It probably comes as no surprise that confident employees tend to do better work, remain with their companies longer, and yield higher returns on their employer’s investment. So, it should also come as no surprise that training and development are a critical investment in building your employees’ confidence.
Your employees are the hands and feet of your organization, and continually reinforcing their confidence in their skills and abilities will help them go further and faster toward your business goals. Here are 4 ways to build your employees’ confidence with training and development.
- Challenge your employees
The great coach Pat Riley once said, “complacency is the last hurdle standing between any team and its potential greatness. Even the best team members, or perhaps especially the best team members, can become complacent at the top. Build your employees’ skills and confidence by continually challenging them within the zone of proximal development.
Defined by Vygotsky, the zone of proximal development refers to the difference between what a learner can do without help and what he or she can achieve with guidance and encouragement from a skilled partner. Thus, the term “proximal” refers to those skills that the learner is “close” to mastering. Build employee confidence by showing your confidence in them, giving attainable challenges and the development to achieve.
- Create mentorships
As your employees master skills, demonstrate your faith in them by creating mentorships. Create time in the workweek for veteran employees to mentor younger employees. This is a win-win for all parties. Mentorships show your most skilled employees that you recognize their strengths and see them as a value to the company’s growth. For younger employees, it creates an opportunity for organic learning and development. For potential employees, it shows that you will prioritize their professional progress, something that young workers value when choosing the right company. Meaningful, consistent mentorships are crucial for cultivating a culture of trust and confidence.
- Give specific, labeled feedback
“Good job” just doesn’t cut it anymore. While it may sound nice, it does not offer any actual feedback for your employees to use going forward. Avoid giving generic feedback. ‘Good job’ can come across as vague or insincere. Specific, labeled feedback is feedback that pinpoints what your employee has done.
You can go further than saying ‘You did well in that presentation’ or ‘Your latest report was really good’ too. Tell the person what it was about that presentation or report that impressed you, and why what they did was effective. The same goes for giving negative feedback. Tell the recipient exactly what went wrong, why it was ineffective, and what they could do differently next time that would be better – and why.
- Train effectively
Confidence comes from knowing what you’re doing, and knowing that it shows. Professionals with better skills will deliver better output in your workplace. Employees must be depended upon to solve problems and think quickly on their feet. Having the confidence to problem solve and make decisions quickly comes from confidence built through training and development.
When it comes to continuously learning, everyone benefits. It’s more than just learning how to do their job better and how to follow best practices, it’s the application and mastering of skills that really matters. When employees are growing and being challenged to develop new strategies or ideas, your customers and your bottom line will benefit.
At Allarium, we know how to build employee confidence through ongoing training. Our simulation-based training platform empowers you to start and run a workplace training program with ease. Asymulate works with experienced industry professionals to recreate realistic situations that teams often encounter and struggle to overcome. These custom-curated scenarios will give your team the confidence to take risks and make big moves. Contact us today to find out how to begin building a mentoring program to help your employees build the confidence they deserve.
