Employee satisfaction is a key factor in leading a strong team - regardless of business size or industry - and a critical part of keeping your people happy and motivated is ensuring they feel their career is progressing as expected/desired.
A recent global study by recruitment firm, Randstad, found lack of career progression is a leading cause of employee dissatisfaction, with nearly half of workers surveyed saying they would quit a job that didn’t offer career progression opportunities.
In our ever-changing labour market, businesses need to make every effort to retain their high performers rather than turn them over and then have to hire and onboard new staff.
Providing career progression not only helps you retain talented employees and develop new leaders so the business can thrive, you're also showing commitment to helping your people grow and embrace new challenges.
Promotion can take many forms, whether it's increasing an employee’s current responsibilities, changing the scope of their role, or giving them a team to manage. These are all ways of stretching their capabilities and recognizing that they’re ready for the next step in your business.
When considering promoting your star performers, there are some key attributes and behaviours to look for that will help you assess who’s in the right place for a promotion:
Stepping up into a role, whether it’s a first management role or a more senior technical role, brings it’s own set of challenges that an employee will need to be capable of rising to.
If they are used to stretching and developing themselves and show that they can make mature decisions, a promotion will come easier than if the person prefers to remain comfortable in their work.
Continuous improvement gets talked about a lot, and if an employee has already walked the walk (even by implementing minor improvements) then they have demonstrated that they're engaged and thinking about the problems and opportunities the business faces on a daily basis.
This attitude will serve them well when they are in a new role, facing new problems in learning the ropes, and solving problems for you (and your customers).
Long term, you want a team of trusted employees who “get it” – they understand the external and internal pressures on the business, have a clear sense of your priorities as the business owner (or manager), and can focus their efforts accordingly.
If the person is already being exposed to and thinking about what’s best for the company and how their work plays a part in that bigger picture, they will bring that thinking to bear on new responsibilities or a new team and continue driving results that service the bigger picture.
This may seem obvious, but if anyone is going to be given more responsibility, they need the skills to be able to manage not only their own workload, but also other people and the multiple priorities that come with leading a team.
You're looking for someone who's proven they work well with others, can listen and apply new ideas, is able to effectively allocate their time, and doesn't get overwhelmed by change or conflict.
Of course, not all employees want to move into a role with more responsibilities, and not all who are thinking about their career development or new opportunities will ask about them. But if they have, it’s a clear indication that they’re thinking about the next step and that they’re ready for a conversation about what that might be.
Frank and open discussions about career development are a powerful tool if used right; make sure that you’re considering requests or suggestions from your employees, and regularly spending time thinking about your larger strategic plan so that you can intelligently discuss upcoming or potential opportunities with your team.
Remember to discuss opportunities with your quieter or less assertive employees too; don’t let the loudest ones distract you from the rest of the talent in your team!
So, you’ve identified who you want to promote and you’re ready to move them into a new position. In our experience, the right sort of support and guidance will help get them quickly up to speed in the new role.
Here’s what you can do to ensure newly-promoted employees continue to succeed:
As capable as a person may be, a new role is its own challenge and you’ll need to make sure that the promoted employee has the support to succeed, while having the space to breathe and learn as they go.
Weekly or fortnightly catch-ups are invaluable in giving you insight into how your newly-promoted grasshopper is going.
Talk to their manager (if that’s not you) and make sure that the employee’s self-assessments line up with other people's. Highlight accomplishments to build their confidence and security.
Keep your door open. If they ask for more support, which might be additional guidance or training, look to bring in someone to act as mentor, or provide more resources to achieve their targets. Make sure you do what you can to accommodate them or work to resolve their concerns, and deliver on your commitments.
The person will be excited and keen to do a good job,but don't assume they will understand exactly what is expected from them in their new role.
Be sure to provide them with a clear plan to guide them in their first month, 3 months, or 6 months in the role. This could be specific targets to meet (e.g. “Reduce website downtime by 15%”, or “Increase sales of products by 5%”) or guidance for prioritizing (e.g.”Focus on spending time with your new team to build trust with them”, or “Have a strategy for the second half of the year drafted in 4 weeks”).
This is not to say it’s enough to hand the person a list of targets, then vanish for 6 months and reappear to assess how they performed; stay in regular touch and ensure that things are progressing as expected.
Micromanagement is notorious for stifling the creativity, drive, and general will-to-live of those being micromanaged, so it’s important that while you’re providing support and guidance per points 1 and 2, you’re balancing that by giving the new promotion enough space to make their own decisions and to own their performance and behaviour.
This balance will be different for each employee: some will need a bit more direction and encouragement to feel comfortable, while others prefer to charge ahead and learn from the consequences.
You might be looking to restaff the vacant role internally or recruit externally; either way, if you’re not close to the position yourself then the insight and feedback of the person leaving will be invaluable. They’ll be able to help you define what skills and attributes the role requires, make accurate changes to the job description (if needed), and talk to potential hires honestly about what they can expect in the job.
This might take the form of a formal debrief when they start in the new role, or a more informal chat when the time comes for you to start the search for a replacement.