Ensuring growth in the company starts with empowering employees to tap into their professional career goals. Every employee has some plan for their career, but they may not know how to achieve it. It’s up to the managers to support employee career growth so they’ll build their skills and be motivated on the job.
Suppose managers neglect to have important conversations with their employees about their career goals. In that case, they could risk having their most talented workers feel like they aren’t appreciated, hurting morale and productivity. Showing employees that they have the support of both the company and the manager in their career advancement can lead to better retention and company growth overall.
Below, you’ll find advice from Forbes Business Council members on how you, as a manager, can support your employees' career goals.
Members of Forbes Business Council share how managers can support the career goals of the employees they lead.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.1. Understand Employee Aspirations
It is valuable for a manager to understand an employee's near- and long-term aspirations in relation to the employee's stage of career development. This will allow the manager to assess how best to align and develop the employee's skill sets to fit the company's priorities. - Terence Tan, The Pain Relief Clinic
2. Pay For Educational Courses
Push your team to better themselves. Make it a job requirement to pursue a license, degree or some kind of skill-enhancing educational course. The best way to support this as an organization, of course, is to pay for some part of it. - Sylvia Jablonski, Defiance ETFs
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3. Encourage Smart, Efficient Work
Even though hard work is almost a prerequisite for career development, it doesn't mean that your employees need to do lengthy workdays. Instead, encourage your employees to work smarter and be more efficient. This will leave them more time and energy to work on professional development activities that will help them achieve their career goals. - Stefan Smulders, Expandi
4. Identify Mutually Beneficial Solutions
Create a space where employees can imagine what their careers will look like in five to 10 years, ask the question and then be quiet. Now, it's your turn to listen and identify mutually beneficial solutions that will advance the business and meet their career goals. - Shavonn Richardson, Think and Ink Grant Consulting
5. Encourage Participation In Skills Training
Managers can support the career goals of their employees by allowing all employees—from the cleaning crew all the way up to the top—to participate in skills training. These training sessions should be not only about improving employees’ current skill sets but also about providing employees with the opportunity to train in different topics about which they are passionate. - Jean Paul Paulynice, Empowering Confident Youth
6. Establish A Mentoring Program
Establishing a formal mentoring program is the smartest move a company can make at any time to contribute to the personal and professional growth of its employees. Senior staff members can offer their insights and professional guidance to less-experienced colleagues on a regular basis. - Caroline Lee, CocoSign
7. Offer Online Career Advancement Courses
Offer your staff opportunities to gain new skills through online career advancement courses. This informs them that there is growth within their professional fields and within the company. It gives them an incentive to keep expanding in their career and be assured that their workplace is equally invested in the professional elevation of their staff. - Jill Strickman, GENUINE: The Real People Company
8. Help Them Define A Development Path
Much like any successful goal setting, work with your employees to define a clear development path for them—from the big rocks to the little pebbles. That will allow you to measure the progress toward their goal, as well as empower them to control their own destiny as they set the pace. You will become more than a manager in the process—you'll be a leader. - Fadi George, Kalungi, Inc.
9. Help Them Identify Their Strengths And Passions
First, have employees identify their strengths and passions and help them define growth opportunities based on what they are great at. Then, help them build their inner capabilities, such as compassion, courage, authenticity, collaboration and humility, as well as their external capabilities, such as their leadership skills and professional capabilities. Strong self-awareness is key to growth. - Andreea Vanacker, SPARKX5
10. Accept Feedback To Give Feedback
Career goals can’t be met unless one is willing to grow. Provide and ask for feedback regularly. Don’t defer feedback to annual performance evaluations, as these don’t provide opportunities to understand what inspires people. When you, as a manager, sincerely request feedback on your own actions and decisions, you make it easier for others to share their own aspirations and areas of improvement. - Pankaj Srivastava, Practicalspeak
Your promotion to supervisor is the first rung on the management ladder in a business organization. It is most important that supervisors who chose management careers understand the skills they will need to grow with the company and advance to positions of increasing responsibility. Communication is essential to sharing knowledge, motivating others and understanding what your superiors expect. What's more, communication skills specific to management roles provide a fast track to improved performance for anyone in a supervisory position.
