A decisive question when job hunting is: will I be able to grow within the company? Ideally, this should be the case in most jobs, as staying in the same role doing the same tasks can lead to low motivation, engagement, and productivity, ultimately leading to loss of talent.
A growing number of companies have created career paths where employees can see what their future in the company can look like if they achieve their goals and perform well. This, of course, can sometimes vary depending on what the employee wants and how they see their future within the company. Employees can consult this with their managers, but if they notice these issues related to professional development affect their mental well-being, they should use the employee well-being platform to seek professional help and advice.
Fostering employee career growth as part of the employee incentive programs is a great way to motivate employees who want to develop their careers by leading a team or specialising in an area in their field. Whatever their objective, companies and managers play a key role in fostering career development, and there are several ways of doing this.
How can companies foster employee career development?
When hiring a new employee, expectations and objectives should be clear on behalf of the manager, whether it is a new role or a replacement. When writing the job specification, it should be outlined whether the employee will have the opportunity to grow within the company and how salary raises and promotions are achieved.
Once a candidate is chosen for the job, reviewing their potential career path during the interview and onboarding process is important. This way, if they have any doubts, they can be discussed between both parties before the employee officially joins the company.
There are several ways of fostering employee career growth. Although some may seem like common aspects of a job, it is important to consistently implement these so that the employees’ professional development is on the right path.
Here are some ways of boosting employee career growth:
Create a training program
Investing in employee training involves looking beyond the use of financial and temporary resources to provide employees with tailored training. It also means providing (with flexible hours or even some degree of funding) employees with the opportunity to obtain training outside the company that they consider interesting and valuable for their professional development.
Allocating budget towards employee training is a key step towards cultivating employee growth. Employee training can be divided into two types:
– Upskilling: Upskilling encompasses “further training”, i.e., an employee’s process of acquiring new skills and knowledge or the process of teaching employees new skills. It is, therefore, based on the development of new skills.
– Reskilling: Reskilling is an improvement based on existing knowledge, and it is commonly known as retraining. It is related to brushing up on knowledge that someone already has or at least has a base of. To reskill, one needs to have knowledge or skills acquired and trained at the time but no longer used. It can also occur when skills have been lost through lack of use.
Provide feedback
Providing feedback to employees is a crucial aspect of career growth. Firstly, it is important to provide feedback on a regular basis, for example, every quarter. That way, employees have time to set and work on their objectives. This should be followed by the manager’s assessment, and finally, feedback should be given through their performance review.
Providing feedback helps employees identify their strengths and areas of improvement. By pinpointing their strengths, managers help shape which direction an employee’s career is going in. However, this doesn’t mean managers should ignore the areas of improvement as they also play an important role in the employee’s career development. They should both work on a plan to tackle this aspect of their tasks at work (e.g., additional training, changing the methodology, modifying the approach…etc.).
Managers and employees should make the most of performance reviews by discussing the employee’s career path. If they’ve spoken about it before, it is a good opportunity to discuss it again in case any of the two parties think there’s a different route they would like to take or how to continue on the one they’re on. This helps the employee feel reassured about their future in the company and what area they would like to specialise in.
Set OKRs
As mentioned above, in order to provide feedback, employees should set goals at the beginning of each quarter so they can measure them throughout the term and then assess their performance with their manager. Setting OKRs (objective, key results) helps employees focus on specific areas by prioritising them and checking them off. This methodology seeks to improve teams’ performance by measuring them qualitatively and quantitatively and aligning them with the business vision.
Moreover, employees take accountability for their work if they have specific goals, which keeps them engaged and motivated. OKRs are also a good way to show employees their role within the company, giving them a sense of accomplishment and purpose. If achieved, employees’ morale and self-esteem will be higher.
Recognition
Recognition in the workplace can be shown in different ways. Some examples include improving working conditions, congratulating employees verbally, and giving employees bonuses or promotions.
Providing recognition in the workplace is a key aspect of an employee’s career growth because if they do their work well, they should be rewarded with the abovementioned examples. This boosts employee morale, motivating them to keep doing a good job and keeping them engaged in their tasks. Recognition also improves the relationship between the organisation and the employee, creating a sense of belonging and enhanced confidence and trust. This helps the company retain key talent within the company.
Optimal well-being for employee career development
As discussed, there are many ways of fostering employees’ career growth. However, we shouldn’t forget that all these aspects should be backed by supporting employees’ mental well-being. This can be done by implementing corporate mental health programs in the workplace, giving employees access to various resources, workshops, and, if needed, one-to-one therapy. This way, if employees are struggling with their professional development, they can always turn to professionals to talk about it and learn the right approach to addressing their problems safely and confidentially.
