Why Managers Must Have Career Development Discussions with All Their Employees
Providing employees with a clear path to advancement in your organization that includes career development opportunities is a win-win-win for employees, managers and the organization. Employees who are intellectually engaged and feel both needed and as though they’re contributing relevant solutions stay with organizations. This, in turn, allows organizations to meet their current and future needs for talent and skills.
An essential step on the path to reaping these benefits at your organization is to encourage managers to have development discussions with all of their employees.
“Good managers attract candidates, drive performance, engagement and retention, and play a key role in maximizing employees’ contribution to the company,” wrote Monique Valcour, professor of management at EDHEC Business School in France, in her January 2014 Harvard Business Review guest blog post.
Increase Team Productivity and Performance
For managers, having career development conversations offers a chance to get better at developing employees and profoundly affecting their people and their organizations. It’s a critical skill for those who are serious about increasing their teams’ productivity and performance. These conversations will help their companies keep great employees, which, at the end of the day, contributes to the manager’s own success.
Build a Bench of High Contributors
On top of increasing performance, these career development conversations allow managers to build a bench of high-caliber contributors and potential successors, which reduces worries about losing key talent and concerns about who to turn to for important needs. Good managers know if you have a strong bench, you have a lot less to worry about.
Be a Great Boss
When it comes down to it, the best bosses -- the ones employees want to have and are happy to continue working with -- take an interest in their employees’ lives and careers. By learning about what your employees want, what they strive for and by being able to actively help them achieve their goals, you build credibility, trust and goodwill, which in turn contributes to your success as a manager.
Attract, Engage and Retain Top Talent
A manager’s job is not just to drive performance. It’s also to attract, engage and retain talented people -- and maximize their contribution to the organization. If you’re interested in your employees’ aspirations and success, you will attract candidates because people will want to work for you. Once you get great people on board, the next step is to get your employees engaged with your team and your organization, so they’ll want to stay and invest their time and energy into making both the best they can be.
Let us know if you’d like our help coaching your organization’s managers on how to have career development discussions with their employees.
Success Labs is a full-service, strategic organizational and leadership development company located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.
