Are you tying on balloons or bricks?
By Jo Mills, Anne Fulton
Take practical steps to unlock your employees’ potential — and lift profits.
Remember the age-old standard interview questions: where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years? Perhaps the answers came easily or perhaps you found these queries impossible to answer - after all, how can you know how growth, change and experience may affect your choices or alter how you see your future? Yet, these seemingly simple questions emerge from a vital career need to evolve, to grow, to change. Equally simple is the cause-and-effect relationship therein: employers who do not provide the means for growth and change see a lot of voluntary turnover.
So, identifying employees' talents, honing them, and providing realistic means for professional growth honours the human need to expand; to feel guided on the career-long journey of utilising talents. In turn, employees who are actively engaged can triple the productivity and profitability of a business. Plus, engaged employees are just generally more fun to have around.
Taking practical steps towards unlocking your employees' potential creates a "lift" in your company instead of "drag", which causes higher innovation, retention, and morale.
1. Multiple one-on-ones
Forgo the "annual review" model of evaluation for a series of meetings to discuss if the employee's talents are being used properly. Be open to the idea that although employees may be good at something, that doesn't automatically mean they enjoy it. What are they still enjoying? Are there any tasks they'd prefer to do less of for a while?
2. Foster engagement
Create "stretch" assignments outside of the employee's comfort zone. Through observation and multiple one-on-ones, find out what motivates your employees and identify regular (even if small) opportunities to do these activities.
3. Job shadowing
Career growth and development within your company will help retain employees instead of having them look elsewhere for satisfaction.
Developing a job shadowing programme to mentor new staff in other positions creates a transparent office structure and gives employees a clear vision of their path within the firm.
4. Funding skill development
If your company has tuition reimbursement, make sure employees know the benefits. Sometimes workers don't know that seminars, workshops and shorter courses are covered by the company to build and enlarge skill sets.
It's a reality that engaged employees will grow and change over time. Employers who let career paths stagnate will find once-engaged workers start to drag productivity down like a brick. Employers who focus on evolving career paths will retain top talent that continues lifting the organisation up like a balloon.
Career development occurs at all stages of the journey, and forward-thinking managers and supervisors understand their often-unstated responsibility to help the company soar.
So, where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years? Hopefully, you'll see yourself engaged at work, no matter where you are in your journey.
Anne Fulton and Jo Mills are authors of The Career Engagement Game and co-founders of The Career Engagement Group & Fuel50.com
By Jo Mills, Anne Fulton
Take practical steps to unlock your employees’ potential — and lift profits.
Remember the age-old standard interview questions: where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years? Perhaps the answers came easily or perhaps you found these queries impossible to answer - after all, how can you know how growth, change and experience may affect your choices or alter how you see your future? Yet, these seemingly simple questions emerge from a vital career need to evolve, to grow, to change. Equally simple is the cause-and-effect relationship therein: employers who do not provide the means for growth and change see a lot of voluntary turnover.
So, identifying employees' talents, honing them, and providing realistic means for professional growth honours the human need to expand; to feel guided on the career-long journey of utilising talents. In turn, employees who are actively engaged can triple the productivity and profitability of a business. Plus, engaged employees are just generally more fun to have around.
Taking practical steps towards unlocking your employees' potential creates a "lift" in your company instead of "drag", which causes higher innovation, retention, and morale.
1. Multiple one-on-ones
Forgo the "annual review" model of evaluation for a series of meetings to discuss if the employee's talents are being used properly. Be open to the idea that although employees may be good at something, that doesn't automatically mean they enjoy it. What are they still enjoying? Are there any tasks they'd prefer to do less of for a while?
2. Foster engagement
Create "stretch" assignments outside of the employee's comfort zone. Through observation and multiple one-on-ones, find out what motivates your employees and identify regular (even if small) opportunities to do these activities.
3. Job shadowing
Career growth and development within your company will help retain employees instead of having them look elsewhere for satisfaction.
Developing a job shadowing programme to mentor new staff in other positions creates a transparent office structure and gives employees a clear vision of their path within the firm.
4. Funding skill development
If your company has tuition reimbursement, make sure employees know the benefits. Sometimes workers don't know that seminars, workshops and shorter courses are covered by the company to build and enlarge skill sets.
It's a reality that engaged employees will grow and change over time. Employers who let career paths stagnate will find once-engaged workers start to drag productivity down like a brick. Employers who focus on evolving career paths will retain top talent that continues lifting the organisation up like a balloon.
Career development occurs at all stages of the journey, and forward-thinking managers and supervisors understand their often-unstated responsibility to help the company soar.
So, where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years? Hopefully, you'll see yourself engaged at work, no matter where you are in your journey.
Anne Fulton and Jo Mills are authors of The Career Engagement Game and co-founders of The Career Engagement Group & Fuel50.com
