What's your promotion process like?

We want our employees to learn and grow, but have you looked at your promotion process lately?  Do you have one?  Does your staff know what to expect when they are looking to move up or out from their current position and is there a clear path?

It’s easy to think that promotions just evolve in your organization, but not having a plan is not the best move.  We need to think about succession planning, and part of that includes looking through-out your organization for next-level leadership and encouraging growth.  If you’re not intentionally developing your leaders or engaging your staff with opportunities to try new things, you’re more likely to lose them and/or fail to develop necessary skills that will help them be successful and engaged.

I’ve conducted many exit interviews with employees who felt they had no choice but to leave an organization to experience growth.  Often these were the “silent” leaders, those who are good employees, dedicated and trustworthy, who can be counted on to get the job done.  They may or may not have expressed interest in growing or leading, so we may just leave them alone to get the job done.

We cannot ignore our strong workers!  We need to make sure we’re helping ALL employees grow and learn.  Their desires change and we best motivate them by keeping them engaged.  It’s easy to make the mistake of leaving them alone, assuming they’re content because they’re not speaking up about change.  They may not speak up until they turn in their notice.

Managers should have discussions about learning and growth with all employees more than once per year.  This can’t be an annual performance task that’s one and done.  We need to touch base with our staff, especially those who are good workers, and make sure we’re providing them with tools to keep them progressing, whether that’s through movement into leadership, participating in a new project or different area, or learning a new skillset.

Promotions can come in all sizes and neither we nor our employees are energized when we stagnate. Not all staff want to be leaders, so we need to create opportunities for progression in other areas.  Maybe they can become subject matter experts or teach a skillset to others or write processes for improvement.  There are opportunities in every organization if we look for them.

So plan for promotions and make sure you’re staff knows their options.  Cultivate a culture of moving forward and embracing opportunities.  You and your staff will be better for it!

#positivity #promotion #hrsolutions #management #hrconsultant

Employee showing excitement about learning.