How To Engage Employees To Enhance Their Professional Development?

By Shatavisha Chakravorty

Most people feel that the most challenging thing for an employer is to hire the correct employees. What they do not realise is the fact that at the fresher level, most candidates have similar calibre, and hence it does not really matter whom you hire and whom you do not. What actually determines the success of the organisation is how well the employees are groomed after that and how much they develop (both technically and otherwise) in the course of the months and years that they spend in the organisation.


Now, for the skill development of an employee, the managers and supervisors have a pivotal role to play. In such a situation, the effort invested by the manager and the manner in which the employee is groomed is what makes all the difference.

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Engage Employees For Development

In this article, we shall discuss 8 ways in which an employer can play a role in developing the overall performance of their subordinates so that the time and effort invested in hiring them reaps due benefits. Doing this will not just ensure that the company reaps the benefits but the employees themselves will feel much better about the work they do. This will lead them to lead much happier lives.

1. Give Frequent Feedback

Understand that your team members will be able to improve only when you tell them what it is they aren't doing right. Similarly, if they are trying to improve and you see the efforts bearing fruit, you must tell them the same. This will ensure that they remain motivated and put in more efforts.

In case the employees are putting efforts and the results are not noticed, make sure that you notify your employees of the same and suggest corrective measures.

2. Personalise Employee Development

Since every individual is different, you cannot expect to have a fixed set of procedures through which you can improve their performance. As a manager or leader, it is your duty to come to terms with the individual needs of the employees and device specific career goals that will not just help them on the professional level but will also drive the team to an era of better performance.

3. Swapping Departments

It is often seen that the productivity of an individual increases by leaps and bounds if they are faced with unfamiliar situations. That is why if you want to ensure that your team members work to the best of their abilities, you should swap them among the various departments.

This will not just ensure that they start respecting the role and responsibilities of people working in different departments, but it will also ensure that they learn different skill sets.

4. Be Flexible

Before you expect your team to improve their performance, you must first learn to be flexible yourself. Try to come in terms with the fact that your method is not the only way to get a job done and your subordinates may actually have some better ideas.

By indulging in brainstorming sessions with them, you will actually come up with much better ways to get work done than being rigid about the same. This will lead to career improvement for you as well as for your team.

5. Automate The Review Process

Ask your team members to maintain a personal record of all their achievements. This will not just help you to track their progress but will also help the employee to support their case when they have to face their annual review meeting.

By automating the review process and ensuring that your teammates maintain proper records, you will earn higher respect in their eyes as well and that will lead to better teamwork and improve the overall productivity of the team.

6. Conduct Stay Interviews

No matter how good the work environment is, it is obvious that your employees will experience a certain degree of dislike towards their job. The best way to help them overcome this emotion would be by conducting stay interviews. These interviews must be one-on-one and the agenda of these should be to reiterate all the positive aspects of the job.

This may either be from a technical, managerial or HR perspective. In either case, participating in this particular activity will ensure that your team members will feel more positive about their work life and in turn end up contributing more to the job.

7. Set Quarterly Targets

It is important that you keep your team focused on the greater goals. In order to ensure that what your team does on a periodic basis is in alignment with the greater goals of the project, it is a good idea to check on them once every three months.

This will ensure that the team members do not deviate from the central goals. Also setting targets that are any smaller will make your team members feel that you do not have trust in your abilities.

8. Give Appreciation When Necessary

Nothing pushes a person more than a few kind words. Your team members must have put in a lot of effort in order to arrive at a certain result. Make sure that you bring the same to the notice of the people and laud them for their achievements.

If possible, go ahead and give them some monetary incentives or company goodies. Things like that will drive them to perform even better which will pave the way for an even better career upliftment for them.

Now that you are armed with the knowledge of extracting maximum efficiency from your team, go ahead and make the most of it. Indeed, with all of it under your kitty, there is nothing that can stop you from becoming a leader of exceptional calibre and drive your organisation to newer heights of glory and achievement. While doing so you will be ensuring professional success for yourself and that of your teammates.

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