With a new year come new goals, hopes, and opportunities. Many of your workers are thinking about their future and wondering what you have to offer them. You can show them that you care about them and support their ambitions with these steps:
- Take a personal interest in employee career goals. Talk to your team members about their goals and how you can help them fulfill them. Create a list of 2-3 deliverables that you will work together to achieve.
- Promote training and development. Alert team members to opportunities for online training and education programs, including webinars, podcasts, and virtual conferences.
- Encourage mentoring and job shadowing. Start by establishing a formal mentorship program if you don’t already have one. Engage employees who would be great mentors and give them the skills and training to be effective in this role.
- Rotate employee roles. Variety is the spice of life, and job rotation is an easy way to shake things up in a productive way. This may involve letting workers take on different but similar or related roles in another department or building. Make this a voluntary opportunity; don’t force it on those who don’t want to participate.
- Support work-life balance. The pandemic has made people appreciate the importance of spending time with family and friends, fulfilling personal dreams and bucket list items, and pursuing hobbies and passions. Consider adopting flexible policies that promote work-life balance without guilt or repercussions.
- Paint the big picture. Take time to recognize employees’ contributions and remind them of their value to the organization.
- Create a succession planning program. Let employees know that their potential and efforts are recognized and can lead to new opportunities. Help future leaders thrive.