In a recent Mercer survey, 78% of employee respondents said they would remain longer with their employer if they saw a career path with the current organization. Employees want opportunities to learn and develop, and want to know they have a future with you. Providing them with opportunities to build on their strengths, learn new skills and prepare for the future needs of the company demonstrates in a very real way that they are integral to the organization and its success. And when employees feel that kind of connection they will be more engaged and loyal.
Many business owners shy away from career conversations with their employees because the company isn’t large enough to provide a “next level” or there just isn’t a budget for learning and development. Yet avoiding the conversation could result in losing that employee as the employee looks for growth elsewhere. Here are some easy and economical tips for providing growth for your employees and keeping them.
Keep job descriptions current. Having clearly defined job descriptions for each job in the company is the first step in creating an environment for growth. Identifying and documenting skills and requirements will also help you with recruiting and hiring, performance management, and promotion decisions.
Create career paths, if applicable. For jobs where there is more than one level, be sure that your job descriptions define the additional skills, competencies and experience required for each level. This will ensure consistency in making promotions and help employees understand what they need to know or do to achieve the next level. Once you’ve defined career paths, document them and share them with employees so they can see the opportunities.
Have the career conversation. Show interest in your employees and their aspirations by having a career conversation. You may find that they have under-utilized skills or interests that you could leverage elsewhere in the company, or call upon for a new project or business opportunity. The career path doesn’t necessarily have to be vertical; especially in smaller companies, providing cross-functional experience can be beneficial to both employees and the organization.
Tie career planning to performance management. Too often performance reviews focus on fixing what are perceived to be “weaknesses” even though the employee may not need or want to use those skills. Certainly if it’s a job-related skill, development is necessary. Be sure it’s tied to the employee’s career goals and that you are also leveraging and developing their strengths.
Be creative. Remember that development can take many different forms: on-the-job training, personal development, cross-functional projects, working with a coach and/or mentor, special projects, stretch assignments, training courses, reading and personal study, online courses, peer coaching, job shadowing. The important thing is that it is available and encouraged.
Follow up, follow through. Once the career plan is in place, follow up with the employee to check progress and follow through on what you said you would do to help in their development.
Demonstrating that you care, and showing employees that they have a future within your company is key to helping both your employees and your business thrive.