In the wake of COVID-19, the great resignation has been sweeping across the workforce and transforming the way people view their careers. Employees are feeling the weight of dissatisfaction, underappreciation, and burn-out in their jobs, and as a result, are leaving their old positions in the masses.
Subsequently, employers have been challenged with the task of coming up with unique and attractive ways to promote employee retention. Extra, surface-level perks only go so far in keeping employees satisfied. However, when companies invest in the personal and professional development and growth of their employees, this kind of long-term benefit breeds longevity.
Below are three ways your company can promote employee growth and development to foster a greater sense of career satisfaction.
Make the Switch from Onboarding With Training to Professional Development
By implementing a professional development program to onboard new employees from day one, your new hires will be sure to feel confident and well-supported stepping into their new role. A dynamic and thoroughly-crafted program sets the tone for the course of their career.
Simple new-hire training is not enough anymore. Training focuses on the needs of the company in the here and now, while professional development sees the long-term scope of the company and employees fit into it.
Two hallmarks of a great professional development program is that the learning is continuous and employees can complete it at their own pace. Having a robust collection of resources for employees to refer back to is also a fantastic method of educational empowerment.
Offer Skill Development Courses
In offering regular opportunities for skill development, employees will naturally grow to be more efficient in their roles. This efficiency is coupled with a strengthened sense of ownership in one’s job.
Each employee has unique skills, and therefore skill development is often not one-size-fits-all. By evaluating an individual’s unique skill level, leaders and management can hone in on areas of improvement for their employees, creating a more comprehensive and robust skillset among their team.
Equipped with refined or new skills, employees will be empowered to take on new projects and tasks. This helps maintain a dynamic workflow, allowing employees to take on new responsibilities and put their growth into action.
Promote Knowledge Sharing
Knowledge sharing is a simple yet powerful tool to promote individual growth in your company while also fostering community support. It is always helpful to hear firsthand how a fellow coworker navigated a certain situation or used a tool that helped them in a project.
Knowledge sharing can be done via newsletters, email updates, or even organizing events for employees to get face time with one another to share and ask questions. Furthermore, you can ask employees who have highly-specialized training or expertise to lead a skills workshop or webinar.
Companies can even personalize this a step further and implement a peer mentorship program. By connecting employees of junior and senior levels, companies can encourage a sense of camaraderie among their employees. This sense of being a part of a team will up employee satisfaction, giving individuals a platform to truly grow and succeed in their career.
If your company has felt the impact of the great resignation, Allarium can help you build an array of rock-solid resources for your employees to thrive. Contact us today for a free content audit to get started.
