Every company has different priorities and knowing which initiatives will be the defining factor in making your company grow can be tough. But what makes a business successful and different than its competitors is not the products/services offered but the people working there.
Your employees want to feel cared for, not simply be provided with occasional perks. A feeling of care and support can lead to better moral and more productive colleagues over time. Having a commitment to supporting professional advancement and personal growth for each team member could be a good way to achieve this.
The benefits of investing in employee development are numerous – from shorter-term benefits such as increased loyalty and higher performance to longer-term ones. Here are five ways you can get started with employee development today:
1. Train your employees from the beginning with expert assistance.
Set your employees up for success by providing them with all the tools and resources they need to achieve high-quality work. By reviewing training materials and providing professional-level training when employees are hired, you can strengthen the work ethic of your company. You could start by building a knowledge base of critical information for new hires as you expand your team. For remote employees, they may not be able to stop by your desk to ask questions. It is important to create a detailed training plan for them so you can ensure that they are properly trained.
2. Help your managers become better coaches.
Learning about your direct report is an important part of coaching. You need to know what would help them progress as well as what you should avoid in order to keep them motivated. It’s also good to learn about their strengths and how they can use them more often. One way to learn more about someone is by asking the right questions. Here’s a short list of questions that you can try with your team every week:
- What are some of the big wins you’ve had this week?
- Can you tell me more about the challenges you are facing?
- How are you doing? How’s your JOSH(morale)?
- How fulfilled are you on a scale of 10? Why?
- What can I do to become a better leader?
Having intentional conversations will help you build deeper connections with your people and create a psychologically safe environment where employees feel they can be open and honest.
3. Improve cross-departmental collaboration
Excellent cross-departmental training between people both within your company and without is a great way to eliminate any gaps in culture among your employees. And because empathy is at the core of all things, it can make work all the more enjoyable for everyone.
The company needs structures in order for initiatives to work. For example, your marketing department wants to enhance the company’s brand with new content and doesn’t consult the sales team on this issue. Marketing messages need to resonate with the unique pain points of customers. If they don’t know what their customers want, the message will most likely fail. Opening up a can of worms- there’s always potential for more negative outcomes to happen when collaboration problems are present
4. Focus on soft skills
“Soft skills” is a name that can easily be misleading as they are not at all irrelevant. In fact, Bersin notes that “those skills are not ‘soft’ – they’re highly complex, take years to learn and always changing in their breadth.”
Businesses are full of people who work together. In order for them to do so successfully, we need to encourage their dedication and motivation-building skills. One of the best ways to get this done is by improving their collaboration and communication with others.
5. Invest in self-development
Your employees are more than just professional entities to serve your company. They are whole human beings with so much to offer. To help them grow both personally & professionally, you have to nurture their abilities and encourage personal growth.
A few things that you could try:
- Emotional balance – It is so important for people to be happy with their job. From time to time, it’s good to ask an employee how they’re feeling and what they think about the job in general. This will make them feel seen, heard & acknowledged, which are basic needs everyone should be satisfied with at work.
- Intellectual growth – Your corporation does not have to be all about business. You could provide your employees with opportunities for continuing education around personal finance or relationship building to enrich their lives.
- Physical health – Making your employees get away from their desks, when the workday is done, will reveal that you care about them and other aspects of their well-being. It may also help improve your company’s productivity.
If your employees are supported well and trained to be able to advance their careers, they will be more motivated to do their best work. And the great reputation you might have as a business providing an excellent environment for career development could help attract new talent who are the best fit for your company’s needs.
culture.easy improves employee engagement and development by enabling features like Performance Reviews, OKR Management, Engagement Surveys, Instant Feedback & Praise, and 360 Degree Feedback. To learn more about how our suite of features can benefit your organization, schedule a call today.
