93% of employees would stay at a company that takes advancement opportunities seriously. Providing development opportunities is also an important way to market your company to talented job-seekers.
Plus, making sure your employees have the chance to develop professionally can significantly improve the overall performance of your company.
And yet, it’s not always clear how to provide opportunities for development in your company. Here are our 4 tips for how to achieve this. Let’s go!
- Show an Interest in Your Employees
Staff who feel more valued are more engaged and productive. You need to show your employees that you value their contribution to the company.
Arrange one-on-one meetings with your staff to discuss performance, challenges, and expectations going forward. Allow your employees to speak up about aspirations for career advancement.
Provide opportunities for your employees to boost their resume to position themselves for promotions. For example, provide a resume service for your staff.
- Learning and Training
Learning and training is a really important part of demonstrating to your employees that you encourage career advancement.
Training programs are especially important for millennial employees. In fact, this is the number one consideration for the younger workers.
Provide opportunities for your employees to attend conferences, workshops, and courses to develop skills and knowledge. And yes, you should foot the bill for these!
Ensure that your employees are up-to-date with the most recent developments in the industry. Get guest speakers to talk about topics relevant to your industry and encourage networking among your staff.
- Encourage Work-Life Balance
Working hard is an important part of career advancement. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean twelve hour days.
If you want to get the most out of your employees, don’t work them like dogs – do the opposite!
Employees who are happy with their work-life balance reportedly work 21% harder than those employees who aren’t satisfied with working hours.
Healthy and happy employees are also more likely to stay at your company for longer. Companies which promote work-life balance have a 33% better retention rate.
You should provide flexible working hours which shows you appreciate the busy lives your employees lead outside work too.
- Meaningful Work
If your employees think that they’re just another cog in the wheel, they may not be so concerned with career advancement.
Provide meaningful work for your employees so they can recognize the role they play in the company. They realize they’re part of something bigger than themselves.
Don’t underestimate the importance of meaningful work for your employees. Around 9 in 10 employees would be willing to take a pay cut to do more meaningful work.
Make sure your employees are aware of the company’s missions and achievements. If your employees are rewarded for the part they played in the success of your company, they’ll be motivated to climb up the company ladder.
How to Offer Advancement Opportunities
Now you know our tips for offering your employees advancement opportunities. You need to put in the time to show your staff that you’re serious about promoting from within your company.
If you want to discover more sound business advice, then check out our blog here.