You posted the position. Interviewed candidates. Checked references and made a hire. You onboarded them successfully. Now you must develop them.
Huh? you may be thinking. There’s more?
Actually yes, there’s more. Developing an employee helps you, the employee, their team and the company as a whole. It’s the ultimate productivity hack.
What does it mean to develop an employee?
Employee development refers to collaborative efforts between leaders and employees that enhance the employee’s knowledge and skills.
Here are a few of the many reasons why spending time and resources developing employees is a good investment:
Improved employee performance: It may seem obvious that spending time continually coaching employees will help them sharpen their skills. However, many leaders don’t give employees much feedback outside the regular formal review process – or when something goes really wrong.
Increased job satisfaction: Most workers want to do well, learn, and grow in their jobs. When they see themselves benefitting from the skills and experience the workplace offers, they feel empowered and motivated to do more for themselves, their team, and the company as a whole.
Employee Retention: A common reason workers search for new jobs is a desire to learn new skills. If your company can provide those opportunities, you will attract and retain good workers. Plus, employees feel a sense of loyalty to leaders that invest in them.
Create future leaders: Giving attention now to a new hire who shows potential can equip your company with the ideal leader in the future. These leaders know they advanced due to your efforts to develop them and so are highly loyal to the company and motivated to achieve continued success.
Stay tuned for our next blog where we will outline the different forms that employee development can take.