“Ever since I was a child I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one’s potential.” – Bruce Lee
At the workplace where everybody strives at all times to create a mark, meet targets and bring laurels to the organization, how does one keep a track of who has made how much contribution? Because no matter how much team effort and time has been invested to make the project a grand success, at the end of the day, it is individual roles played, that will be evaluated during the appraisal.
In order to assess the rate of progress, bosses always need to be alert and extremely observant and follow an employee development plan. The process of growth amongst the workforce is continuous and not just restricted to the outcomes of an employee engagement survey.
Apart from maintaining a record on the amount of work that an individual has done, bosses also need to look into multiple work aspects. For example, the advancement and understanding that the employee has shown at grasping the norms and fitting into the work culture, his conduct during an interaction with the clients, his office etiquettes, and most importantly, how much of ROI has the amount of time that has been invested into moulding his persona, yielded.
A few vital aspects that help measure an employee’s growth:
– How involved is the employee in the organizational structure and functioning?
– How much of initiative does he undertake upon the acquisition of a new project?
– How enthusiastic is he during brain storming sessions and group discussions?
– How does he react when faced with a difficult situation?
– How well has been able to embrace and implement critical feedback?
– Does he like being challenged in his work?
– Has he been productive in converting leads to business?
And the million dollar question – Has he met his targets?
Every employer is in the search of an all-rounder employee who makes genuine efforts to excel in the tasks assigned to him. From crisis management to decision making skills, from behavioural adaptation to soft skills and communication, an employee who proves to be a value add to the organization.
But then, how does a boss plan a growth chart for the employees, following a well-drawn out employee development program? The answer is quite simple. By doing a detailed S.W.O.T. analysis. Instead of pushing employees to adopt new methods of working, bosses should aim at tapping into their already existing potential while simultaneously nurturing their dominant work traits using various employee development activities. An additional job of something they like doing and are great at, along with the regular jobs assigned will only prove to be an added bonus; it acts as a sub-conscious factor of motivation.
For example, an employee may be weak in verbal communications, but possess a great sense of aesthetics while making presentations. An employee may exhibit hesitation while writing reports, but is a wizard with the excel sheet. An employee may be apprehensive while interacting with the clients, but is a pro when it comes to the part of execution!
Too many cooks, do spoil the soup, but including an employee in a conversation where you feel a new perspective can be attained, or asking him to supervise a project in order to make sure there is an un-bias external force, or even giving your employees the freedom to work with whoever they choose, as long as the work gets done in the most cost-efficient manner, are ways to ensure make sure that there is growth as well as employee satisfaction. Because even though the work is professional, the growth is personal.
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