Development and progression are not only essential but often one of the main goals of a company. Any job, skill, or sport without a certain level of progression or improvement required can quickly become boring and stale, leaving those involved feeling apathetic.
Challenging Your Employees
If any company or group is to progress, it is needless to say that the company’s individuals need to progress as well. In fact, personal development for the individuals and employee’s within a company may be the best place to start when one is looking to progress the company as a whole.
Personal development must be just that; personal. Every one of your individual employees has their own strengths and weaknesses’, so choosing the right assignment for the right individual is a crucial element. While you may be tempted to give the assignment to the most qualified employee, instead, consider giving the assignment to an employee that it would challenge and perhaps get them to leave their comfort zone. But remember, the goal is to challenge – not stump your employee, so a careful assessment of what their capabilities/limitations are is important.
Career Goals
Knowing your employee’s long term and short term goals can help you help them with their personal growth. Now some employees may be straightforward and tell you what their career goals consist of, while others may not tell you because they do not want you to know, or because they do not know themselves. This is understandable, and it is important not to push them if they do not wish to share those goals. However, you may still be able to ascertain the direction which they are inclined towards.
For example: if they have excellent social skills they may be more suited towards a sales position in the future, or they may have a more creative mindset, in which case they may be more inclined to something involving the arts.
Whatever your employee’s goal is, it is important to encourage them to pursue it once they find it. Sometimes that goal may involve them moving forward and leaving your company. It is important to show that you support them even if that is their decision, and that support will lead to a better, more open, and more motivated working relationship.
Financial Goals
Financial goals are another important aspect of an employee’s life, and helping the employee manage and develop their finances can increase their job satisfaction while decreasing their stress. This is an area where a professional employer organization (PEO) would be useful. PEO’s can take care of many responsibilities usually associated with HR and payroll, leaving you more time to take care of other things. The most common tasks that a PEO takes care of are benefits, payroll, and RRSPs.
Choosing the right benefits based on your employee’s medical needs and financial means can be a challenging task. This is why a PEO who is specifically trained to stay up to date on the vast variety of benefits to choose from can save you time and in the end money. Tasks such as enrolling employees, providing legal notices, and negotiating with carriers are all handled by the PEO, and they will help the employees with any and all questions about their benefits plan.
Retirement Saving Plans (RSPs), can give employees peace of mind, while also encouraging an employee to stay with the company. It is worth finding out if your PEO sponsors a 401(k) plan, which the PEO will also manage and organize.
Lawsuits, worker’s compensation, HR, and recruiting are just a few more things on the list of what is provided by a PEO. Whether or not you use a PEO should be determined by an assessment of your financial skill-set, time, and budget.
Conclusion
There are many ways to encourage growth within your company, and when we encourage this growth, it shows that we are taking a genuine interest in our employees. Once you start taking these steps to help develop personal growth within your company, you will undoubtedly develop a closer relationship with your employees, which will in turn promote personal development for yourself. In the end, not only can personal development be beneficial for the employee and employer, but beneficial for the company as a whole.
Albin Morgan is a young and ambitious career expert who specializes in young adults career guidance. He has been helping people with professional development for the past three years.