Professional development is important for organizations to maintain engagement with employees, boost morale, and improve productivity.
The old adage rings true – What if we invest in them and they leave? What if you don’t and they stay?
Companies in many industries already struggled to source talent and the Great Resignation is exasperating the challenge. If employees don’t feel valued or don’t see an opportunity for advancement, they will look for another job.
According to Gallup, “Employees who strongly agree that their managers helped them set performance goals are 69% more engaged compared to employees who did not have managers help them.”
For many managers, however, they don’t know where to start.
Here are a few ways managers can identify what motivates employees or to help them build a plan to achieve their goals:
- Leverage 1:1 meetings
- The goal of most 1:1 meetings is to get progress updates or to discuss a challenge. Managers can use these meetings to learn more about their employees. Here are a few questions that can help drive the conversation:
- What motivates you?
- What inspires you?
- What demotivates you?
- Where do you want to be this time next year? 3 years? 5 years?
- Do you see yourself as a leader or more as an individual contributor?
- The goal of most 1:1 meetings is to get progress updates or to discuss a challenge. Managers can use these meetings to learn more about their employees. Here are a few questions that can help drive the conversation:
- Develop a plan
- Work with employees to develop a plan to optimize their roles to better align with their motivations and future goals. Encourage them to reflect objectively to understand exactly what skills, experiences, or opportunities they need to achieve their goals.
- Use the Truvelop app
- The Truvelop app is a great tool for analyzing employee performance, track goals, and encouraging growth. For managers that need some training, guidance, and inspiration themselves, Truvelop provides management cue cards with sample ways to engage and encourage employees based on their performance and goals.
- Spark an employee with a note of encouragement or a suggestion for skill development or improvement. Managers can motivate employees by celebrating milestones and accomplishments along the way, both big and small. Or they can simply ask the employee about their progress. Managers and employees can search History of Sparks to look back and make any adjustments to their plans to stay on track.
Frequent communication is key to employee engagement and development. The Truvelop app is a platform for fostering ongoing communication and employee assessments, as well as track progress.
A good development plan is one that is consistently revisited and updated as career goals are met and aspirations change. Creating a plan based on goals and seeking out opportunities helps employees see that their company is committed to their future growth.
Contact us today to learn more about our modern approach to performance management and development that actually improves the manager and employee relationship. Don’t just take our word for it, see what our Customers have to say.
