The employee lifecycle is disconnected from reality.

This one from CIPHR is a better one. Stages 1-4 to get you in the door, stages 9-11 which take you out again. It at least has stages 5-8 which describe your experience as an employee. Often there’s just one here, roughly labelled “some stuff”.

The disconnect is that linear path. This just oversimplifies what someone’s career experience looks like, to the point where it ceases to be much use.

Unless you operate a very structured career ladder - or are the very rare exception with a useful performance/development/pay review structure - jobs and careers just don’t work like this.

What you need is driven by your personal priorities, and the life events that affect how you want to work. It’s your industry, its rhythms and current situation. It’s where you are in your profession, your interests and where you want to be doing next.

The idea of being mapping that in some kind of one-size-fits-all way is nuts.

It’s far more about being able to allow people to self-serve. It’s far more about being able to react to different needs at a team and individual level.

And, as so often, that puts more on the team manager. And we all know how stretched they are.

I’d put the lifecycle away. Or at least recognise it’s the atlas, not the road map.