It's not just your work that's a reflection on your business, it's also your employees. Having dedicated, motivated, and educated employees impresses customers, provides you credibility in your industry, and allows you to attract top talent through your employees' networking skills. Despite this, many businesses don't foster an environment that promotes and encourages employee success. If you're ready to help your employees shine, use these tips to set your employees up for success.
Encourage Education
During the hiring process, you should actively seek out employees who have gone above and beyond. You want employees who have that extra degree, took that certification, or went to that national conference. Seeing "extra credit" on a resume makes employers excited to have that go-getter at their own company. Yet when a current employee asks to be sent to a conference or go to that training, many employers don't offer the means to get there.
Encouraging education is an absolute must for your business and your employees. You want employees who are recognized in their field and you shouldn't have to hire to get there. Give each department an education budget, set up a tuition reimbursement fund, and encourage employees to go to their managers when they see a learning opportunity. Employees simply can't stay relevant and on top of their field without education, so encourage employee and employer success by creating a means to gain that extra education.
Create Achievable Goals with Milestones
The best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time, yet many businesses want their employees to devour the whole thing in one sitting. They ask employees to write down a goal and then expect it done the next year during the annual review. With no one guiding that employee, encouraging that employee, or helping that employee, is it any surprise most "goal setting" done at the annual review isn't achieved?
When you want to cultivate an environment of success, you need to take it one step at a time. Employees and their managers need to talk in-depth about employee goals and the milestones that will mark progress. Then, there needs to be continuous check-ins until the final goal is met. Using a workforce management software system to provide reminders to employees and managers to talk about goals is one simple way that businesses can help their employees reach success through goal-setting with milestones.
Recognize (And Reward!) Success
There's nothing wrong with a dedicated but unambitious employee. They come to work and perform their job but they have no interest in promotions or projects. These employees can work decades, produce meaningful work, and retire with satisfaction. Yet, many employers who think they have employees that fall into this category actually don’t. They are simply the product of a work environment that doesn't challenge or inspire them. They have dreams and ideas but the daily grind has burned it out of them and sadly, their employer is largely to blame.
Too many employers preach success but don't actually follow through. They have employees write down goals but rarely follow up or don't care when that goal is met. Instead of personal success being rewarded, it's ignored and these employees see no need to repeat the cycle. Creating a recognition and reward system for employees who meet their goals is essential for your employees and your business. Businesses need to remember that successful employees reflect well on their workplace and motivate other employees. So, just like saving the company money through a workflow tweak or gaining a new customer, employees should be rewarded for achieving goals.
By following the steps outlined above, you will not only be setting your employees up for success, but your business as well.
