If you want your employees to stick around, offer them careers rather than just jobs. Having a career means you can grow as you gain more knowledge and experience. It seems like a common-sense thing, but you would be surprised how many companies don’t seem to understand or support people in their growth. Here are a few ways you can help your employees:
Defined Career Paths
My new company has a very clearly defined career path, and it applies to multiple business units across the organization. As I have grown my internal network, I’ve been encouraged to see that people have “grown up” within the company. One of the directors I work with joined the firm right after college and rose through each step on the ladder to where he is now. Without a well-understood “next step,” it’s hard to plan how to get there, and it’s even more challenging for a leader to know when someone is ready to move to the next level.
Skills Matrices
Along with a well-defined career path, there should also be a list of skills necessary to ascend to the next job title. Look at this as a checklist; once all the boxes are ticked, it’s easy to make an objective (not subjective) decision around promoting someone. But, if an employee isn’t interested in moving up, sometimes that’s okay. Not everyone has the desire to climb the corporate ladder. However, for those who do, it’s essential to lay out the skills and steps they need to take to get there.
Provide Growth Opportunities
Having a career isn’t always about promotion; it’s also about the ability to grow, learn new skills, and improve oneself. Organizations that recognize what motivates people also understand that mastery is a vital human driver. Companies open infinite possibilities by providing employees with learning options like libraries, online training courses, and internal and external training. While I’m currently getting ramped up in my new position, I have taken numerous leadership courses that have helped me prepare for success in my leadership role.
Ability to move within the organization
I get bored quickly. I also get anxious if I’m stuck on the same project, at the same client, or in the same technology for too long. I always want to learn new things and have diverse experiences. By allowing employees to move around to various positions within your organization, you gain a more well-rounded employee whose knowledge is even more valuable. I have never understood leaders who resisted letting people go – good leaders (like good parents) know when to let the birds leave the nest and venture out on their own. And, you never know, they might eventually come back to you.
Promote from within
Nothing irritates me more than companies filling vacancies from the outside without attempting to promote from within first. If your employees are still working for you, they have invested a lot of time and energy in your organization. Sometimes the best candidate for an open position is someone you already have – you just need to look around and see who has shown initiative and is ready to take on a new challenge. By promoting from within, you get the institutional knowledge that comes with that person, and their learning curve to becoming productive is much shorter. Not only that, but it will encourage other people to stay for the same sort of opportunities.
Choice of interesting and challenging work
I get very annoyed when I receive a work assignment without discussing it with someone first. Sometimes, a customer might not be a good fit for me (or vice versa), and assuming my employer cares about me, they want to give me options rather than blindly assigning me just because I happen to be available. I thrive on new and unique challenges, like building innovative products and services that don’t yet exist. If I were stuck doing the same thing every day, day in and day out, I would die of boredom. So, give people their choice of work options, and challenge them, too.
Final Thoughts
Careers are vastly different from jobs – a career is something you decide for yourself, and you proactively choose to invest and grow in that career. As an employer, it’s your responsibility to understand that people aren’t merely “resources” – they’re people. And as people, we are all imperfect but striving to be better and contribute. So, give people the information, opportunities, and support they need to chart their destinies – you can’t (and shouldn’t) try to do it for them.
If you missed any of the previous blogs in this series, check them out:
- Innovative Employee Incentives in the age of COVID
- Incentive #1: Work Environment
- Incentive #2: Workspace & Tools
- Incentive #3: Work Schedule
- Incentive #4: Health & Wellness
- Incentive #5: Professional Development
- Incentive #6: Time Off
- Incentive #7: Insurance
What do you think about this? Are you in a growing career, or stuck in a dead-end job? Do any of these opportunities resonate with you? Is there anything else employers can do to help their employees grow in their careers? Let me know in the comments below!