostering a diverse and vibrant workplace culture.

Technological input and Cognizant expertise: Analytics for compensation & benefits, payroll, employee surveys and pulse checks, recognition platforms, collaboration, and gamification. Engagement and performance also entail succession planning to allow for leadership development while creating capabilities for internal mobility.

5. Retiring through thoughtful offboarding

A smooth offboarding process leaves an impression:

• Reflective exit interviews: Conducting exit interviews that gather actionable feedback while also celebrating the employee’s contributions and journey.
• Legacy projects: Encouraging departing employees to complete a legacy project, ensuring their knowledge and impact continue.
• Alumni networks: Keeping in touch through alumni networks, transforming former employees into lifelong brand ambassadors.

Technological input and Cognizant expertise: Knowledge transfer, exit benefits, processes, digital platforms to assist in retirement management. 

Data and analytics capabilities allow us to gather real-time data insights into workforce trends to support strategic decision-making and proactively plan for turnovers.

Cognizant supports modern AI-integrated employee experiences. We help clients rethink how they empower their workforces by increasing productivity, improving retention, and delivering personalized digital employee experiences at scale across the entire hire to retire timeline by combining business and process expertise with intelligent digital platforms.

Learn more about our persona-based employee experiences here. 

The role of hyper automation

From candidate shortlisting to company processes and employee management, hyper automation cuts across all HR processes. There are multiple use cases in HR processes for hyper automation, which are generally overlooked, while being “low risks” and “low hanging fruits” for automation journey of an organization. The automation of administrative tasks allows HR professionals to focus on strategic initiatives.

There is a growing interest in hyper automation and its adoption across industries. While it’s important to remember that a great hire to retire strategy entails automation and replication, it is imperative to understand the need for elimination of legacy processes/tools/methodologies. Common mistakes like treating automation as simple task replication, impacts data processes, employee morale and customer satisfaction.

At Cognizant, we’ve worked with clients on automating processes across multiple business functions using Power Platform in combination with AI Builder, including HR operations, and saving 136K hours of manual effort, annually for a single client. Power blocks in automation are modular re-usable and standardized blocks of code designed to perform specific functions which are crucial for cost reduction and enabling non-linear scalability. Key principles include Data-Driven Agility, Proactive Compliance by Design, Resilient Process Orchestration and Systemic Integration & Extensibility. Cognizant leverages Neuro Fabric and its bots to support client's long-term hyper automation initiatives.

The continuous journey

The HTR strategy is more than a straightforward process; it represents an ongoing journey of development, engagement, and transformation. By envisioning each phase of the employee lifecycle as a part of a larger story, organizations can foster a workplace where every employee’s journey is appreciated and celebrated.

In this creative approach, the HTR strategy transcends being merely a framework; it becomes a dynamic narrative that grows with each new hire and every departure. This approach highlights the power of comprehensive talent management and the limitless opportunities that emerge when we perceive the employee journey as a work of art.

Contact us to discover more.