As we come to the end of the most challenging year we have faced in decades, why is it now more important than ever to help our employees develop critical skills for their career? National Career Development Month has been taking place throughout November and, whilst it is geared towards school children, it is vitally important that businesses look at how they can support and develop their own staff to secure a prosperous future. But how can we do this?

Challenge them:

A simple way to develop your people is to challenge them in the workplace. It can be hugely beneficial to ask people to complete new tasks that sit outside their normal areas of responsibility and this is a great way to develop new skills.

Coaching:

Helping someone to achieve their potential and succeed in attaining a specific personal or professional goal can be highly beneficial. The professional guidance that a coach can provide can help an individual develop and realise that they have the key to unlock their own potential. This not only provides focus for the employee, but it can lead to increases in revenue or team morale for the Company due to the increased commitment shown to the individual.

Mentoring:

Instigating mentoring and mentorships in your workplace can have many benefits, including future proofing your business/team and future succession planning. It can also ensure you are retaining knowledge and engaging employees in the company. This is a great way to empower people and is not only beneficial for the individual being mentored, but it can also energise the person assigned as mentor.

Sponsorship for further education:

Many companies have looked at ways to cost save and have made the difficult decision to cut funding across training and development, but at what cost for the future? Ensuring you have the necessary knowledge and skill sets for whatever the new future may bring, will be critical for a company’s longevity in the marketplace. Providing training and development opportunities to maintain and engage your future workforce might be a cost now, but the outlay will pay for itself if the right courses are chosen.

Whatever avenue you choose, it is good to know that there are options at your disposal. Not all approaches have to cost money, some just require a time commitment and focus from skilled internal people. Whatever route you choose it is worth remembering that there will be employees that will benefit hugely, and in turn a company will reap the rewards of a more engaged and skilled workforce. To find out more about engaging your employees, check out our internal communication toolkits here.