Bottlenecks and waste in the workplace may be easy to identify, while addressing the reasons for it may not. Active listening allows you access to the knowledge and experience of those in the trenches, who may not be adept at vocalizing their concerns. Avoid interruptions. Let a worker speak before commenting. Validate her frustrations and repeat back what she said to confirm you understand and demonstrate that you are listening and sincere about finding solutions. Being receptive to working on the things a supervisor can improve upon builds trust and respect with subordinates.
Supervisors need excellent verbal and written communication skills, according to Kelly Services. When you have important information to share, consider first how to share it. Showing is an important part of the education process, so use visual aids and demonstrations to support information delivered verbally. There are usually several approaches to any point you need to share, so consider how best to deliver your message, and remain flexible if another approach is required. Ask questions and welcome feedback, ensuring you delivered the message as intended.
Building relationships with those who report to you is key to your role as supervisor. Supervisory training seminars offered from a variety of training companies give practical advice how to handle such issues as discipline, delegation, motivation and coaching. Pursue these or training through your company's human resources department. Understand the importance of feedback from your workers too.
Feedback techniques such as suggestion boxes and 360-degree reviews give you insight into how your actions and communication efforts are being received, suggests the Management Center. Identifying areas of improvement for supervisors can point out areas where extra effort and additional training would be helpful.
In many ways, supervisors act as interpreters between workers and managers, so knowing your superiors' expectations shapes the message you communicate to those who report to you. Staying on the same page requires effort through meetings, periodic reviews and conversations with your boss about priorities and goals. Understanding her work style is every bit as important as knowledge of those reporting to you. For example, some managers may prefer written reports to face-to-face meetings. Do what you can to adapt your style to theirs.
The supervisory role is analogous to that of a sports coach. You are guiding your team through adversity toward success, and your communications skills are the tools with which you modify, adapt and fine-tune behavior. Just as a coach offers comment and re-direction through the course of a game, so too should you guide and mentor your workers while they are doing the work, not just during performance appraisals or staff meetings. It may be hard around your own workload, but it is a fundamental element of the supervisor's job.
As a leader, you have a lot on your plate all the time. But one of the most important things (if not the most important) you can do is to make time to support your staff.
Jessica Baker
Aligned Signs
"A true leader will step back and let his/her team do their job without standing over their shoulders. Assign each team member personal responsibilities and empower them to succeed and do what they do well. Give them the opportunity to make decisions, and don’t second guess them."
@ALIGNEDSIGNS
Odin Liam Wright
Synaptik
"The best managers know what motivates their employees, and they keep that in mind when their team does a good job. They inspire their people by staying positive and filter out stress and negativity. They also act as an offensive line: They remove obstacles and help organize their employees' workload so they can concentrate on the finer points of their job."
@trueinteraction
Steven Buchwald
Buchwald & Associates
"One of the most common complaints I hear from other teams is that their managers simply don't talk to them. They communicate when they hand down projects or tasks, but they’re often unreachable otherwise. A great manager will always be available when one of their staff has a question or concern, and they will always make an effort to reach out and ensure employees have everything they need to get the job done."
@steven_buchwald
Amy Pazahanick
Agape Ventures
"Great managers ensure that their employees are in the right positions. Pitchers need to be pitching, and catchers need to be catching. This sounds simple, but so often, employees are in positions that don't allow them to fully utilize their strengths. Know what each of your employees greatest strengths are and leverage them to help the entire team excel. "
@amypazahanick
Ajmal Saleem
Suprex Learning
"The best managers are the ones who treat their employees as equals rather than as people who are beneath them. Understand each of your employees' circumstances and treat each one fairly and equally."
@suprexlearning
Arry Yu
Emotiv Labs, Inc. (Maker of www.giftstarter.com)
"Listen to your employees. Listen for ideas and insights into culture and ways to improve your business. Listen for any hidden red flags and threats to your business. Then, remove any roadblocks, help resolve challenges and clear any unnecessary negative baggage that may be lying around. The best thing a good leader can do is encourage great energy and talent."
@ArryinSeattle
Angela Delmedico
Elev8 Consulting Group
"Communication is key. Providing performance feedback helps employees continually improve. I hold monthly meetings with team members to assess projects and check-in with them. Often, some seek growth opportunities and want to take on new challenges or tasks. I place team members in positions based on their strengths, skill set, and passions, while also allowing for more growth opportunities along the way."
@elev8cg
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