How to Give a Promotion You Won’t Regret
As most business owners know, finding and keeping good employees can sometimes be a challenge. Long-term employees are a great benefit to many small business owners. They have both knowledge and experience with the company’s products and services. Seasoned employees can also help train new employees, passing on their knowledge and the culture of the small business.
Effective managers and owners seek and find ways to hold on to valuable employees. One of these ways is to offer promotions. Before your next employee evaluation, consider this question….
Finding good employees is challenging for any business. Even if you manage to find good workers, retaining them is another challenge. High turnover suggests worker dissatisfaction, which reflects poorly on the company. Conversely, long-term employees tend to signify employee satisfaction. As a small-business owner, having long-term employees is important for many reasons.
Are you promoting for the right reason?
Matt Straz,founder & CEO ofNamely, offers the following points to ponder before promoting your next employee.
Has the employee been properly assessed?
Just like when you’re shopping for a new car, when promoting an employee, don’t buy before you try. Test the employee’s ability to perform well in the new position before you make the promotion official (and avoid having to live with a bad decision).
Try giving the employee an assignment that closely resembles what they would be working on in the new role. Their comprehension of the assignment and ability to successfully complete it can give you a better idea of how they’ll perform after the fact. This step was obviously skipped in Will’s case.
In addition to testing and assessing employee performance, seek out feedback from people who work with the employee on a daily basis. They can help you gain insight on the employee you wouldn’t get otherwise. Not only does this help you make better decisions, but it shows employees that you value their opinions on the matter.
How will you communicate the promotion?
How you inform the employee and the entire organization of a promotion is critical. Failing to properly communicate the promotion to others can lead to resentment and a lack of motivation in employees. When a promotion is in order, explain to the company why that particular employee was chosen for the promotion.
Not only does this ensure that the employee is being promoted for a good reason, but it also helps their peers understand and support the decision. Additionally, explaining the reasons for a promotion can act as a motivational tool by showing employees exactly what you expect from them.
Have you considered all of your options?
We all welcome promotions with open arms, but they shouldn’t be used as the primary way to reward employees for their hard work — unless, of course, there is a need to promote someone at the time. Promotions shouldn’t be based on the employee’s want for growth but rather on the organizational need for growth.
If you’re looking for a way to honor an employee’s achievements, but a promotion just isn’t in the cards, look into other ways to reward them. For instance, try offering flexible work hours or celebrate the achievement with a company-wide potluck. At the very least, give the employee a well-deserved pat on the back. These are all affordable ways to let your employees know their worth.
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