Whether you run an established company or a new start-up, giving employees the opportunity to grow is an important thing to do. A company needs to encourage employee growth simply because the growth of the company depends on it. Besides, there is a strong correlation between employee growth and productivity.
There are many things you can do to help employees grow in their own ways. Aside from offering training programmes and corporate-sponsored courses, these next few strategies we are about to cover in this article are also known to be very effective in inducing growth in employees.
Help employees achieve balance
Work-life balance is just as important to the company as it is to the employees. The most successful start-ups are those who care about the work-life balance of their employees. This is also the reason why modern start-up offices now have their own gym and other facilities; it is to help employees live a better life in general.
In London in particular, employees are starting to rely on apartments and Monday to Friday accommodation to reduce their commuting time. Owning or renting a property in the city isn’t always possible, so Monday to Friday accommodation options become the best way to live closer to the office while maintaining a comfortable personal space.
Another way employees can achieve balance is by managing their work hours. This means you – as the business owner or director – must also take employees’ time into considerations when assigning projects and giving them more work to be done. You’ll be surprised by how much more productive the employees are when they have a healthy personal life outside of the office.
Incentivise personal development
Another sure-fire way of promoting growth in employees is by offering incentives for those who grow personally and professionally. Employees don’t really consider taking additional courses outside of work or pursuing a higher degree for two major reasons: time and money. We’ve already discussed the time part of the equation in the previous point; now, it is time to cover the money side of the story.
It is not uncommon for businesses of different sizes to offer incentives to employees who pursue a master’s degree or other higher education. The same can be said for professional courses and certifications. Let employees choose their own courses and simply offer incentives for them to take the courses.
Incentivising personal development is also a great way to manage personal development budget from the company’s side. Since you don’t have to cover the entire cost of employees’ courses and training programs, you can simply set a budget for the entire programme and assign the funds to select employees based on predetermined parameters.
Successions
One particular strategy that many companies still neglect is giving employees clear career paths. The biggest incentive for personal growth isn’t necessarily money, but recognition. By recognising employees who are taking active steps in growing themselves professionally, you are persuading others to follow the same footsteps and grow alongside the company.
A clear career path also attracts the best talents. Even when the goal is to help existing employees grow personally and professionally, building reputation as a company that promotes growth in its employees is a great thing for the business, especially when it is time to recruit new talents to fill key roles within the company.
The biggest boundary to offering clear career paths is succession. Not everyone currently sitting in mid- to top-level management are ready for the competition. In the case of start-ups, many of those in strategic positions are founders. You have to put a policy in place to ensure that the best talents get promoted to the best roles within the company.
Introduce mentors
Last but certainly not least, a great way to help employees grow more effectively is by offering mentorship to them. Mentors can take employees further than they thought they could go, which is why introducing mentors into the equation is a big step worth taking.
Mentors can do more than the company itself. For starters, mentors can challenge employees under their wings to go outside their comfort zones. They can encourage employees to try new things and fill different roles; it is part of the process of exploring the employees’ talents and capabilities.
At the same time, mentors can direct employees to the right path, allowing them to achieve success much sooner than when they don’t have the necessary guidance. It is up to the mentors to help employees master critical skills for the future of their careers.
Personal development isn’t just about developing individual skills and capabilities. As the capabilities of employees grow, the business benefits from having capable people supporting its growth too. When combined, the personal growth of employees will turn into a substantial asset for the growth of the business. Securing a better future for everyone is easy from there.
Leave a Comment