Managers are focused on the present, but as a leader, your vision extends far beyond the now. You have an incredibly talented staff, and while they’re currently satisfied with their jobs, this is just a stepping stone toward big plans for the future.
As the boss, you’re in a position to help your employees get on the right track to achieve their career goals, so you have a responsibility to do just that. Learn how to prime your team to reach their potential.
Discuss Career Goals
Meet with each employee to discuss their career goals. Find out what they like and dislike about their current position, skills they have that are currently underutilized and where they hope to be in the future. Having this discussion is essential, because some people’s career aspirations might surprise you. You can’t help them get on track unless you know exactly where they’re headed.
Create a Development Plan
Now that you know what each employee wants from their career, you can help make it happen. Work with each person to identify areas for improvement and use this to create specific training objectives to grow their skills in all the right areas. Make goals specific and assign a deadline for completion to ensure it doesn’t get pushed aside when work gets busy.
Provide Exposure to New Opportunities
Take every possible opportunity to help your employees expand their horizons. When appropriate, delegate some of your tasks to expand their skillsets and take them along to meetings with key influencers. Slowly increase their amount of responsibility so as not to overwhelm them, but to help them evolve. Offer guidance, but encourage them to exercise as much independence as possible, making it okay to fail.
Create New Positions Internally
Make it easy for your employees to work their way up the ladder by creating new opportunities internally. When possible, always promote from within, and if someone is ready to take the next step but no positions are currently available, create one. Doing so is mutually beneficial, as you’re able to fast-track their career and keep an amazing employee on staff.
There’s no room for error when filling a high-level manufacturing or engineering position. At Premium Staffing. Inc., our recruiters specialize in engineering, so we know exactly what you need. Contact us today to learn more about the services we offer.