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More than 19 million people have left their jobs since April 2021 as part of the Great Resignation, according to a recent report by McKinsey and Co. And the trend isn't likely to change anytime soon.

There's clearly a disconnect between employees and their companies, and HR professionals and organizational leaders need to re-evaluate the employee experience to ensure it's positive. Otherwise, they risk losing skilled workers to the competition.

Employee experience creates a ripple effect throughout organizations. A positive experience leads to happy, engaged employees who go the extra mile for customers. In contrast, a negative employee experience results in disengaged employees going through the motions until they can retire or find another job.

To truly improve the employee experience, companies need to understand how critical moments in the employee lifecycle affect employee moral. One way to do this is through employee journey mapping. Journey mapping can help improve organizational decision-making, build employee experience strategies, and optimize the key moments in an employee's tenure with the company.

What is employee journey mapping?

In the simplest terms, employee journey mapping is how organizations track the key moments in an employee's time with the company, starting with recruitment and ending with the exit interview. It covers onboarding, performance reviews, promotions, and everything in between, all in chronological order.

These experiences can be positive or negative and can shape the employee's feelings about the company. For example, a confusing onboarding process that requires multiple approvals just to access necessary company resources can leave the employee wondering if they made a mistake taking the job. On the other hand, an organized onboarding process that answers the new employee's questions can be motivating and set employees up for success early on.

Creating an employee journey map can be a valuable tool for HR professionals who want to identify where employees may start to feel disengaged. It can also offer insight into what companies are doing well and help companies optimize moments known to improve the employee experience. With the information gleaned from an employee journey map, HR professionals can improve employee engagement, performance, and retention by making the most of the moments that matter. Here are six steps to help HR leaders get started.